Luke 22:42 –
“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
This is one of those chapters full of a events that all are significant. They include Judas betrayal, the Last Supper, Peter’s denial, Jesus before council and this prayer in the garden. As we look closely at this prayer there are two things to really take from it. First is that although Jesus was God in human flesh, he still felt the pain and suffering you and I do. He knew what was going to happen and really wanted to get out of having to suffer.
Think about it, would you want to be whipped, have spikes nailed into your feet and hands so you can be hung on a cross to die? I don’t care if I was 100% clear on my final destination, I would not want this agony either. The key is why did he “have to die” as a sacrifice for our sins? Well to explain that would take hours and is the whole reason why reading the Bible on your own is so important since it gives a reason for the significance of this event. Honestly we would never understand this in the context we know today!
The other major aspect of this short prayer is Jesus submitting to God’s will. That is the most difficult thing for us to do and imagine if you knew God’s will was death like Jesus endured! “My will be done” is contained in the majority of my prayers. Unfortunately, submission is a difficult thing to do over the years. Most of us tend to be forced or nudged into submission because it really doesn’t matter what we want, God’s will be done! Now remember God is not a tyrant ready to hang you on a cross, no He is more like a father who wants submission from His children. Once you fall in line things tend to get easier!! And your desires often are fulfilled, which is a bright spot in life. So pray for desires, but also pray for God’s will in your life.