Your Will Be Done (Luke 22:42)

Reading the medical literature can sometimes be a bewildering exercise in discerning the truth. Take the topic of caffeine. One article may tout the benefits of caffeine while another warns against the health hazards. There is an article that warns that caffeine may have detrimental effects on some organs but beneficial effects in others. Still another article states that it is the way the coffee is prepared that determines whether the caffeine has an effect upon one’s health. And this debate has been raging for decades!

If I were to make a decision about caffeine, I would be lost in this din of scholarly work. There is simply too much noise and competing opinions.

In my prayer life, I often feel a similar level of frustration and confusion. I may pray for one outcome knowing that another prayer that I or another is praying may be in direct opposition to mine. There may be shades of gray when I pray with no clear direction for what I should be praying, only that I need to pray about it.  And there are many times I pray when my emotions and sinful nature intercedes and misdirects my prayers to selfish gains and motives.

Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done.

Luke 22:42 (ESV)

When our Lord Jesus Christ uttered these words, He was facing one of the most critical moments of His life. He could have turned His back to God the Father and not gone to the Cross. He could have remained in this world, teaching and healing. He knew what lay ahead-torture and separation from God. He was in anguish as He prayed to His Father God to take this time of suffering away from Him, but in triumph He concluded with this prayer, “Not my will, but Yours, be done.”

This is what I must do when I pray. The clutter of life, the noise of competing interests, my sinful nature-all of these compete for my attention when I pray. I must focus only upon God and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede in my life so that I may declare, “Not my will, but Yours, be done.”

Amen!

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.