Matthew 26:39-46 NIV 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
As I read this I ask myself what stands out to me. What is God saying to me right now?
I think I see two things in these verses.
The first thing I notice is Jesus' surrender in prayer to the will of His Father. He asks God if there was any other way to accomplish His will but He also surrendered to God's will. If there is no other way I will do what you ask me to do. As Pastor said in his message yesterday He just didn't surrender Himself to God's will He embraced it. He wanted to do whatever God wanted Him to do with complete trust and peace in His Father's plan. He didn't demand His way but chose to obey the will of His Father.
The second thing I notice is Peter, James and John are sleeping and not praying. When Jesus came back after praying the first time he asked them to pray so they would not fall into temptation. They didn't fully understand God's will and what was about to happen.
When I face a situation that consumes me do I choose to sleep or do I pour my heart out to the Lord?
Do I ask Jesus what His will for me is or do I tell him what my will is and ask him to embrace that?
Do I joyfully surrender my will and choose obedience to Him?
These are challenging thoughts.
This is hard when your life is the one being challenged. When God is asking you "Will you trust me?" When we pray we can ask God for what we want but we need to choose to trust Him and surrender our will to His. Jesus tells us we can step out in faith and trust Him. He is always with us. He cares.
Charleen
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are holy and perfect. There is no one greater than you. You love us and decide what is best for us. Help us, Lord, to willingly and joyfully surrender our will and control of our lives to you in every situation. Help us to trust you fully with our life.
We thank you for hearing every prayer and for answering each of them.
We love you Lord.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen