Jesus prayed, “Remove this cup from me.”1 Even Jesus did not want to go through with what God wanted him to do. He prayed long and hard about it. Three times Jesus pleaded with God to change the plan. He knew God could change it if he so desired. He prayed, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.”1 It was a godly prayer. God’s answer to Jesus’ request? No!
Jeremiah knew that God had the power to do whatever he wanted. He prayed that God would deliver the Israelites from the Chaldeans. He cried out, “Ah, Lord God, it is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”2 It was a godly prayer. God’s answer to Jeremiah’s request? No!
Satan knew about the almighty power of God. When Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray for 40 days, Satan tempted him with the very same argument: Jesus, you have the power to do anything you want. Why not use that power? Although Jesus was tempted, he did not succumb to Satan. Instead, he told him, “Be gone, Satan!”3 So . . . is using God’s almighty power to save his Son (or any of us) an evil thing? Maybe. That doesn’t seem right!
Why doesn’t God use his power to heal everyone? Why doesn’t God prevent our suffering? Why doesn’t God make things easy for us? Why doesn’t God give us what we want? He could if he wanted to! And that’s the argument many atheists make when defending their stance that there must not be a God because if there was, he would answer their prayers properly or at the very least prevent people from suffering! Many will argue that they have prayed to God for things to happen or not happen and God did not answer their prayer—when what might have happened is God gave them an answer they did not like, and because of this, they decided not to believe in God anymore. This is a very common and widely accepted theory, but actually it’s a childish and illogical response—deciding God does not exist because he did not give them what they wanted. The end result is not that atheists live in a godless world but that they become their own god.
There are countless scenarios where God does not answer prayers the way we think he should. When this occurs, it is best that we remind ourselves of the first lesson of prayer:We are not God! Meaning – we do not think like God, we do not know everything, and we are not in charge! (Thank God!)
When Jesus pleaded with God to change the part of the plan about his dying on a cross, he ended his petition with these words: “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”1 Why would Jesus do that? Because he knew his suffering was the only way to save the world. He knew his suffering was temporary. Because he knew that God’s plan was the best plan. It always is. The end to Jesus’ prayer is a good way to end our prayers, and one day maybe we will actually mean what we say!
It is fine and good and godly to pray for good things and for things to work out best for us and others. However, we must keep in mind who we are and who God is and that we will not always understand or like his way, but we can trust that his way, his plan for our lives, and his will for us is “good and acceptable and perfect.”4 To expect or demand that God always or even sometimes do things our way would be to settle for less.
1Mark 14:36 2Jeremiah 32:17 3Matthew 4:10 4Romans 12:2
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