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Micah 6:8, “God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and walk humbly with your God?”

This passage (verses 6-8) asks a fundamental human religious question: “What shall I come before God with? The writer poses some possible suggestions: Burnt offerings? A river of oil? My firstborn child?  Would any of these be pleasing to God? And the simple, straightforward answer comes back: He’s already told you, in word and in example, what pleases Him: Do justice, live kindness, and walk humbly with God. These will be pleasing to God.

This is arguably the clearest statement in the Bible of what it means to be one who claims to follow God. Justice, kindness, and humility. Jesus, the one who modelled how to live a life pleasing to God, lived this way.  They all focus our “religious” activities on how we interact with and treat other people.  To determine how to live a life pleasing to God, this verse is pivotal. And what does this verse have to do with this week’s theme of praying in the will of God? Quite simply, if you are not trying to follow God in justice, kindness and humility, you are not going to find it easy to pray in the will of God.  Your talk will not match your walk. But as you grow in these three attributes, and as in parallel you seek to learn to pray in God’s will, you will be satisfied.

So we pray,
Father God, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We seek to find your will in prayer. So, loving Father, help us today and everyday to act with justice towards others, to treat others with loving kindness, and to walk in humility with you and towards others. In your mercy, hear our prayer, Lord. Amen.

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