According to His will

Prayer is a very easy thing to misunderstand. It is often seen, especially in our culture, as a way of controlling or manipulating God. If I just say this prayer, God will do it for me. Wait, I prayed, and God didn't do exactly what I said? I guess that means there's no God... In reality, while prayer is a servant-master relationship, the roles are the opposite way around. The one praying is not the master, the one receiving the prayer is the Master.

For this reason, the Bible tells us to pray according to His will. When we pray, it's not just about what we want, but more about what God wants. In fact, in James 4:3, we are told that if we ask amiss that we may spend it on our pleasures, God's not going to listen. But if we pray according to His will, He will.

Naturally, Jesus gives us a perfect example of this. As the time of the crucifixion drew near, He became afraid, not wanting to be crucified, for obvious reasons. And so He prayed "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." And then again, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." This shows us some very important things.

First, it shows us that even when God will ultimately answer "no", it is ok to pray anyway. Jesus knew full well the cross was inevitable, and yet He prayed anyway. Why? Because ultimately, the cross was not good. It was good in the sense that it fulfilled the Lord's will in making the way for us to be saved, but Jesus suffered. That's not good. Jesus didn't deserve to suffer. Jesus deserved the glory He had before the incarnation. Nevertheless, He died. And so it is ok to pray for a better way to achieve good, even if there is no such way.

Second, and I would argue more importantly, it shows us that we must be willing to accept "no" as an answer. As I said, Jesus did not deserve to suffer what was coming to Him. We deserve what would be coming to us had He been spared the agony of the cross. Yet, though He did not deserve it, He submitted His will to God, being willing to suffer it regardless. Now, Jesus, of course, is equal to God (Philippians 2:6). I believe if He had desired, He could have simply refused. Of course, this is where we get into the complexity of the Trinity. Could He have said no? I think yes, He had the ability, but because the Trinity acts in one accord, Jesus simply would have never had the inclination to rebel.

Regardless of whether He could or could not have refused, the point is He did not. He prayed "yet not as I will, but as You will". Jesus knew He would receive "no" as an answer, and was willing to accept it. This sets us the perfect example, because whether God refuses us a simple request like "can I pass this test?" or a perfectly reasonable request like "can I escape the people who seek to take my life?", we must be willing to accept that refusal. And if Jesus, who was God Himself, is capable of accepting "go to the cross" as an answer to prayer, who are we to demand God bend to our will?