Your Will Be Done (John 18:1-11)

Today's scripture: John 18:1-11

As soon as Jesus finished His prayer—His prayer for His disciples, His prayer for us—He went to the garden ... to pray again. Luke tells us Jesus "knelt down and began to pray, saying, 'Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.'" Then we're told that, "being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground" (22:41-44).

Prayer. Jesus—God Himself—prayed ... often. It was a crucial discipline for Him. His prayers illustrate two things for us:

First, He always prayed for the Father's will. No matter His own desire, He wanted the Father's will above all else. This is how we're to pray, as well: "If the Lord wills ..."

Second, God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want, but He always answers our prayers. You've probably heard how God answers either yes, no, or wait. In Jesus' case, God answered both no and yes. What? you ask. Read Jesus' prayer from Luke again. He asked for the "cup to pass" and for the Father's will.

The Father answered no to the first and yes to the second. Because Jesus was confident that the Father would do what He willed, Jesus was able to calmly handle the next few moments. Judas' betrayal. Healing Malchus' ear. Being arrested.

He knew the Father's will was perfect, so He was able to "drink the cup" the Father gave Him.

We can learn so much from Jesus, and this is a wonderful lesson: If we pray for God's will in all things, we can be assured He'll always answer that prayer with a resounding yes.