How often have you prayed the Lord’s Prayer and really thought about the words that you are saying? Are you ever tempted to skip over certain phrases? ‘thy will be done’….Really Lord? Your will, all the time? Every day?

What does that really look like? In reading through Romans, a phrase captured my mind: "an obedience of faith." “Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and discipleship to bring about the obedience of faith…” (Romans 1:4b-5). Paul repeats the same phrase again at the end of the book as if to say, “Remember what this is all about?”

When we seek to do God’s will, and ask for His will to be done in our lives as we pray, are we serious? Are we willing to commit to having an “obedience of faith?” A pastor I heard defined it as an “active trust and loyalty to God.” What did he mean by that? It’s not just about having an intellectual knowledge about God or agreeing with what scriptures say. It is more than that. It’s an action that involves a change in our behaviour and thought.

For me, an obedience of faith means that I daily choose to believe that God is still God. He hasn’t changed, He is still in control, and He still asks me to be thankful and choose joy — regardless of the circumstances that I find myself in or that someone near to me is facing.

How about you? What are you facing today that challenges you to walk an obedience of faith?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the reminder that you require more of me than just an intellectual assent to your existence or a weekly appearance in church. Help me to listen to your still, small voice and then to walk in that obedience of faith, whatever that looks like in the situation in which I find myself. May I actively choose to trust you every day and be loyal to you regardless of the cost. Amen

Go Deeper — What causes you to doubt in God’s goodness and faithfulness in your life? Commit that to Him today; daily choose to trust Him this week.

Read Further: Don’t Be a Lukewarm Christian.



Tags: The Lord's Prayer Romans 16
Photo Credit: Kate Remmer