"Your will be done..."

[TooManyNovenas]

I posted this on the Ask an Apologetic forum page and hopefully will get an answer, but I’d like to hear from everyone else as well, thanks.

I understand that God has given us free will to accept or not accept Him, that being said once we do accept him are we not willingly submitting to His will and no longer having our own. In all the prayers I have prayed, may they be Novenas or the Our Father, a common theme is that God’s will be done, so my question is by submitting to God’s will are we not hypothetically loosing our own?

When we pray for job offers or careers, for example, who is to say God doesn’t like us working in the bank or entertainment industry so since we have submitted to His will we have jeopardized or weakened any chance of being able to get those jobs or start a career in those fields because it is not in accordance with God’s will. To me it seems the one thing that is in accordance with God’s will is joining the religious life, like taking Holy Vows. What if we don’t want that, every other career choice is outside the spectrum of what God wills?

At times it’s difficult or nearly impossible to reconcile our needs and desires to what God wants. Sure you can easily answer this question that when we submit to God’s will, it is what is best for us, but what is God’s will? Don’t we have a say in the matter or do we become pseudo-slaves to what God wants and we loose our own identity?

 

[Alindawyl]

It’s all about our will UNITED to God’s will, both working together toward the same goal. If we truly had no will of our own after submitting to God, we’d be mere machines. And if all God wanted was machines, he would have just created machines to begin with.

I don’t see God as being so controlling that everyone has one and only one career they should follow, and not following that career is bad. It’s much more likely that God is happy for us to do whatever we want as long as we do good.

The only exception might be those called to a vocation, but even so I’m sure many reject that call and still end up going to heaven. They may not have quite as happy or fulfilling a life as they would have had by listening to God’s call, but I doubt it’s cause for damnation.

 

[Dtmccameron]

Don’t we have a say in the matter or do we become pseudo-slaves to what God wants and we loose our own identity?

Paul called himself Christ’s slave, why should I in pride proclaim myself better, say that I am a “servant”? Why should I leave room for being treated with dignity and honor?

And what is our identity? Quriks? Flaws? We’re called to be “As perfect as my Father in Heaven is perfect.” Would it not be wonderful if we could abandon our sinful desires, our petty needs, and live perfectly and be good? (After all, none are good save God. We’re called to be Christ-like; we’re called to be dead to ourselves so that Christ can live within us!

“…nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
(Gal. 2:20)

When God and the self meet, who will prevail? Was it not said that those who looked upon the face of God would surely perish?

In the face (pardon the pun) of His perfection, what evil can endure? In the midst of His glory, what corruption remain?

(I’m a bit dizzy and must leave now, please pardon my rambling)

 

[nkbeth]

In all the prayers I have prayed, may they be Novenas or the Our Father, a common theme is that God’s will be done, so my question is by submitting to God’s will are we not hypothetically loosing our own?

Jesus said “not My will but Thy will be done”. This implies that Jesus - as a man! - had a will separate from God. But Jesus prayed that God’s will would take precedence.

We don’t lose our will, rather we ask God that it should not go against His. We can’t always know what His will is for us; but we do our best which is just what God wills from us. We should listen to (but also think about) any “calling” that we think we have (whether it is to join a religious order or to help our neighbor in some way), because God may tell us His will in this way. Above all we learn His will through prayer. Finally we must trust in Him even when the way is not clear.

To me it seems the one thing that is in accordance with God’s will is joining the religious life, like taking Holy Vows. What if we don’t want that, every other career choice is outside the spectrum of what God wills?

Following God’s will IS becoming who we truly are. He is God, and our identity is from Him - at the same time as we mold it in our lives. He wants all of us to follow Him and to be saved! But He does not want want all of us to be priests and nuns! Being a religious is (really, in itself) a higher calling than being a doctor outside a religious order. But God gives some people higher callings. God gave our Lady the highest calling of all. God wants each of us to avoid sin, but He has different roles for us on earth! God often tells us our role and His will by means of our interests and desires, when they are not sinful

As children, we have our own will, but we should obey our parents. As humans, we have our own will but we should obey God in whatever He asks. We don’t have to be frantic or over-scrupulous about what He is asking. Just pray and trust in Him.