WLC 192

Q192. What do we pray for in the third petition?

In the third petition (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,) acknowledging, that by nature we and all men are not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God, but prone to rebel against his word, to repine and murmur against his providence, and wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh, and of the devil: we pray, that God would by his Spirit take away from ourselves and others all blindness, weakness, indisposedness, and perverseness of heart; and by his grace make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things, with the like humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy, as the angels do in heaven.

Proof texts

• Matt. 6:10 — [10] Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
• Rom. 7:18 — [18] For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
• Job 21:14 — [14] They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
• 1 Cor. 2:14 — [14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
• Rom. 8:7 — [7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
• Ex. 17:7 — [7] And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
• Num. 14:2 — [2] And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
• Eph. 2:2 — [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience —
• Eph. 1:17-18 — [17] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, [18] having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
• Eph. 3:16 — [16] that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
• Matt. 26:40-41 — [40] And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? [41] Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
• Jer. 31:18-19 — [18] I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God. [19] For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
• Ps. 119:1,8,35-36 — [1] Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! [8] I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! [35] Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. [36] Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
• Acts 21:14 — [14] And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
• Mic. 6:8 — [8] He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
• Ps. 100:2 — [2] Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
• Job 1:21 — [21] And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
• 2 Sam. 15:25-26 — [25] Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. [26] But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”
• Isa. 38:3 — [3] and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
• Ps. 119:4-5 — [4] You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. [5] Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
• Rom. 12:11 — [11] Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
• Ps. 119:80 — [80] May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!
• Ps. 119:112 — [112] I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
• Isa. 6:2-3 — [2] Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. [3] And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
• Ps. 103:20-21 — [20] Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! [21] Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!
• Matt. 18:10 — [10] “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

For discussion

1. The Assembly cited Matt. 6:10 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
2. 26 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
3. WSC Q98 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
4. HC Q116 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?

Read alongside

WSC Q98 · HC Q116