Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want. — Matthew 26:39
There has been a lot written and preached about the above prayer. An easy reading of the above would be that even Jesus had hoped for a different outcome for his future, but accepted God’s will and mission for him.
But perhaps even at the end Jesus was still teaching. Teaching us all that’s its okay to pray for a different future, a different outcome, or a different diagnosis, but a lot of the time what we dread the most is exactly what we need and is the plan God has for us.
It’s been suggested that sometimes that if we pray over and over for something to happen, then the opposite is exactly where we meant to go. For example, if we pray over and over not to be relocated to Boston in the dead of winter, then that’s exactly where we are supposed to go, although its hard to believe God would want anyone to stay in cold Boston forever.
God’s answer to our prayers is often contained in our prayer itself. If only we listen.
Leave a Reply +