Yet Not My Will

The events at Gethsemane occurred on the night before the crucifixion of Jesus when He was betrayed. Jesus was under severe pressure in the Garden of Gethsemane, while he struggled in prayer - releasing his burden to the God's will: "if possible, let this cup pass... yet not my will, but Thine be done." From Matthew 26:36-44.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watched with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 

In the beginning of the prayer, Jesus falls face to the ground. This posture - the prostration - is an act of submissiveness and worship. It is common to major world religions - Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism... It is a gesture that is repeated by any religious institutions in order to express in prayer, and also in a bodily way, the complete entrustment of oneself to God, and reliance on Him. It is the prayer posture that expresses obedience to higher will - a total, trusting abandonment to Him. In our prayer, we too must be capable of bringing before God our struggles, the suffering of certain situations, of certain days, the daily undertaking of following him, and also the weight of evil that we see within ourselves and around us, so that He may give us hope, that He may make us feel His closeness and give us a little light on the path of our life.