Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
Psalm 143:10 (ESV)
“Teach me to do your will.” This is a prayer request full of faith, trust, and humility. David is inviting the God of the universe to come and teach him obedience. For to do the will of the Lord is to be obedient to the Lord. In this prayer of David we see the heart of Jesus at work. Jesus learned obedience through suffering and David is setting the same example before us. David is acknowledging that his heart is not always aligned with the will of God. David’s heart wanders away from the Lord and is inclined toward sinful actions and decisions. David desires to be in alignment with the will of God, so he asks to be taught. He is inviting God to teach him through correction, suffering, and hardship. David knows that this is the path of holiness. How can he shake off his fear and make this request? David understands that he is not asking some distant, dispassionate god. No, he is asking his God. The God that loves and cares for him.
I have prayed this same prayer several times in my life and each time, my Father has brought suffering and hardship into my life. It is not in the mountain tops of plenty that I lean the will of God. It is in the valley of deep darkness that I learn obedience the best. There is something special about the Lord stripping away all the dross from my spiritual walk. Painful and difficult to be sure, but well worth the struggle. For it is in this struggle that I see the impurity of my heart. I see the bent of my will to seek after anything that is not holy, righteous, and pure. It is in the valley that the love of Jesus reveals my fear, pride, and self-reliance.
I need the Father to teach me to do his will. This is not a twelve-step program that I can follow. There is no checklist leading toward righteousness. There is only Jesus.
Yet, I hesitate to pray this in my own life again. I am fearful of the hardship and suffering that will surely come as the Lord teaches me to do his will. Where David had a desire and a longing to know God deeper and more intimately, I am content and satisfied with my relationship. I feel this in my heart even as I write this knowing that I want to desire a deeper intimacy with Jesus. Even as I know that I need to be taught by him to draw close.
I find that fear springs up within me as I contemplate the future lessons that will surely come along with this request. It worries me that my heart can be so complacent. The lessons of the past gnaw at me even now as I remember the past struggles and difficulties that I went through in answer to this request.
Yet, I know that these fears are irrational and a form of deception from the enemy to keep me complacent and inactive. I know that the struggle I fear is worth the effort. I know that my Savior had to learn obedience through suffering and there is good in this. So Lord, I ask that you teach me to do your will… for you are my God!
My Father loves me deeply. He is steadfast, gentle, and kind. The intimacy I seek is waiting for me. He is standing at the door and knocking. He is ready, willing, and able to come in and teach me his will. It is in his presence and in doing his will that I will know and experience love. It is in his will alone that I will find peace. For it is only there that I will meet Jesus.