The World's Greatest Prayer
Luke 1:35–38
"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."
William Barclay once said that the world’s most popular prayer is, “Thy will be changed.” But the world’s greatest prayer is, “Thy will be done.” Mary displayed this attitude of submission to the will and plan of God when she received the news that she would be the mother of the Messiah. I’m sure she didn’t fully understand everything that was going to happen. What she did understand was that she was willing to do whatever God wanted her to do.
The role that God had for Mary to play involved a great deal of difficulty and sacrifice. There is a popular but false teaching today that if we love God He will make sure only good things happen to us and that we will get everything we want. It’s easy to see why people like that message, but it does not match the Word of God. God’s plan for us frequently involves things that we would not choose for ourselves, but these are things that He knows are best for us.
Rather than fight against His purpose or have our faith be shaken when things don’t go as we think they should, we should be yielded to His will. Let us say with Mary that we want our lives to go according to God’s Word.
Growth Principle:
As you yield your will to God’s will, you are prepared for usefulness in service to Him.