Lord, Yes to your Will and your Ways

A Deeper Level of Submission and Sacrifice by Loannie Houston

“Lord, yes to your will and your ways” is a phrase that the children of God’s use to express a desire to more fully submit to God’s will in their lives. It reflects their longing to align themselves more deeply with His will than they currently understand or practice.

Scripture says that everything is beautiful in its time! Time is a resource that God uses to develop His will in us. Like the children of Isreal, we have some habits and desires in the heart that hinder our submission to Him. Therefore, He uses time and experience to transform our current thinking and behaviors, aligning them with His will. For some of us, this development requires God to take us the long way around to see what is in our hearts, to test us to know whether we will obey Him or not. Ecclesiates 3:11, Deuteronomy 8:2

God provided us with a role model, Jesus, for he shows us what true submission and sacrifice look like. During one of his darkest hours, Jesus asked if it was possible, to let this cup pass from him, but God's love for us required a sacrifice. Jesus willingly submitted to the will of his Father and was led to the cross. Desires for worldly things rooted in our flesh, or sight, and our pride can lead us to sin. Whether we fall into sins of commission or omission, these are acts of disobedience or rebellion against the one we have confessed as LORD and pledged to follow and obey. Matt 26:39; Luke 22:42

Each level of spiritual depth requires contrition, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins and lead us into repentance from our self-centered lives. To submit to God we must set aside our personal ambitions to fulfill His plan for our lives—the plan each of us was sent to earth from heaven to accomplish. Achieving our destiny would be impossible if not for Christ because through him, the Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome sin and live a life governed by God. John 16: 8-11; Romans 6:2

Lord, we say yes to your will and your ways. We acknowledge that a deeper level of submission and sacrifice in our lives is a work accomplished by you through your Word and Spirit. To attain this, we must be willing to sacrifice our desires and submit to your will for us. Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 9:27