One English translation of the Bible says that in the days of His flesh, Jesus "offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety" (Heb 5:7). "Because of his piety" doesn't convey a great deal.I am grateful to Derek Prince for pointing out something that I had not noticed. That phrase in the New International Version of the Bible is translated "because of his reverent submission."
Picture Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what was going to happen the following day. Did He want to be crucified? He did not. He prayed if it were possible for that ordeal to be taken from Him. But then He prayed "Nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done." Reverent submission means that if my will and God's will conflict, God's will takes precedence.
Jesus didn't have to go to the cross. He told Peter "Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels?" But He was submitted to His Father's will.
His disciples would not have understood at that time. They would have expected deliverance for Jesus, not death. Sometimes God fails to answer our prayer because He has something better.
So it was here. God ignored the first part of Christ's prayer in the garden because He had something better. He was prepared to sacrifice His Son so that He could have millions more sons and daughters in His family. And Jesus was willing to be sacrificed.
He died that I might live. What sort of love is that?
