A Prayer for God’s Will 上帝的旨意

[Dexu Xia]

Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22:42

As a young believer in Jesus, I picked up my new devotional Bible and read a familiar Scripture: “Ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). The commentary explained that what we really should be asking God for is our will to line up with His. By seeking for His will to be done, we would be assured that we’d receive what we asked for. That was a new concept for me, and I prayed for God’s will to be done in my life.

Later that same day, I became surprisingly excited about a job opportunity I’d already turned down in my mind, and I was reminded about my prayer. Perhaps what I didn’t think I wanted was actually a part of God’s will for my life. I continued to pray and eventually accepted the job.

In a much more profound and eternally significant moment, Jesus modeled this for us. Before His betrayal and arrest, which led to His crucifixion, He prayed: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ’s prayer was filled with anguish and agony as He faced physical and emotional pain (v. 44). Yet He was still able to “earnestly” pray for God’s will to be done.

God’s will in my life has become my ultimate prayer. This means I may desire things I don’t even know I want or need. The job I originally hadn’t wanted turned out to be the beginning of my journey in Christian publishing. Looking back, I believe God’s will was done.

What prayer request is on your heart? What do you believe God is calling you to do?

Heavenly Father, please guide me to do Your will.

父啊！祢若愿意，求祢将这杯撤去；然而，不是照我的意愿，而是要成全祢的旨意。—路加福音22章42节，和合本修订版

在我信主不久时，我从一本新的灵修圣经读到一节熟悉的经文：“你们祈求，就给你们”（马太福音7章7节）。其注解说：我们真正应该向上帝祈求的，是我们的意愿能符合上帝的心意。藉着寻求上帝的旨意得以完成，我们便能确定得到自己所祈求的。这对我来说是一个新的观念，于是我祈求上帝的旨意能在我的生命中成就。

那一天稍晚时，我突然对一份原本想要拒绝的工作颇感兴趣，这令我回想起先前的祷告。也许我先前不想做的事，其实是上帝对我生命的旨意。我继续祷告，最后接受了这份工作。

这种顺服上帝旨意的祷告，耶稣在一个重大且具永恒意义的时刻，为我们做了最佳示范。耶稣在被出卖、逮捕以致被钉十架之前，如此祷告说：“父啊，祢若愿意，求祢将这杯撤去；然而，不是照我的意愿，而是要成全祢的旨意”（路加福音22章42节，和合本修订版）。当时耶稣面对着身体和心灵的痛苦，祂的祷告也充满了伤痛和煎熬，但祂仍然“恳切”祷告，为的是要成全上帝的旨意（44节）。

上帝的旨意在我生命中成就，已成为我最重要的祈求，这表示慢慢地我所渴望的，会是那些我都不知道自己需要或想要的。就像那份我原本不想做的工作，最后成为我在基督教文字事工的起点。回顾过去，我相信上帝的旨意已经成就。作者：  潘恺兰

你正在为何事祷告？你相信上帝要你去做些什么？

天父，请引导我按祢的旨意而行