Matthew 26:39 (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.”
In the Scripture above, Jesus was praying about becoming the sin offering for the world. He prayed to the Father to see whether there was any alternative. He did not know whether it was possible, which is why He prayed, “if it is possible”. This is the only prayer we have observed in all of Jesus’ recorded prayers that mentions “if it is possible”. Jesus then prayed, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will”. He was praying about God’s will for His life. Therefore, when we talk about the prayer of consecration, what we mean is praying about God’s will for your life.
Jesus was praying the prayer of consecration, which is essentially a prayer of surrender and dedication, in which we seek God’s will and submit our own desires to His. It is a life lived in a “yoked” relationship with Jesus, where we allow Him to be the stronger partner in our calling. When we pray the prayer of faith to change a situation or receive a promise, we do not say “if”, because we already know God’s will from His Word, but in consecration, we pray “if” because we are seeking to discover God’s blueprint for our future.
Jesus was modelling for us what it means to consecrate our lives by submitting our will to God. It is a complete surrender to God, which means we are not interested in our own opinions or the views of others, except in the will of God for our lives to be revealed by Him. That is the right attitude and posture to adopt when we seek God’s will for our lives.
EM Bounds: “As prayer is the condition of full consecration, so prayer is the habit, the rule, of him who has dedicated himself wholly to God.”
James 4:8 (NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
We must desire to be in God’s presence to seek His face and His will for our lives. It is a spiritual discipline that must be cultivated, and the process cannot be hurried. We long to be in His presence, and we should ask God for wisdom, especially at the crossroads of our lives.
Reflection: How often do you pray the prayer of consecration? How does the way Jesus prayed challenge you to surrender more fully to God’s will?
Sermon Series： Surrendering Your Will to God
藉着交托亲近神
马太福音 26:39 祂就稍往前走，俯伏在地，祷告说：‘我父啊，倘若可行，求祢叫这杯离开我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照祢的意思。’”
在上述经文中，耶稣正在为成为全世界的赎罪祭而祷告。祂向父神祷告，寻求是否有其他的道路。祂不知道是否有可能有别的方式，因此祂祷告说：“倘若可行”。这是我们在所有记录下来的耶稣祷告中，唯一一次祂使用“倘若可行”这样的表达。随后，耶稣继续祷告：“然而，不要照我的意思，只要照祢的意思。”祂所祷告的是神对于祂生命的旨意。因此，当我们谈到分别为圣的祷告时，我们所指的是寻求神对我们生命的旨意，并将自己完全交托给祂。
耶稣所作的是分别为圣祷告，本质上是一种降服与献上的祷告。在这样的祷告中，我们寻求神的旨意，并将自己的意愿降服于祂的旨意之下。这是一种与耶稣“同负一轭”的生命关系，在其中，我们允许祂成为带领我们呼召与道路的那一位，并成为更强的一方。当我们通过信心祷告来改变一个环境或领受神的应许时，我们不会说“如果”，因为我们已经从神的话语中知道祂的旨意。但在分别为圣的祷告中，我们会祷告“如果”，因为我们是在寻求并发现神为我们未来所预备的蓝图。
耶稣正在向我们示范，什么是真正将生命分别为圣给神——就是将自己的意志降服于神。这是一种完全的交托，意味着当我们寻求神对生命的旨意时，我们不再坚持自己的想法，也不被他人的观点左右，而单单渴望神亲自向我们显明祂的旨意。这正是我们寻求神带领时应当拥有的正确态度与属灵姿态。
EM Bounds：“正如祷告是完全分别为圣的条件，祷告也是那已经完全献身于神之人的习惯与生活准则。”
雅各书 4:8 你们亲近神，神就必亲近你们。有罪的人哪，要洁净你们的手；心怀二意的人哪，要清洁你们的心。
我们必须渴慕进入神的同在，寻求祂的面，并寻求祂对我们生命的旨意。这是一项需要不断培养的属灵操练，而这个过程无法被急速完成。我们应当渴望住在祂的同在中，特别是在生命的十字路口，更应当求神赐给我们智慧和引导。
默想：你有多常进行分别为圣祷告？耶稣祷告的方式如何挑战你，更完全地将自己降服于神的旨意之中？
讲章系列：交托主权，全然顺服