PRAY THAT THE WILL OF GOD WILL BE DONE IN OUR LIVES

Proclamation:

“Abba, Father,’ He said, ‘everything is possible for You.  Take this cup from Me.  Yet not what I will, but what You will.’”  Mark 14:36 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark as he received it from the apostle Peter.  Mark begins this chapter with the anointing of Jesus, (Mark 14:3-9) and the preparation for the Feast of the Passover. (Mark 14:12-16)  During the Passover meal, as they were eating, Jesus foretold of His betrayal. (Mark 14:18-21)  Then Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crows twice. (Mark 14:27-31)  After they ate, they went to a place called Gethsemane where Jesus wanted to pray. (Mark 14:32-36)  As He prayed, Jesus said to His heavenly Father, not My will, but Thy will be done. (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, and Luke 22:42)

Application:

All too often, the things that we want and pray for are not within the will of God.  We need to remember that Jesus taught us, in the model prayer, that when we pray to our heavenly Father, we should say, “Thy will be done.” (Matthew 6:10 and Luke 11:2)  It doesn’t matter what it is, our will is insignificant and unimportant, and His will is paramount.  We should want the will of God to be done in our lives.  Don’t be so selfish that you cannot pray this prayer.

NOT MY WILL BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE

Proclamation:

“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”  Luke 22:42 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After Jesus had His last Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room, He told Simon Peter that the devil wanted to use him but He had prayed for him. (Luke 22:31-32)  He also told Peter that he would deny knowing Him three times before the rooster crows. (Luke 22:34)  Then they left and went to the Mount of Olives to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed this prayer.  Jesus prayed that His Heavenly Father’s will would be done and not His will.  Soon afterwards, Judas Iscariot led a group of priests, elders, and solders to the place where Jesus was and betrayed Him with a kiss on the cheek, and He was arrested and taken before Pilate and Herod. (Luke 22:7-71)

Application:

All of us have faced some situations which we did not want to deal with, but none of them was as bad as the one which Jesus was facing.  The “cup” that He was facing and wanted removed was not the cross, but having all of our sins put upon Him.  Being free from sin, He probably found this repulsive.  However, He was willing to do it in order to save us.  Jesus made it clear that what was important was that His Heavenly Father’s will be done and not His will.  We need to be able to sincerely pray, “Thy will be done.”  This is what Jesus taught us in the model prayer. (Matthew 6:9-10 and Luke 11:2)  If what we want, with our selfish desires, conflicts with the will of God, we need to understand that whatever it is that we want is not important.  We are selfish.  We need to humble ourselves and recognize that The Lord God knows everything about everything (1 John 3:20) and He knows what is best for all of us.