Every single hour millions of Christians and Jews say to God “Thy will be done”. Every single hour the millions of Islam say a similar prayer to God, whom they call ‘Allah’, as they submit to him. Every day millions of unreligious people do things motivated by what they believe is the common good – and yet despite all this professed disinterestedness and altruism, billions of us humans live by the real motive which is clearly expressed by ‘my will be done’ – or if you prefer – ‘ do it MY WAY’.
This is the ‘Me first’ generation, as has been every preceding one. Well, I heard about an elderly couple who’d been married for well over 50 years, and one day she said to him: “We’ve been married a long time Sydney, haven’t we?”
“Aye we have” said Sydney.
“And I’ve been thinking that perhaps it’s God’s will that we’ve had enough of each other because we have been getting on each other’s nerves of late, haven’t we?”
“Aye we have” said Sydney.
“Well” she said “Do you agree that we ought to begin praying for the Lord to take one of us?”
He thought for a while, and said “Aye, happen we ought to pray for the Lord to take one of us”.
And she continued: “and when he does I can go and live with my sister in Brighton”.
Now listen, you who say “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then it vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. James 4: 13-15
A Prayer:
From self will, all ego mania, and the cunning which manipulates other people while pretending to care, from wanting to play at being you, dear Lord deliver us, your ego-blinded, wilful and spoiled people.

Now read Genesis Chapter 50.