Yet Not My Will

PAUSE

As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to recenter my scattered senses upon the presence of God.

(pause)

I pray Psalm 17:6–7, repeating the words slowly, several times:

“I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. Show me the wonders of your great love.”

REFLECT

Bible: Today, we conclude our study of Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane, considering its sobering and challenging final sentence:

“Abba, Father,” [Jesus] said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36).

Book passage: Having acknowledged God’s love (“Abba, Father”), God’s power (“everything is possible for you”), and His own terror (“take this cup from me”), Jesus now surrenders Himself completely to the Father’s purposes. Such surrender is never easy:

Maybe God has simply been replying to your prayers with a loving but firm no. I don’t suggest this lightly. It may well be the most painful possibility you have ever had to consider, and it may also seem to fly in the face of everything you know of God’s heart and will.

ASK

Ask myself: Having prayed “Take this cup from me,” is it possible that God might be replying to me, as He replied to Jesus, with “a loving but firm no”?

How can I discern what His will might be for me in my situation? Ask the Lord: I take time now to surrender my will to God’s will.

YIELD

The well-loved hymn of surrender, “All to Jesus I Surrender,” by Judson W. Van DeVenter:

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour
I surrender all

Amen.