Scary Prayers – Part 2

In part 1 of Scary Prayers I shared what Jesus taught His disciples about how to pray and why that is hard.  There is one other prayer that Jesus shares with us that I think qualifies as a scary prayer.

This one in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Matt 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46)   Jesus often used the name Abba (father in Aramaic) when He spoke to God.  I love that He modeled an intimate close relationship with God as a fatherly one.  One that shows God desires to be near. 

Here we see Jesus in the garden.  Now just hours before His crucifixion. Jesus knows the time has come for Him to lay His life down.  What does He do?  He goes to pray just like He had so many times before.  He goes to a place that He had gone often to meet with His Father.  In this difficult moment Jesus chooses to spend time with His father.

This prayer is hard for me to understand and more so to model my prayers after.  Several times in this passage Jesus prays to His father.  He prays, checks on the disciples, prays again, checks on the disciples again, prays more and then prepares Himself to be arrested.  But as He prays, He’s humble, not praying as an angry child might in this situation, spewing hate.  But rather humbled, like a child.  He begins with Abba, coming to His father as a child.

Then He continues, “if you are willing take this cup from me”.  The cup is a symbol of deep sorrow and suffering.  This part of the prayer I can understand.  I come as a child, asking my father to take away my pain or struggle.  To set me free from the hard things I am going through or know are coming soon.  I get it.  I hate hard things.  I don’t like pain.  I don’t like struggle. Seeing the cross in His near future, I see Jesus’ humanity so clear here.  This was going to be a terrible death.  One meant to create suffering that lasts for a long time.  Just the physical pain with this type death is hard to fathom but the emotional turmoil would be worse.  Being the sin offering for the world heavy on His shoulders, would be far more painful than the nails. 

Pain and suffering were real and very close. That’s why the next part of the prayer is so hard.  Jesus next words were “yet, not as I will but as you will”.  Jesus knew what was coming.  He knew that it would be excruciating but rather than demand that His Father remove the pain, Jesus surrendered His will to His Father’s plan.  Friends, this is so amazing.  He chose the cross because He trusted that God’s plan was the best way.  He chose to lay down His life so that I might live!  Matthew 26:53-54 says “Do you not think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then would scripture be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” Jesus knew and He chose to let it be God’s way.  Even through the pain.

This is where I struggle.  I love thinking of God has my Abba.  Being loved like a child.  I love knowing I can bring hard things to Him and it’s ok.  What I struggle with is, when the answer I’m given doesn’t remove the hard stuff I am going through.  God gives us an opportunity to respond how we want.  We can get angry.  We can doubt His goodness. We can behave like there is no God because I don’t like the circumstances.  But in all that, God is good to us, extending mercy and love, calling us into relationship that trusts Him.  A better way to respond is, like Jesus, – not my will but yours God. 

We can trust God that even with scary prayers, He is good. What Jesus knew was His pain and suffering was not to be wasted. It wouldn’t be lost.  Christ’s death was so that we can live – abundantly!  Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Father.”  The ultimate response in hard seasons is “not my will but yours Abba”.  Although it’s scary because we will still have to walk through pain and struggles, we can know that God works everything out for good. (Philippians 2:13). He is trustworthy. 

So today, I take a deep breath.  I know hard times are here and there will be more to come.  But with a resolute faith I choose, like Jesus, to ask to have the pain removed but surrender to God’s will even when it means I will go through the hard things.  I trust that He is there through the whole thing and He will continue to be a good Father even when it hurts.