Article April 1, 2019 Issue

Prayer of surrender

John Hemphill

In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ Jesus instructed his followers how to pray in a new way. This revolutionary prayer we know today as the Lord’s Prayer. The first part of the Lord’s Prayer could be called a prayer of affirmation—affirming what God is and how He governs us. The rest of the prayer could be referred to as a prayer of petition, because it includes humble requests to our heavenly Father, the source of infinite blessings.

Near the end of his career, right before his crucifixion, Jesus presented to us another type of prayer. It also started with a humble petition: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” But it ended with these remarkable words: “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). This could be considered a prayer of surrender. Jesus certainly was not surrendering to those who planned to crucify him. He was surrendering to his heavenly Father, God. And he could do this confidently because he understood God as complete goodness and as Love.

Jesus taught us great lessons, but we may find ourselves reluctant to embrace and practice them until we are faced with very difficult challenges. The first time I thought about these lessons was during the 12 months I spent in a combat zone in the northern provinces of South Vietnam.

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