When We Pray: Unanswered | Part 4

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

Here's something crazy.

Um, last night I was working with my daughter.

My daughter was working all day long and for weeks, and we hit send on her very first college application.

How is that possible?

Oh my goodness, I'm like nervous.

I'm just as nervous for her.

Like she got sent in for the early, you know, um admissions for her top school and uh working through all that.

It's like mind-blowing.

I'm like going, how is this even?

I have a senior in high school, she's 18, she just applied to college.

What is going on with my life, right?

And and for those, you know, who you're in my stage or even further, it doesn't it just feel like a blink?

Like just yesterday, they were a baby.

Just yesterday I was holding her in my arms.

And what's fascinating, what's interesting, is to look back 18 years ago, uh, when my daughter was six months old, um, she had, we didn't know it at the time, but she had an intestinal disease.

She was incredibly uncomfortable, in constant pain.

Like you just see this little being, six months old, can't communicate, the only thing you can do is cry, and we're trying to figure out what's wrong with this little baby that got all of our hearts.

And I mean, we're going to doctors and then specialists, and over a few months they finally get the diagnosis and they say she has this disease and she's gonna need surgery.

And you can only imagine, as brand new parents, like, wait, you're telling me you're going to have to put my six-month-old under and cut her open and cut out parts of her, like, oh my gosh.

I mean, we had our entire church at the time praying, and um she was scheduled for a Monday, um, a Monday surgery, and our entire church were fasting and praying, and and like God showed up.

I mean, I this is like one of those moments where you're going, like, whoa, God showed up.

And I'll spare you the details, and partly because I don't want to embarrass my daughter either.

It's her story to tell, but like, God showed up.

We called the doctor and like, hey, this happened.

Is what do you think about Delaney?

Do you think and they're like, absolutely, he healed our daughter 18 years ago, like miraculously.

Isn't it amazing?

Like, God does those things still today.

When my daughter was five, uh, my wife and her uh saw a pastor that's down south, that they just saw that their daughter um was diagnosed with um kidney cancer.

And both my daughter and my wife, and then it's soon our entire family, we just started to pray with this pastor's family for their daughter, Daisy, who for three and a half years battled cancer, had a whole community praying for them, who like did all of the best procedures, and yet three and a half years she lost her fight and she went home to be with Jesus.

We're both pastors, both daughters, in fact, our daughters of the same age.

Why is it that it seems like God heals sometimes, but not all the times.

You know, this past summer, my son and I, actually, our whole family was in Mexico with our high school mission to Mexico trip, and my son was out with a group and they're ministering in um the uh the towns, and and as they were doing this, this lady had a hand that was shriveled up and just unusable.

And so they pray for her and nothing happens.

They pray again, and miraculously God heals her hand.

And she's what a hand that she wasn't able to use.

Now she's able to pick things up, and like my son sees God heal.

And then there's a family in our community, some of our best friends that we have been praying for six years for God to heal.

And she underwent brain surgery a year and a half ago and still didn't see the healing through that, and then it even got worse.

She just had surgery a week ago and found a tumor.

Why does God heal seem to answer prayer some of the time?

But not all the time.

Why did God choose to heal my daughter then, but not Daisy?

That lady's shriveled hand, and then my friend.

Why does it seem like it's just getting worse?

Today we're actually going to dive into the deep waters of unanswered prayers, knowing that as we step into this room, we all in some way have deep longings and places where we have just longed for God to speak, long for God to move, and yet it just felt silent.

And I want to navigate as best and as wisely as I can, and I also acknowledge this is a big subject.

This isn't a sermon, this is a series.

And so we're not going to try to cover all of it.

And I want to resource you.

I've been reading this book for the last several weeks.

It's called God on Mute by Peter Gregg.

Um, it's a great book, engaging the silence of unanswered prayer and talking about his journey.

He's uh a charismatic Anglican in England who led this 24-7 prayer movement, global international movement, and seeing God heal, and then at the same time, his wife had a brain tumor, and then after the surgery, he has debilitating seizures and seeing God not heal in that circumstance.

And just a powerful, incredible resource.

And so, if you're in the season of those deep waters, I hope today brings some clarity and some encouragement, but I also encourage you to dive deeper.

You know, last week Ashley talked about intercessory prayer, and she did a great job, didn't she?

Uh, and it was so good.

And she read a passage that I think is a problem passage when it comes to like uh unanswered prayer.

Uh she read, well, she took the John 15, but I'll go all the way back.

John 14, 13 through 14.

She says, and this is what Jesus is saying the night he is betrayed, before he's about to be crucified, his final words to his disciples, and he's encouraging them, strengthening them, equipping them for what's ahead.

And he says, This, and I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I'll do it.

And isn't that the tension of our soul?

Is you're like, okay, Ryan, I get like we've talked about in his name, like that's in the line with the character and the will of God, in the line of his character and name, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't it seem like the healing of this incredibly young girl would have been in his character and name?

Like I've been praying for healing from my marriage and I haven't seen it yet.

Maybe you were a kid and you were praying that your parents would get back together.

And you prayed every night that somehow God would restore, and he didn't do it.

Like we get stuck in this world of these promises, these passages.

That what how incredible that Jesus actually says that when you pray, it affects change and God actually moves on our behalf, and you're like, yeah, but why is it just some of the time?

We have the stories and we've seen it.

And for many, you probably have experienced a tangible answer to prayer, but why is it some of the time not all of the time?

In our time together, I want to just ask a couple questions and then leave us with Jesus' unanswered prayer.

A couple questions.

The first one is why some prayers go unanswered.

The second question is, how do we live in the tension of unanswered prayers?

And then we're gonna conclude with actually Jesus himself had an unanswered prayer and how it forms us in our daily lives today.

Well, why are some prayers uh go unanswered?

Now, I want to give us a framework, and actually, Peter Gregg actually gives 15 different reasons for unanswered prayers, and we're not gonna go into all of those.

And and I don't, I'm not talking about just stupid prayers, right?

You know stupid prayers?

I'm a Cowboys fan, so I'm used to stupid prayers, right?

But stupid prayers are like when you're praying for your sports team to win.

I don't think God cares.

Or contradictory prayers.

Did you notice that um Dave, our new exp, he's from Philly.

That means he's an Eagles fan.

The Cowboys and the Eagles play tonight.

We will have contradictory prayers in the same room as we watch, and we're gonna see who God listens to more.

I'm just kidding.

Just kidding.

But why?

So we're not talking about those kinds of prayers, which we can kind of step back and understand.

But why some prayers, why do they go unanswered?

Why do some prayers go unanswered?

And these are more, I want to just go over some conditions of our heart that actually create barriers or roadblocks in our prayer.

The first is simply this, and it's so obvious, but it's it's really true, is we simply don't pray.

We worry, we worry a lot about it, don't we?

We uh we we anxiously hope.

I wish.

We talk a lot about it.

We tell everyone about it, but we don't pray.

Jesus said in Matthew 7, 7, ask and it'll be given.

Seek and you'll find.

Search.

You know, we just gotta celebrate Dave joining our team.

As a staff, we prayed for a year and a half and we fasted every Thursday.

So when we see him up on stage, like like there's literal jubilation in our hearts because like he's an answer to our prayer.

But we prayed and we prayed, and like Ashley said last um week we prayed persistently.

First question: why some prayers go unanswered is have I really prayed?

I mean, have you really brought it before the Lord?

Have you really come before?

Have you sought him?

Have you said, no, no, no, I'm setting my face towards you, and I'm gonna cling to you, and I'm gonna search after you, and I'm gonna call upon you.

Have you really prayed?

The second reason some prayers go unanswered is we have unconfessed sin.

Psalm 68, 18 says, If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

He wouldn't hear me.

If I'd cherished sin in my heart, if I live in a way that is contrary to the wills and the way of Jesus, if I have habitual, consistent sin, we're not talking about perfection here.

We're talking, though, about being honest and confessing and repentant.

1 John 1 9 says, if you've confessed your sin, he is faithful and just and will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 Peter 3 11 says, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.

He's quoting a psalm here, and his ears are attentive to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Now, if you read the context of 1 Peter 3, men, in particular husbands, listen up because Peter addresses husbands and says, Husbands, if you do not honor your spouse, God will not hear you.

Mm-hmm.

That should have been like amazing amen by like a number of you ladies in here, by the way.

Like there's a way that when you treat another human being, there's a way when you treat your spouse that it actually breaks connection and creates a barrier in your prayer life.

See, first reason some prayers go unanswered is because we simply don't pray.

The others is we harbor sin in our life.

We have unconfessed sin where we need to come before he's eager, eager to cleanse us.

Third is we come with the wrong motives.

We come with the wrong motives.

James, the brother of Jesus, writes this you do not have because you do not ask God.

And then when you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.

Come with the wrong motives.

It goes something like this God, if you give me this job, then I will bring you so much glory in it.

God, if if I if I close this deal, I'll be able to give so much more to you.

And we have this.

Here's the honest, let's just be honest.

None of us pray with a hundred percent pure motives.

So, for example, this morning, as I'm preparing, one of my prayers is God, would you speak powerfully through me?

That your word uh would bring life and hope and shape those who hear it.

Now, at the same time, there is a motive inside me that I have to be honest about that, yes, I long for God to speak through me, but I also at the very same time long for him to speak through me so that you think well of me.

Isn't it amazing how we can pray very spiritual prayers and yet still have this tension of motive?

See, if unconfessed sin, you ask the question, is there anything in me that's not of you?

With our motives, you simply begin to ask, Do I have any anything in me?

Like, is there any motive that's not of you?

Where's the mixture?

Let's just be honest, most of our prayers have it.

That's okay.

Here's what you do with it.

You go, God, and this is what I did this morning.

This is a really deep water subject, and I long for you to speak.

And at the same time, I acknowledge myself and my brokenness and my proclivity that I want people to think well of me, and I just use proclivity as a big word to impress you that I know words.

Hello, sinful, human.

Right?

And you acknowledge that motive and you bring it before your heavenly father.

Have I honestly evaluated my motives?

We just don't pray, we have unconfessed sin, we come with the wrong motives.

The final one will kind of shock you a little bit.

We fail to practice generosity and justice.

You find this throughout the Old Testament, specifically Proverbs, Psalms, prophets.

You see it in the life of Jesus.

Proverbs 21, 13 says this whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

Jesus would give us the great commandments.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And the second is like it.

That and is a conjunction in which it is in the tense that we'd say um the second cannot be taken from it.

It is it is intricately linked.

Like you cannot love God and not do the second.

And we think we can.

The second is and love your neighbor as yourself.

My vertical love and relationship with God always expresses and love to his people and to the world around me.

When we fail to do justice, to love mercy, to be generous, when we think that all that we have is just ours for our own sake, instead of all that we have has been given by God.

We're simply a steward, and so my time, my talent, my treasure, all that I have is yours, and you place me on this planet, you place me in Silicon Valley for such a time as this.

You've equipped me, and so I am going to unleash generosity because you've been so generous to me.

And the heart of the Father is to bring about justice, to restore those who are broken and hurting with no voice and no hope.

And so, why do some of our prayers go unanswered?

We just don't pray.

We have unconfessed sin.

We come with the wrong motives, or we fail to practice generosity.

Now the reality is those first two stories, those prayers were unanswered.

They prayed, we prayed, they confessed their sin, we confessed our sin.

They evaluated motives and living generous, just lives.

And so the reality is, is how do we live in the tension of unanswered prayers this side of eternity?

And what I want to do is just real briefly outline some theological ideas and hopefully whet your appetite to go deeper because we don't have time to dive into the depths of these waters.

But I hope to just like get you like your toe in it just a little bit, you know, so that you go like, oh, there is there is more.

There's more than what I've thought there was.

And so I want to talk about three theologies we need to embrace in the tension of unanswered prayers.

The first theology is a theology of pain and suffering.

Church in America, we need a theology of pain and suffering.

And we've adopted bad theology.

Bad theology will corrupt you and kill you.

The American theology around pain and suffering is if I follow Jesus, my life will work out right.

That is not true.

The belief is God exists to meet my needs and make me happy.

God exists for his own glory, not yours, by the way.

Pain, hardship, and suffering means that God has failed me.

And so this produces a fragile faith that cannot withstand the storms of life.

That is the theology that we have adopted in American Christianity.

That if my life is not working out right, God has somehow failed me.

And yet, no other world religion has a better explanation of the problem of pain and suffering than Christianity.

And No other world religion has a God who suffered as well.

And we worship the suffering servant who came and suffered on our behalf.

Well, the theology of pain and suffering, we're not going to go real deep into this, but let me just give you uh one uh little kind of banner, if you will.

First, we live in a fallen world.

Can you just write that down?

We live in a fallen world.

I want you to jot next to it, Genesis chapter three.

Genesis one, it begins with God's creation.

And he says, after each time of acts of creation, it was good.

Then we created humankind.

He said it was very good.

Genesis 2, we see just the intricacies of God's uh creative work.

And then Genesis 3, he created humanity with free will to be able to choose him or not to choose him.

That's what all love and relationship requires is the ability to choose.

Humanity, Adam and Eve said, My will be done.

I want that and not you.

And we now live in the fall.

We live in a world that was not the way God designed it to be.

It's broken.

In fact, if you got your Bible, slip over to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Um, and by the way, we have some of these trite sayings in Christianity because we rip them out of their context.

And when we rip them out of their context, they're trite instead of being these truths of God's word.

The trite saying that we pull out of it is uh Romans 8, 28, and God works all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purposes.

And people say, and God works all things together, and people say it, and it becomes it's cliché, but it's cliché because it's pulled out of its context.

Let's get to the context.

I consider verse 18, 8.

I consider that our present sufferings.

So Paul is undergoing present suffering.

He is writing a letter to the church in Rome who is undergoing present suffering.

They're in the will of God and they are suffering.

Those aren't contradictory, are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed, for the creation was subject to frustration.

Why?

Back in the garden when humanity chose their own way, creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it.

Us.

In hope that the creation itself will be liberated from the bondage to decay and brought into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up into this present time.

And even in the midst of a fallen, broken world where this does not work the way God designed it to be, God's still actively working and orchestrating and saying, even in the midst of evil, and in the midst of injustice, I will work for your ultimate good.

And that's the reason Paul could say, I consider this present suffering not worth comparing to what's awaiting us.

Because what's awaiting you is worth whatever you're going through.

But we have to understand, in this life, someone once said famously, you will have, thank you, four of you.

Isn't that funny?

That's the promise of Jesus we don't quote a lot.

Like we're banking on all these other promises.

Jesus promised it.

In this life, you will have trouble.

Life is hard.

In fact, think about this.

In the Lord's Prayer, notice what Jesus prayed.

You ever thought about it?

The reality?

Where is God's perfect will done presently?

In heaven.

Where is God's will done imperfectly, brokenly, inconsistently?

On earth.

And so much of what we see and experience is the result of a fallen, broken world.

We got to have a theology of pain and suffering.

One last thing.

Flip over to Colossians chapter three.

Like I said, I just want to give you hookholds.

Colossians chapter three.

This is interesting.

As um 10 through 11.

I think I wrote down the wrong.

It's Philippians 3, guys.

Philippians 3, 10 through 10.

I wrote down the wrong.

I was like, that doesn't look right.

Notice Paul's prayer here and how different it is than ours.

I want to know Christ.

Yes.

To know the power of his resurrection.

And there ain't nobody in here that ain't gonna say amen to that.

Absolutely.

The next phrase we could live without.

Let's just drop it.

Let's stop there.

And participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

I want to know the power of the resurrection and participation in his suffering.

Because if I'm going to follow in the ways of Jesus, I follow a suffering servant.

A theology of pain and suffering.

The second theology that we need is the theology of the character of God.

I think three fundamental questions come up, and we we did a series called Broken God that I want to point you back to on this, but three big questions in unanswered prayer.

First, is God good?

Is God great?

And does God care?

Those are the three existential questions that we begin to wrestle with.

Is God really good in the midst of a broken world where bad things happen to good people?

Is God great?

Like, is he big enough to be able to solve the problem, to answer and to show up?

And does he care enough?

Am I even on his radar?

There's three core characteristics of God.

And actually, under a theology of pain, if I could give you a little book on that one, it would be C.S.

Lewis's uh The Problem with Pain.

The problem of pain.

It's a little book, it's not too intimidating, but an excellent book there.

Under a theology of the character of God, a little sin book, A.

W.

Tozer's Knowledge of the Holy.

The wisdom of God, the sovereignty of God, and the goodness of God.

The wisdom of God, Tozer says, all of God's acts are done in perfect wisdom.

First for his own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time.

All of God's acts are done in perfect wisdom.

First for his own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time.

In fact, my dad's sermon on the wisdom of God this last year during that series, uh Broken God, one of the best sermons I think I've heard all year.

Go back and listen to it.

Powerful as we begin to zoom out, because we begin to filter everything and filter God through our own personal realities and feelings instead of zooming out of like, no, you're God.

And you're actively at work and you are sovereign and you're moving in this space and time.

And by the way, your wisdom and the way you see all things possible and actual and how you're working, I gotta say, your ways are not my ways, and your thoughts are not my thoughts, and I don't understand it.

And there are some things I just won't understand this side of heaven.

Peter Gregg in his book Uh God on Mute says this says, When we are scared and hurting, when life feels chaotic and out of control, it is more important than ever to anchor ourselves in the absolute eternal truths that we are dearly loved and deeply held by the most powerful being in the universe.

Let this be the great non-negotiable in our lives, the platform for all our other thoughts, and the plumb line for our prayers.

How do we live in the tension of unanswered prayers?

First, we have to develop a theology of suffering and pain.

And then we have to get rooted in a theology of the character of God.

Who is God really?

Not who we think he is, but who has he revealed himself to be?

And finally, a theology of salvation and sanctification.

Theology of salvation and sanctification.

Tim Keller writes this the gospel is this.

You ready for the gospel?

Gospel means good news.

Good news number one.

We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dare believe.

Welcome to church.

You are more broken than you ever thought you were.

Yet at the same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

See, I think we have so in American Christianity belittled salvation to something that happens when you die, that it's like this, you know, little ticket that goes to heaven.

Instead, the reality that it took God stepping into humanity, the incarnation, taking on flesh, being beaten and hung on a cross, that he would go to that extent and length because he so loves you and wants to bring you back into his family.

That he is the God who leaves the 99 for the one, and you and I are the one.

Salvation, God's rescuing, redeeming work of bringing humanity back into relationship, back into right relationship, back into the garden in relationship with him.

Sanctification is the process by which God works in our lives to help us become more like Jesus.

It's the process of life.

In fact, in Romans chapter 5, you get both of these salvation and sanctification.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

If you got your Bible, slip over to Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Notice this.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We've been justified.

That word means just as if I'd never sinned.

Justified.

It's a fun way to remember it.

Just as if I'd never sinned.

It's your right standing with God.

No matter what you walked in with, when you receive Jesus as your Savior, your standing with God is justified.

Just as if you had never sinned.

When God sees you, he sees Jesus.

He says, therefore, since we've been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we've gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Amen.

Okay, let's read the next line.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings.

Ooh.

I don't like that part, Paul.

That's not very American.

We don't do suffering here.

We ignore it.

We push it down.

Oh, why?

Because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us.

God will not waste your pain.

He is not the cause of your pain, but he will not in his sovereignty waste your pain, and he will allow it and work through it to help shape you more into his likeness.

James 1, 3 says, Consider it all joy, or reckon it joy when you face trials of many kinds.

Why?

Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work so that you'll become mature and complete, not lacking anything.

C.S.

Lewis.

He said, I'm not sure, he wrote, that God wants us to be happy.

I think he wants us to love and be loved.

But we are like children thinking our toys will make us happy and the whole world is our nursery.

Something must drive us out of that nursery into the lives of others.

And that something is suffering.

How do we begin to live in the tension of unanswered prayers?

Friends, one of the things that's been so devastating for us as Western followers of Jesus is we've adopted a health and wealth prosperity gospel that says if you experience suffering, then something's wrong with either you or your God.

We have to develop a theology of pain and suffering, the character of God, and then fundamentally get back to the reality of the resurrection.

Think about this.

He goes on and says, you see at just the right time when we were still powerless.

This is your salvation.

When you were powerless to change anything, you had no ability to do anything.

Christ died for the ungodly.

It's only until you admit it that you need know you need it.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this.

While we're still sinners, while we're still enemies, while we're still far from him, while we wanted nothing to do with him, while we thought we knew better, while we said, no, thank you, God.

He said, I'm still gonna come for you and I'm gonna offer it to you, whether you want it or not, is yours to receive it.

If you want to receive it, that's wonderful.

I'll never force my way upon you ever, but I'll at least do the work and pave the way.

So in case you might come to your senses, I say, Here it is.

That's the salvation, that's gospel, that's new life.

And the pathway.

The pathway for us to experience that was actually Jesus' unanswered prayer.

Did you know Jesus didn't get every prayer answered the way he wants?

See, it's been said God answers every prayer, yes, not yet, and no, and the no's are the hardest ones.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night Jesus was betrayed, in the very same three chapters where Jesus said, Ask whatever you want.

Jesus asked whatever you want.

And it went unanswered.

They went to a place called Gethsemane, which means the oil press.

Jesus is in intense pressure physically, practically, spiritually, emotionally.

Jesus said to his disciples, Sit here while I pray.

He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.

My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them.

Stay here and keep watch.

And one of the other gospels tells us he's so stressed out and overwhelmed.

He's starting to sweat drops of blood.

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if it's possible, the hour might pass from him.

I love this.

This is the humanity and deity of Jesus all together, that he's fully human.

He understands the weight, he understands the cost, he understands what's about to happen and how painful it's gonna be.

And he says, Abba, father.

He begins with the goodness of God and relationship.

Because that's where we begin with your goodness, your Abba, you're a good father.

I'm related, I'm your kid.

Everything's possible for you.

The sovereignty of God, your great.

And then his personal request: take this cup from me.

It's all possible.

Would you take this cup from me?

I don't want to go through this.

I'm right up to the point, and it's only hours away, and I don't want to go through this.

And yet, what Adam said in the garden when he was confronted with the apple was, my will be done.

That brought devastation and destruction.

The second Adam, Jesus, in the garden, said, Yet not my will, but your will be done.

Which brought death to him but brought life to us.

It was actually Jesus' unanswered prayer that paved the way for our answer to prayer to step into the family of God.

And if you're here this morning, and I don't ever want to underestimate the amount of pain that's in the room, and you're walking with unanswered prayers, I want to invite you to just follow the example of Jesus.

All things are possible.

Here's my plea.

And then this act of surrender.

I want my way.

And from my perspective, this is the way I think it should work.

But I'm gonna trust that you're good, that you're wise, that you're all sovereign.

Yet not my will be done.

Your will be done.

So would you just take a moment and let us pray the prayer of Jesus?

Would you just begin with Abba Father?

Start with relationship, that you're his kid, that he's your perfect heavenly father who loves you, delights in you, longs for your best.

Even as a good father hates to see his kids go through heartache and pain, but knows those are things that are part of the journey of this troubled life, it breaks his heart.

Call on him Abba, Abba, Papa, Father.

Could you remind yourself that everything is possible for him?

That he's great, he's all powerful.

Where do you want him to take this cup?

Maybe his answer is a yes, maybe his answer is a not yet.

It might be the most painful no.

What is the cup?

Maybe it's with your marriage, maybe it's with your health, maybe it's with a relationship, a dream.

A longing.

Maybe it's the reality that you're living in an aftermath.

A devastation.

Maybe a divorce.

Yet not my will.

Your will be done.

I want my way.

That's the reason I'm praying.

But I'm gonna trust your way.

That's what Jesus is saying.

I want my way.

But I'm gonna trust your way.

Help me to trust your way.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

We hope you are blessed by this message.

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