NOT MY WILL Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

Dearly Beloved,
NOT MY WILL
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and
prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.
Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39 NIV).
Some weeks ago, I posted a message of warning about our prayer
requests based on the experience of Hezekiah when he was not ready to
accept the absolute will of God for his life. Most of the people that
reacted to the message agreed with me, while some, expectedly,
disagreed with me on the warning. The point of the people that
disagreed with the message is that, as Hezekiah did, one can ask God
for what one seems best for oneself. These people based their argument
on man’s free will and the fact that God is a merciful God who is
ready to do whatever we ask Him.
It is a fact that man has the free will to decide and ask for anything
from God, after all, God said in many places in the Bible that we
should ask and He would answer us (see Jeremiah 33:3; 29:12;
Deuteronomy 4:29; Psalm 50:15; 91:15; 145:18; Isaiah 55:6-7; 65:24;
Matthew 7:7-11; 21:22; Luke 11:9-10; John 14:13-14; 16:24). However,
we must remember that God would not answer our prayers if they are not
according to His will. Apostle John declared: “This is the confidence
we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his
will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14 NIV. Compare these passages also: 1
John 3:22; James 4:3; John 15:7; Jeremiah 29:13).
Humanly speaking, one would tend to support Hezekiah in his prayers in
2 Kings 20:2-3 and Isaiah 38:2-3. However, I will recommend the
example of the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39-42). Both of them had the opportunities of
knowing the absolute will of God for their lives at those points in
their lives. Interestingly, that will had to do with death (what no
human being would want). Hezekiah decided to exercise his privilege of
asking God for what he (Hezekiah) wanted. God granted him his heart
desire and we all know the end of his story. Jesus Christ, on the
other hand, decided to let God have His way, and we all know the end
of His story too.
Whose example would you want to follow: Hezekiah’s or Jesus’? What
would you prefer: your will or God’s will? As for me, not my will oh
Lord, but your absolute will be done in my life!
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).