WEEK 19 – DAY 2

THY WILL BE DONE

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:41-42

From the beginning, Jesus was set upon doing God’s will. From leaving Heaven to be born of a virgin to His death on the cross, Jesus was being obedient to His Father (Philippians 2:6-8, John 5:30). At twelve years old, Jesus told His earthly parents that He must “be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). When He taught His disciples to pray, He instructed them to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In John chapter 17, Jesus prayed for His disciples and all who would follow Him in the future that we would be “one” with Him and the Father, that we would seek God’s will. The ultimate test of Jesus’s willingness to surrender to the will of the Father was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He agonized in prayer over the ordeal He knew awaited Him, a temporary separation from the love of His Father as He bore the weight of our sins upon the cross. Luke records the intensity of His prayer: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). However, in the end, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will knowing it was the divine plan to rescue us from sin and death. Do we, too, have the courage to pray, “Not my will, but Yours be done”. It is only possible when we are infused with the strength and power of Jesus (Philippians 4:13).

Father, please reveal Your will for us in each decision we face. Then give us the strength to carry out Your will rather than resorting to our own ways.