His Will Alone

 His Will Alone

Matthew 6:9-13           Matthew 26:39-42

Adoration. Intercession. Petition. Confession. These are the types of prayers we have been learning to pray with Jesus as our guide and the Lord’s Prayer as our map. Every one of these prayers serves to help us connect with God and become more like Jesus. These prayers propel us forward in our discipleship. And all of them together prepare us to practice this final type of prayer: submission.

Discipleship without submission doesn’t exist. Following Jesus without accepting His authority in our lives doesn’t work. Why? Because committing our lives to Jesus means laying down our will so we can take up God’s will.

And nobody modeled this more powerfully than Jesus Himself.

Pray…

Father, you are my God and I submit to you. My heart is yours. My mind is yours. My soul is yours. My strength is yours. Everything I am I commit to you. Teach me to obey you and trust you. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. Because it’s in those moments where I learn the most about how good you really are. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” Matthew 26:39-42 NLT

Consider…

Jesus is praying these words in the Garden of Gethsemane just before getting arrested and condemned to death on the cross. He knows what’s coming. And He doesn’t want it. He is literally crying out for God to change the plan and give Him another option. But God doesn’t. The Father knows that this is the way things have to be. It is only through the sacrifice of Jesus that our sins can be forgiven and through His resurrection from the dead that death can be defeated. So Jesus submits. He chooses to trust His Father and obey His will.

Think of a time where you had to choose between what you wanted to do and what you believed God wanted you to do. What were the circumstances? What made choosing God’s way so difficult? What did you end up choosing? What did you learn from that experience?

Practice…

Pray to God by submitting to Him. Ask God to help you become more like Jesus, fully submitted to the will of His Father. Ask Him for His grace and mercy when you fall short. Trust that He’ll still love you no matter what. Commit to giving Him your full submission.

As you do, imagine you are talking to God face-to-face. Because, at its most basic level, that’s really what prayer is: talking to God.

When you’re ready, pray to your Father using Jesus’ words, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy… don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9,13 NLT

Listen…

Create space to experience God’s presence by getting quiet, getting alone, and asking Him to speak. Start by setting a timer for five minutes.

Next, ask God to speak to you.

When you get distracted, because you will get distracted, bring your focus back to God by repeating the first words of this prayer: “Our Father…”

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you got to spend with Him, then head into your day looking for opportunities to better serve Him and serve others.