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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
July 2001 |
Mini Homily:
Take this cup from me
By Diane Pearson
I heard a profound statement in a television show recently about a woman who had desperately wanted to have children of her own, but now she was past childbearing age. Her friend asked, "Did you pray for children?"
"Oh, yes, I prayed fervently about it for years."
"I wonder why God didn't answer your prayer?" said the friend.
"Oh, he did answer my prayer. The answer was no!"
Sometimes when we ask God, "Why didn't you answer my prayer?" what we are really saying is, "Why didn't you answer my prayer the way I wanted it answered?"
In Luke 22 just before Jesus' arrest, he went to Gethsemane to pray. He prayed so fervently that the Scripture said he was in anguish and his sweat was like drops of blood. In the midst of his despair he prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me."
In Mark the same story is repeated but in more detail. Mark 14:36 says, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from me." Jesus asks not once, not twice, but three times that the cup be taken from him.
The answer to Jesus' prayer was no. He was later arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. The cup was taken from him. But the crucial part of the story is that Jesus was willing to submit to the Father's answer when he added to this prayer, "Not my will, but yours be done."
Just as children can't understand when parents say no to their requests, so it is in our relationship with the Father. Heaven help us if we received everything we prayed for! Some of my greatest blessings have been in the form of prayers that were answered with "no."
Our understanding of God's ways and God's purposes are limited because our human minds can't comprehend the things of God. We can't see the whole picture.
Isaiah 55:8 reminds us of God's sovereignty with these words: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord."
Last updated on 01/14/2004