The four most difficult words to pray are these: THY WILL BE DONE. Our stubborn wills resist submission. Yet if we are to follow in His steps, those four difficult words must describe our purpose in living.

Consider the circumstances under which Jesus prayed “not my will, but thine, be done.”

Judas had agreed to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. The illegal and unjust trial lay just ahead of Him and beyond that the cross with its pain and shame. Nevertheless, His will was submitted to His Father’s.

We do not know what tomorrow holds. Dark clouds may be gathering on the horizon and a storm of trouble may threaten. We have but one thought — deliverance from difficulties. Still, none face such misery as He faced when He prayed in submission to the Father’s will.

While submission comes hard for most, it helps to remember that our Heavenly Father loves us. We are not surrendering to a tyrant bent on our destruction when we pray “Thy will be done.” This is a case of giving one’s self over to the One who always does right and who loves us with an everlasting love.

Submission to God’s will does not guarantee an easy road in the immediate future. But it does promise a blessed eternity. Rewards await those who stop trying to save their lives and dare to risk everything with Jesus. Then we will rejoice in the blessings that will be ours from having earnestly prayed, “THY WILL BE DONE!”