The Father's Will : Matthew 26:39-44 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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The Father's Will - Matthew 26:39-44

Then Jesus walked a little farther away from them. Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, don't give me this cup {of suffering}. But do what you want, not what I want." Then Jesus went back to his followers. Jesus found his followers sleeping. Jesus said to Peter, "You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right. But your body is weak." Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this {painful} thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, then I pray that what you want will be done." Then Jesus went back to the followers. Again Jesus found them sleeping. Their eyes were very tired. So Jesus left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing. (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

To call God Father can be made to sound pretty "chummy." In reality, to call God Father means to surrender our will to the work of the Sovereign God of the universe and all eternity. Jesus taught us to not only call God Abba Father, he also showed us what it means to be God's child. His frank, open, and heartfelt conversations and prayers with God remind us of God's desire for honest intimacy with us. This works, however, only when we are aware that he is God and we are not. We are here to obey and do his will. He has promised, and demonstrated in Jesus, that if we will trust our life's work to him, he will not forget us or leave us to decay. But he does call on us to follow him, no matter the consequences in the short run. When we do, victory awaits! Jesus has shown us that the agony of submission gives way to the joy of vindication and victory!

Today's Prayer

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O Master and King of the Universe, thank you for allowing me to call you Abba Father. You are worthy of so much more praise than I could ever offer. Please accept my life, and the obedience to your will that I offer, as my sacrifice of thanks and praise to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to his followers, "Sit here while I go there and pray." Jesus told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. Then Jesus began to be very sad and troubled. Jesus said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, "My soul is full of sorrow. My heart is breaking with sadness. Stay awake here with me and wait." Then Jesus walked a little farther away from them. Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, don't give me this cup {of suffering}. But do what you want, not what I want." Then Jesus went back to his followers. Jesus found his followers sleeping. Jesus said to Peter, "You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right. But your body is weak." Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this {painful} thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, then I pray that what you want will be done." Then Jesus went back to the followers. Again Jesus found them sleeping. Their eyes were very tired. So Jesus left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing. Then Jesus went back to the followers and said, "You are still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be given to sinful people.

— Matthew 26:36-45 (ERV)

Comments on "The Father's Will":

While Christ lived on earth he prayed to God and asked God for help. God is the One who could save him from death, and Jesus prayed to God with loud cries and tears. And God answered Jesus' prayers because Jesus was humble and did everything God wanted. Jesus was the Son of God. But Jesus suffered and learned to obey by the things that he suffered. Then Jesus was perfect. And Jesus is the reason that all those people who obey him can have salvation forever. And God made Jesus the high priest, the same as Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:7-10 (ERV)

But I must not become too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me. So a painful problem was given to me. That problem is an angel from Satan (the devil). It is sent to beat me and keep me from being too proud. I begged the Lord three times to take this problem away from me. But the Lord said to me, "My grace (kindness) is enough for you. When you are weak, then my power is made perfect in you." So I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ's power can live in me. So I am happy when I have weaknesses. I am happy when people say bad things to me. I am happy when I have hard times. I am happy when people treat me badly. And I am happy when I have problems. All these things are for Christ. And I am happy with these things, because when I am weak, then I am truly strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ERV)

These Jews did not understand who Jesus was talking about. Jesus was telling them about the Father (God). So Jesus said to them, "You will lift up (kill) the Son of Man. Then you will know that I AM. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority (power). You will know that I say only the things that the Father has taught me. The One (God) who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone."
John 8:27-29 (ERV)

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