Benedictine monks make three vows: obedience, stability, and conversion of life. I could manage the last two, but the first one – no way. I have trouble doing what I’m told, especially when I know I’m right – which, of course, is most of the time. =))

I don’t think I realized how much of a spiritual problem obedience or submission to God could be until a lay member of my church pointed out how some people really pray the Lord’s Prayer.

“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done and here’s how we’re going to do it.” Yep, that’s me. I want to decide what God’s will is and how it should be done.

In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther explains, “The good and gracious will of God is done without our praying for it, but we ask in this petition that it might be done by us.”

That is submission: to do what God wants the way God wants it done.

When we submit to God, we lay down the burden of having to control everything. In My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle says of the over-controlling Professor Henry Higgins, “without your pulling it, the tide comes in. Without your twirling it, the earth can spin.” God manages all those great things, so why can’t we trust God to manage all those things we seem to be concerned with? Seeking God’s will and submitting to it is the road to freedom.

Read Jeremiah 29:11-13 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne