Harriet and I have been learning to pray. Yes, it is a growth process that continues in our lives even today. For thirty-five years we have explored Scripture and purchased just about every book written on the subject of prayer, such is our desire to be effective prayers. Of the disciplines of grace, prayer is the most elusive, that is, the most difficult to grasp. To know what constitutes an effective prayer is really the issue, at least for me, to reduce all of the Biblical instruction to a few truths that connect us without doubt to the Father.
Lately this quest has taken me with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane. His prayer there was simple and profound. He said, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). OK, there are some troubling aspects of this prayer, most visibly the "if it is possible" part. Since all things are possible with God, Jesus couldn't have been questioning the power or abilities of God the Father. Truly, the specificity of this request was the humble submission of God the Son to God the Father, a heartfelt plea regarding the passion that was coming.
What strikes me most here, though, is the contrast between the actual request, "May this cup be taken from me", which by the way, is not presented as a question, and the total surrender, "Yet not as I will, but as you will." It seems to me that the pattern here is a good one for us to use in any life circumstance: a specific request followed by an acceptance of God's will. Jesus prayed the prayer and then went straight to the cross to do the Father's will part of that request. Gladly, I might add.
Of course, this is where we often hedge, this God's will part. We pray as if we have some inkling about the content of God's will, and usually expect Him to do what we ask. We are typically arrogant enough to believe that our request is what is in His will to start with. Praying, we most often expect Him to grant our petition. Too often we accept Plan B, the God's Will part, reluctantly, maybe grudgingly.
Like the election, 2008, for example. I know who I want to win, and somewhere in the chambers of my stubborn heart I believe my candidate is God's candidate, anointed to lead us because we share stances on several important issues. The fallacy of this is that I cannot know for certain what God's will is, what He is trying to teach us, what devices He may use to discipline us, how He wishes to work through the government and leaders that He permits to guide us. If I pray specifically for the election of candidate_______________, and then offer the Father a limp-wristed "not my will but your will" addendum to my prayer, I am guilty of a duplicity far worse than backing the wrong candidate.
Praying God's will is dangerous. This kind of prayer acknowledges His supremacy over all things and our total subjection to Him. It means we rejoice and eagerly fulfill our Biblical mandate to support whoever is elected by the citizens of this country---prayer, submission, and eager obedience, all included. Whatever the request, if we subordinate the specific to the accomplishment of His will, we better be genuine.
God is not mocked! Remember that as you pray this week.
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