So if we pray, "Thy wil be done," how can we deal with the fear of giving up control?

Part of the answer is to pause and let your soul be impressed by the truth that God is sovereign. That is, He is wise, powerful, and loving.  God loves you in dimensions beyond your imagination (Ephesians 3:14-19)! God is so powerful that He is "able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or imagine". And God's "understanding has no limit" (Psalm 147:5).

Surrender to His sovereignty and pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Praying "Thy will be done" is like taking your hands off the steering will of your life and letting God drive. Most of us are control freaks and we like to keep God in a neat little corner called Sunday morning where He cannot do too much damage to our nice, comfortable lives. Prayer is an obvious threat to that control so why would anyone pray something like, "Thy will be done"?

Consider, though, that Jesus struggled with the same issue. He looked at the anguish of the cross and couldn't help but pray, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup (cross) pass from me." The physical torment and the spiritual anguish of encduring the penalty for our sins was enough for Jesus to ask if there was a Plan B. He could have failed right there and seized control of His life. But He "trusted himself to Him who judges justly" and gave up the wheel to his Father. Without the moment of trusting surrender to the Father's will ("yet not my will be your will be done") we would be toast.

The picture below is, according to the BBC, the likely Garden of Gethsemane. What drama unfolded here!

Next time -- how do we deal with the fear that this prayer creates in us?

Tim Keller wrote:"Here's the gospel: you're more sinful than you ever dared believe; you're more loved than you ever dared hope." (Thanks Treich for that one!)

"Jesus isn't just the Savior of my soul. He's also the Savior of my prayers." (Paul Miller, A Praying Life, 135.)

This is how Miller explains what it means to pray in Jesus' name. He imagines a prayer that is like a ragged beggar reeking with alcohol and body odor and stumbling toward the palace of a great king. The begger says to the guards, "I want to see the king." Finally, when one final word is uttered -- Jesus -- everything changes. Suddenly, at the name of Jesus the prayer gains access directly to the great king. So when we ask in Jesus' name, Jesus gives us access. He is the "Savior of my prayers."

The reason Jesus' name gives us access is explained in Hebrews 4:15. Jesus is our "great high priest" (a priest is an intermediary between God and people). As our priest, Jesus "has been tempted in every way--just as we are, yet was without sin." The invitation is then given to boldly come to God in prayer through Jesus our great high priest. Hebrews 4:16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Take it to the Lord in prayer.