From Matthew 26:36-46
Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see a glimpse into Jesus’ humanity. He prays that this experience in front of Him, the suffering and loneliness and death, would be taken away. In His humanity, He doesn’t want to have to do this. In His divinity, He does it anyway. He prays “not as I will, but as you will.” We know the rest of the story, God’s will is to save fallen humanity through Jesus sacrificial suffering and death. We know that the Father’s will was for the Son to die.
In this prayer, Jesus sets a great example for us. First by how He prays and second by how He responds to the path God has laid out in front of Him. When Jesus prays, His prayer is cached in these words “not as I will, but as you will.” Whenever you and I pray, we should have the same attitude. We can go to God and ask Him for whatever we want, but it should always be with the attitude “not my will God, but yours.” We trust God enough to leave our future in His hands – even if that means it doesn’t go exactly how we might want it to. What’s more, Jesus follows through on this prayer by stepping up to the cross. When God’s will for our lives is put in front of us, it might terrify us, it might look unpleasant and uncomfortable, it might include suffering, it might be painful. Sometimes God calls us into difficult places, into lonely places, into hurtful places – but we step boldly forward into each situation with the attitude “not my will God, but yours.”
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God graciously sent Jesus to die for us.
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to pray and act with the Father’s will in mind.
Topics to Pray About:
- Thank Jesus for the sacrifice He made, despite the pain it caused Him.
- Confess to God times where you don’t seek the plans He has for you, pursuing your own plans instead.
- Ask God to guide you to lead the life He has called you to lead.
In His Service,
J. LeBorious