Aligning Our Will with His

Joining the Conversation Already Begun

“Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done, 

on Earth as it is in Heaven.” 

 Matthew 6:10

Prayer is sometimes mistaken as persuading God to act according to our wishes. Yet Scripture and the saints show us something far deeper: prayer is not about controlling God but about aligning ourselves with His will and joining the work He is already doing in the world.

Eugene Peterson reminds us: “Prayer is answering speech—it is never the first word. It is always the second word, spoken to the God who has already spoken to us.” This transforms how we understand prayer. It does not begin with our ideas or our needs. It begins with God, who has already spoken through His Word, His Spirit, and His creation.

When we pray, we are not initiating a conversation but entering into one already in progress. God has spoken in creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). He has spoken through Scripture, His living and active Word (Hebrews 4:12). He has spoken most fully in Christ, the eternal Word made flesh (John 1:14). Prayer, then, is our faithful response—an echo back to God of what He has already said.

This protects us from turning prayer into a self-centered monologue. It is not about forcing our own agenda but listening for God’s. Eugene Peterson describes prayer as stepping into a rhythm—God speaks, and we reply. God initiates, and we follow. In this way, prayer becomes an act of attentiveness, training our hearts to listen for His voice already at work in the world and in us.

As God’s people, our prayers rise together as a chorus of response. We do not invent the music; we simply join the melody God has already set in motion.

Prayer

Lord, teach us to pray not to control but to commune, not to persuade but to participate. Align our wills with Yours, quiet our restless demands, and help us join Your Spirit’s ongoing work in the world. Amen.