How do you pray when you’re afraid that your will is not God’s will?
I find that knowing how to pray is difficult when I want something badly, but am afraid it is not what God wants or is going to make happen. Fortunately, we can look to the most divine example we will ever find: Jesus praying when He knew He was about to be betrayed and sent to a gruesome death He wished to avoid.
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told
the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
Taking along Peter and the two sons
of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Then He said to them, "My soul is swallowed up in sorrow--to
the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with Me."
Going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, "My Father!
If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will."
Matthew 26: 36-39
The word “cup” here represents Jesus’ upcoming lot or experience. God the Son was “deeply distressed” over the plan of God the Father for Him. Let that sink in. God in the flesh was “swallowed up in sorrow--to the point of death”, to the point of falling down to pray. As much as I hate envisioning Jesus feeling this depth of sorrow, there is something oddly encouraging about it too. It makes me feel not as alone in my own struggle. If Jesus struggled, why would I not expect to occasionally do so as well--whether I’m struggling with God’s plan or just what He allows?
As I look at Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer, I find 5 examples to follow regarding how to pray when I’m afraid my will and God’s are not the same:
Go to the Father and not away from Him.
Jesus’ words in the verses immediately prior to His Gethsemane prayer revealed He was well aware He was about to die and that it was God’s plan. But instead of running away or trying to ignore God, He took all His concerns straight to God in prayer. What a great example for us!
Seek prayer support from others.
Although His disciples fell asleep on the job, Jesus did ask them to pray with Him. He even checked on them and asked them to pray for Him a second time. Surely you and I need the prayer support of others more than Jesus did. It can be humbling to ask for prayer, but it offers much needed accountability and support.
Express my honest emotions to the Father.
Jesus’ emotions are painfully evident in verse 39, “He fell face down and prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” Never once does the Father criticize the Son for expressing His honest emotions. Scripture actually tells us to do so. Psalm 62:8 goes so far as to say, “pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Seek God’s will more than my own.
“Let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will." It is so hard for us to look beyond our immediate struggles and perceived ramifications, but Jesus did so because He trusted the character of God the Father and therefore trusted His endgame. To trust God, we must know and focus on who He is. To help me do this, I am making it a habit of looking for the character of God in my daily Bible reading. I mark in the same particular way every passage that speaks about His character and then finish with some focused praying, thanking God for that particular trait.
Pray persistently.
If you read the verses following Matthew 26:39, you’ll see that Jesus repeats His request to God two more times. While Scripture does tell us to pray persistently, I sometimes feel a request so passionately that all I can seem to do is repeat it. And sometimes it is in the midst of praying a request so many times that God eventually changes my heart and prayer. I prayed for relief from chronic pain for quite some time before it struck me that God might have some valuable lessons that I could best learn in the midst of that pain. My desperation for God’s help had driven me closer to Him, and that led to my becoming more concerned about learning what He might have for me to learn than I was for relief.
I am deeply grateful that Scripture includes Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. It lets me know that God is not deeply disappointed in me for sometimes struggling with His will and it gives me a powerful example to follow. And…on this side of Jesus’ prayer, it is easy to see that God the Father’s will truly is best. After all, the resurrection and eternal life that is ours to embrace comes only because God did not let Jesus’ cup pass.
Meet the Author!
Bible teacher, author, inspirational speaker and disciple-maker, Vickey Banks is passionate about helping women connect the dots between God’s Word and their everyday lives. She loves serving as Women’s Ministry Director at Council Road, celebrating her people, playing with her puppy and getting lost in a good story.