“We have nothing under our own control but our wills. Our feelings are controlled by many things . . . but our will is our own. All that lies in our power is the direction of our will. The important question is not what we feel or what we experience, but whether we will whatever God wills. That was the crowning glory of Christ: that His will was set to do the will of His Father” (Hannah Whitall Smith).

I want my prayer to be that I am like Christ in that I want God’s will no matter what. Regardless of what happens to me, I want God’s will to prevail in my life. I can’t control what happens to me but I can control how I respond. I can will what God wills and accept God’s will, even if it is not what I would have chosen.

Jesus chose the will of the Father even to the point of death. Am I willing to do the same? Am I willing to surrender to God’s will even if it costs me everything? That’s where American Christianity is not the same as biblical Christianity — we surrender up to the point where it is no longer safe or comfortable, while Jesus surrendered up to the point of death — and beyond.