One of the hardest things for me is letting go of my will. To be a Christ follower, we know that part of being his disciple is following Christ wherever he leads us. Having our own way and our own plan often gets in the way. I’ve had different plans for my life and each time it contradicted God’s plan for me, it created great turmoil in my soul. I often fight against his will and think I know a better way but Paul tells us in Romans that “all things work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Our Father knows what is good for us and ensures that all things will happen for our good.

Jesus has paved the way for teaching us how to let go. The bible said that Jesus is not unfamiliar with the temptations and struggles we face in this life. In the garden of Gethsemane, we can see Jesus’s humanity as he struggled with the sacrifice he was about to make. Jesus had gone into the garden with the intention of praying because his ”soul was sorrowful, even to death.” (Mark 14:34) He prayed three times for God to take the cup of suffering from him and each time he said, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” He was so grieved and distraught that he began to sweat drops of blood. He knew the plan of redemption was the only way, yet the road to Calvary was a burden so heavy that he had to cry out to the Father. He wasn’t going to stop the plan, he needed strength from his Father to carry it out. And for our sakes, he submitted to the will of his Father.

Jesus shows us the process of letting go and trusting the Father. It’s not an easy thing to do, it certainly wasn’t easy for our Lord but it was necessary for if he had not done his Father’s will, we would not have salvation from our sins. I think that the main thing we can learn from his time in the garden is the importance of prayer. When we are struggling with letting go of our own will, it is essential that we are in prayer. He said to his sleeping disciples “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:37) We need to be watchful and on guard against temptation. We need to pray. We must pray.

Jesus in his sorrow, fell on his face in prayer. I believe that we need to fall on our face before God and tell him how weak our flesh is. We need to tell him that we are struggling to let go of our own will. And in all things, we need to be submissive to the Father’s will.

The last thing I think is significant about Jesus’ time in prayer is that it strengthened him. He entered the garden sorrowful but exited determined to carry his cup of suffering. Praying gave him strength to then go willingly with the soldiers who had come to arrest him.

And prayer strengthen’s us to let go of our plans and follow him.