THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever prayed for something and God said no?
READ TOGETHER.
Matthew 26:36-42. 36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”
This is the night that Jesus will be arrested. The night before his crucifixion. But Jesus doesn’t run away. He runs to his Heavenly Father in prayer. Jesus will spend the whole night praying to God in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We know that Jesus prayed…a lot. But there are not very many of Jesus’ actual prayers recorded in the Bible. We read one of them yesterday from John 17. Today we get to read the other one that is recorded for us – “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
What is Jesus praying for here? He says, let this cup pass from me. But what does that mean?
In the Bible the “cup” is the wrath of God, his anger over sin. The Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah talked about how Israel and all the nations would have to drink from the cup of God’s wrath. They would have to be punished for all of their wickedness. But Jesus came to take our punishment for us. That’s why he will die on the cross. That’s why he will let himself be crucified. But what we see in Jesus’ prayers in the garden is that this was far from easy for Jesus. In fact, he asks God to take the “cup” away – let this cup pass from me. Jesus isn’t afraid to die, he’s afraid to face the anger of his Father. That’s something that has never, ever happened before. Jesus the Son has never been separated from the Father, but he will be on the cross.
Praise God that Jesus was able to pray this prayer too that night – My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. Jesus would obey the Father’s will. He courageously went to the cross for us, even though it was the most terrifying things he had ever done. He faced his fear for you and for me. He took the anger of God that we deserve for our sins, not his own. He had no sin of his own.
Jesus’ prayer didn’t change God’s mind, but it did change Jesus’ mind. That’s what prayer does, it gets our heart and our mind to line of up with what God wants – trust in him and love for others.
Because of Jesus we never have to face the wrath of God.
With Jesus we can pray for God’s will, not our own.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
As you pray together, talk about the things that you pray for. How can you pray for what God wants and not just for what you want?
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, there are thing I wish you would take away, but not my will but yours be done. Amen.
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