God's Will Is Not Supposed To Be A Solo Effort

​As I've thought about a word - or a phrase - to be the center of my 2026, a question keeps coming to me. And it has felt like a rather unlikely - and uncomfortable - question for many reasons.

In the Lord's Prayer, we hear the following:

Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done.....

Thy will be done.

I suppose I have always heard that line in the prayer as a petition, "God please let your will be done", or even a declaration, "Your will WILL be done because you are God", but very rarely, I've been thinking, do I ever hear that line as a question:

"God, am I doing the will that thy wills to be done"?

If you're like me, it's very easy to get comfortable with those first two ways of hearing that line - thy will be done. They are passive words. They suggest we are watching God work or hoping God works. But that line as a question, well, that can get dangerous, or costly, or transformational. Because when asking the question - "Thy will be done"? - that implies to God that I am not just observing his will, I am asking to do my part in it.

It’s easy to say “God’s will is going to happen anyway,” and quietly excuse myself from any responsibility in it. But God's will has never been designed to be a solo endeavor - it has always been about a united team. We are all in this together.

How good is any team when a member of the team decides "you all have got this", while ignoring the reality that parts of the mission are counting on YOU to have this?

Totally handing over the will of God to God can become a great spiritual hiding place.

“God will handle forgiveness” - without me forgiving.

“God will handle justice” - without me acting justly.

“God will handle love” - without me becoming more loving.

“God will open doors” - even while I refuse to walk through them.

We end up believing in a will of God that requires nothing of us, which is really just a way of saying “I don’t want to change, but I’d like to feel spiritual about it.”

“Thy will be done?” is a question that turns the mirror around

The question forces an examination: Where am I resisting? Where am I clinging? Where am I negotiating with God instead of trusting God? Where am I praying for outcomes instead of obedience?

The question isn’t:

Will God’s will be done?

The better question is:

Will I allow God’s will to be done in me?

Far be it from me to suggest a revision to The Lord's Prayer, but maybe it would be helpful for me to silently add a bit to it.

Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done (starting right here with me)....

Not abstract. Not cosmic. Not somewhere “out there.” But in: my habits, my resentments, my relationships, my schedule, my finances, my calling, my comfort zones, my wounds.

God’s will isn’t just something that eventually prevails in history; it’s something that asks for my consent in the present.

It is my experience that the most dangerous thing about asking God "am I truly doing your will"? is that God will answer. I believe that is why many, like me, too often fear asking that question, hesitating, because God's answer will often require us to change.

But as I look ahead to 2026, if I do not change in this year ahead, I will not fully consent to God's will for me. I have looked deeply enough inside me to know that.

So in 2026, do I go forward simply trusting God's will WILL be done, or do I go forward asking to be a full participant?

FULL participant.

Am I brave enough to look in the mirror at the start of each day and ask:

Thy will be done?

I want to be.

Happy New Year's Eve to all of you. It is my deepest prayer that God's will WILL be done in 2026. Not solely because of God, but because of God in and through each of us.