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4A: Will and Grace

"God's will is another confused religious term, the understanding of which will help us to understand grace. The will of God is the ceaseless longing of the creator to fulfill Himself in and as that which He has created. This will or creative intention is so great that it even seeps through one's willfully closed mind" (Eric Butterworth Celebrate Yourself 126-127).

"Some Christians believe that God's will toward men varies, that His will changes, that He chastises the disobedient and punishes the wicked.... He [Jesus] bore witness that the will of God is that men should not suffer— that through Him they should have complete escape from sin, sickness, and even death.... The sin, sickness, suffering, and death that men experience are not punishment willed by God; they are results of broken law" (The Twelve Powers of Man 106).

"When we have resolved to be attentive to the voice of the Father and to do His will at any cost, we are freed from the bondage of all man-made laws" (The Twelve Powers of Man 116).

The will of God is absolute good. God's will contains no pain or suffering, lack or limitation. The greatest prayer that can ever be spoken is, "Thy will be done!" This prayer of the heart always brings healing, harmony, abundance, peace of mind, pure guidance, and so on. The only prayer Jesus gave us is "The Lord's Prayer." It contains the words, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done" (Matt. 6:10). It is the only prayer we need; it is full of grace and truth.

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me .... For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:38-40)