Sometimes we get into such a rut of praying for the same thing all the time. My rut was, “Lord, show me your will for me.” The only problem was, I never seemed to get an answer. Then, I began an in depth study of the Gospel of John.

One night during the lecture, the speaker said, “Pray and ask if your in his will” and “ask yourself if you’re willing to do his will”. I sat up straight recognizing that this was a very different perspective from my rut prayer and it had a profound affect on me. I realized that I was projecting onto the Father what I wasn’t willing to address in myself. Of course the Father had been showing me His will all along, I just didn’t like or wanted to see what he was showing me.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke to his disciples of the wages (reward) of sowing the gospel seed… John 4:34-36 “My food”, said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.”

So what was it that I didn’t want to see? It was that it is our duty as born again Christians to minister to others and spread the gospel seed. Am I willing to do the Father’s will? Yes. Is it easy and comfortable? No. It wasn’t easy for our Lord either – he was a man who grew tired and hungry but he always kept his focus on the Father’s will (v34).

I know in my heart that if I am to follow Christ, I too must do the will of the Father and finish his work. I’ve been extremely encouraged by studying the Gospel of John and getting to know the Father and My Savior in a more intimate relationship.

“Christian work” is for all who are disciples of Jesus, yet God is so gracious. He even gives us rewards for the fulfillment of duty with the promise of greater wages to come.