aligning our will

Lewis tells us today about what we really want in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

He tells us that we don’t know what we want. That we worship God, but don’t really understand Him. If we did, he says, then we would realize what we want and do it.

This is great advice. One thing that the spiritual masters will tell you is that, while prayer does affect things, and makes changes in the world, it also changes the person who is praying. It aligns our will with God’s will. And that is what Lewis is referring to here. When we “don’t know what we want”, we pray. And in our prayer, God teaches us what we really do want. So that we can ask for it, and then we will receive it.

When you think through the Lord’s prayer, that’s exactly what He is doing. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”… that means “We don’t know exactly how to make things better, but You do. So make your will happen here on earth, especially in my life, in the way that only You know how to accomplish.

Big things happen when we pray that prayer. In our lives, and in the world around us.

God, thank You for giving us what we REALLY want. Which is exactly what You want for us.