Lenten Devotion – Not My Will But Yours
Day 36, 26 March 2024
“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’” Luke 22:41-42
A beautiful and precious facet of our relationship with God is prayer. We can approach Him directly, all thanks to Jesus who has made it possible by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice, or indirectly through intercession or prayer requests. And we are told that our mighty and magnanimous Father in Heaven will answer our prayers when we ask in faith and walk in obedience to His word (Matthew 7:7).
Regardless of how closely we are walking with God, when we pray or ask others to pray for us, we all hope that our prayer and desire will be granted — “please let my son ace that interview and land the job” or “please pray for wisdom for the doctor to correctly treat my illness”. So did our Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
However, how often do we dare to pray that God will have His say, especially when we are asking for something the denial of which will be devastating to us? Or how honestly do we mean it when we pray that? I hardly do because I do not really know how able I am to accept His will. But our Lord Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.
No doubt Jesus is the Son of God and knows what His Father has sent Him to do. We are mere mortals. But that is exactly how amazing Jesus’ act of sacrifice is: when He came to earth, He was born as man! Like us, when faced with an unpleasant prospect, He dreaded what He knew was coming. The Roman crucifixion was the most painful and humiliating death imaginable. He even asked God to remove the cup and spare Him the suffering.
Yet Jesus ended His prayer with “not my will, but yours, be done”. We know He meant what He said when we read in Luke 22:44, He was in such agony and prayed so earnestly that His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. And, of course, when He was crucified and died on the cross eventually.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for bravely obeying Your Father’s will all the way and giving us our salvation. As we reflect upon Your love for us at Lent and remember Your act of obedience to God, may we be emboldened to follow Your example in our endeavour to seek God’s will for our lives. Amen.
Joanne Yip🙏