And Jesus came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Luke 22:39–42, ESV
There is a prayer movement that teaches people to declare and decree in prayer. It is based on the promise of Jesus when He says, “If you ask anything in my name, I will give it to you.” Yet, what we see when Jesus models prayer is something that puts this into a different light. When Jesus prays we often find His prayers being more humble. His declarations are more humbling to His disciples when He utilizes the fig tree, but when He teaches us to pray when He gives the Lord’s prayer to us we find no declarations. When we read of His prayers in the garden, none are made here either. The great power we find with Jesus is not in His declarations, but in His subjugation that He gives to the Father. Our faith begins in humility and a realization that we are nothing without our Lord. Understanding that all the healing and other miracles are not where our greatest gift lies. It is in our reliance solely on God and His mercy and care for us and for our lives. We do all things out of His desire. When we pray for the healing of a brother or sister in Christ, we lay everything at the foot of our Lord knowing that all is in His hands and we pray that the healing be in His will. The greatest healing our Lord offers is for us as He restores us to Himself and gives us the promise of eternal life. As Paul writes, “Whether we live or whether we die we are Christ’s.” In this realization, we may be blessed to see many great miracles and extraordinary signs, but they are not ours to demand. Each miracle of God is a gift of God’s mercy which we entrust all things to Him and all things are done to shine out our Lord’s glory. The greatest prayer that our Lord taught us to pray is, “Not my will, but yours, be done.”
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.