Matthew 26:39-42 (NKJV) He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Today, many of us find ourselves at a crossroads in our lives, such as a next posting, a new job search, or company restructuring and downsizing. In these storms of life, the most important thing a believer can have is a firm footing, which comes from knowing that you are at the centre of God’s will. To find this footing, we must practise a vital yet often misunderstood form of prayer, the prayer of consecration.
The prayer of consecration is:
1. Praying about the will of God for your life
2. Submitting yourself to God’s will
3. A prayer that you can pray repeatedly
We can quickly determine what Jesus was praying about in the passage above by noting what He was not praying for. Jesus wasn’t praying for His disciples, the people, or provision for the ministry. Instead, He was praying about God’s will for how He was to die on the cross. He was praying about becoming the sin sacrifice for the world, and He was praying to the Father to see whether there was any alternative. He didn’t know, which is why He was praying “if it is possible”.
When we talk about the prayer of consecration, what we mean is praying about God’s will for your life. Yet many Christians have grown increasingly impatient in this modern, technologically advanced era, having lost the ability and the spiritual habit of waiting upon God for a critical answer in their lives. They want an immediate answer for a specific decision. However, it is extremely dangerous and foolhardy to make critical decisions without deliberately seeking God and consulting godly counsel—it is almost like playing Russian roulette.
Instead, we should redevelop the habit of seeking God daily, especially at the crossroads in our lives. Although AI is helpful in many ways, it is no alternative to seeking God! We should never consult AI about what action to take, even if it is a Christian AI model! We should seek God and consecrate our lives to Him. God is the one we should be talking to. Otherwise, AI will unknowingly begin to replace God and prayer entirely in our lives.
Reflection: Do you have a habit of seeking God when making decisions, even if it takes time, or do you opt for shortcuts? How is the Holy Spirit convicting you or leading you to repent?
Sermon Series： Surrendering Your Will to God
祢的旨意成就
马太福音 26:39-42 “他就稍往前走，俯伏在地祷告说：‘我父啊，倘若可行，求你叫这杯离开我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。’又来到门徒那里，见他们睡着了，就对彼得说：‘怎么样？你们不能同我警醒片时吗？总要警醒祷告，免得入了迷惑。你们心灵固然愿意，肉体却软弱了。’第二次又去祷告说：‘我父啊，这杯若不能离开我，必要我喝，就愿你的旨意成全。’”
今天，许多人都在人生的十字路口中挣扎，例如面对下一步的调动、寻找新的工作机会，或公司重组与裁员等情况。在人生的风暴中，一个信徒最重要的，是拥有稳固的根基——那就是确信自己正处在神旨意的中心。要找到这样的稳固根基，我们必须操练一种至关重要、却常常被误解的祷告方式——分别为圣的祷告。
奉献祷告是：
- 为神在你生命中的旨意祷告
- 将自己降服并交托在神的旨意中
- 一种可以持续反复操练的祷告
通过留意耶稣在上述经文中没有祷告的内容，我们可以很清楚地知道祂当时祷告的重点。耶稣并不是在为门徒祷告，也不是为众人祷告，更不是为事工的供应祷告。祂是在寻求父神的旨意——祂将如何面对十字架上的死亡。祂正在为成为世人的赎罪祭而祷告，并向父神寻求是否有其他的道路可以完成这使命。祂并不知道是否有其他可能，所以祂才祷告说：“倘若可行”。
当我们谈到奉献祷告时，指的是为神在我们生命中的旨意而祷告。然而，在这个科技高度发展的时代，许多基督徒越来越缺乏耐心，也逐渐失去了等候神、在重要人生决定中寻求神回应的属灵习惯。他们渴望针对某个决定立即得到明确答案。但在没有刻意寻求神，并且没有寻求敬虔之人劝勉和智慧之前，就做出重大决定，是极其危险且不明智的——这几乎就像在进行一场“俄罗斯轮盘赌”。
相反，我们需要重新建立每日寻求神的习惯，特别是在生命的重要转折点上。虽然人工智能（AI）在许多方面能够提供帮助，但它绝不能取代我们寻求神的过程！我们绝不应该向 AI 寻求人生方向或决定下一步行动，即使是基督教 AI 模型也一样。我们应当寻求神，并将自己的生命分别为圣、完全交托给祂。神才是我们真正应该对话的对象。否则，AI 可能在我们没有察觉的情况下，逐渐取代神和祷告在我们生命中的位置。
默想：当你面对人生选择时，你是否有寻求神的习惯，即使需要等待一段时间？还是你倾向于寻找快捷的方法？圣灵正在如何光照你、提醒你，并带领你悔改？
讲章系列：交托主权，全然顺服