November 22

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?” John 12:27

The prayers of our Lord were always perfect prayers. Entering Jerusalem and facing the cross, he stopped to ask himself the questions, “What shall I say?” Jesus had no fear of death; yet at the same time he had his own feelings. He turned the matter over carefully and thought, “Shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No!” He could not pray that prayer, for he knew for what purpose he had arrived at that hour. So he prayed, “Father, glorify Thy name!” That prayer was answered immediately.

If our Lord, as Man on the earth and possessing the key to prayer, had in this deliberate way to set aside his own will and seek the will of God, how dare we, on the impulse of the moment, open our lips to utter words at random in our prayers to God? Let us ask ourselves, “What shall I say?” and then let us answer that question in terms consistent with the answer of Jesus. So shall we prove and experience the perfect will of God.