We need every bit of help we can get to learn to pray, “Thy will be done,” because we’re going right into the teeth of our culture. 

The essence of American culture is the belief that the more free we are to decide for ourselves, the happier we’ll be. But Jesus Christ says every time you pray to God, you need to say to him, “Thy will be done.” That goes right against probably everything you’ve been taught in our culture.

To understand this phrase, we need to see that when Jesus himself prayed it, he was in the midst of terrible agony. Let’s reflect on 1) the magnitude of that agony, 2) the immediacy of that agony, and then 3) how that helps us understand what it means to pray, “Thy will be done” in a life-transforming way. 

This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 19, 2014. Series: The Prayer of Prayers. Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46.

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