New International Version
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
New Revised Standard Version
He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”
King James Version
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Submitting to God’s Will
In the run for succeeding in our daily lives, we tend to ask God only for what we want. When we pray, if we are patient, we’ll probably start with a line of thanks to God for all we have, and proceed to list out all that we want. If we are in a hurry to get what we want, we even skip the thanks.
As kids, almost all of us would have been stubborn at least for one thing – and pestered our parents to get it for us no matter what. We would relentlessly pester them till we either got what we asked, or were scolded/slapped by them. If we got what we asked for, there is a good likelihood that the happiness of receiving it doesn’t last long.
As adults, we still tend to carry that habit of relentlessly pursuing things which we have set our minds upon. Perhaps we may pester someone to do something for us. But more often than not, the person at the receiving end of this harassment will be our Heavenly Father, when we literally hold Him by the neck and ask for our desires to be fulfilled.
Those things maybe reasonable to ask, or some things might be completely unreasonable. Whatever it is, our Father knows what’s best for us. We can trust our parents to do what’s best for us. But that should mean giving up our interests to let them carry out their interests for us. We must accept that God will carry out His interests for our lives, and when He does that, we will either receive what we wish for, or we will receive something much better.
Jesus Himself didn’t do as His own will. He had all the power to decide for Himself, but at no point did He do that. He knew that He was going to suffer beyond imagination, and even prayed to His Father to take away the burden. But, it is the “but” clause we must note and learn from. Despite this harrowing knowledge, He submitted His whole being to God to carry out God’s will. In the end, He rose above all in ultimate victory.
God wants us to have perfect free will – a free will He wishes us to submit to Him – so that He will let us fulfill our purpose on earth, and meet Him as a whole being in Heaven.