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Praying for Change
October 27, 2012

Last week, we learned that everyone has challenges in life to overcome. A normal part of the process of overcoming these challenges is to ask God for help through prayer, and most of these prayers typically ask for a change from how things are now to what we would like them to be. The Bible gives us examples of how to approach God when we have this need, and a place to begin is with one of the many prayers of Jesus.

Matthew 26:36-44
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Jesus was praying about an imminent challenge, his impending crucifixion, and his challenge caused him to become extremely sad, and he asked God if possible, to let him escape this challenge. This is the same Jesus who we learned last week taught that God knows our needs before we even ask for help. Jesus understood that God knew how distressing the impending crucifixion would be. And he also knew that God understood his needs. Virtually all who are reading know that Jesus was crucified. What we can take from this is what may be very distressing for us is not a need for us in the sight of God. We look at our needs from a very limited physical viewpoint. Ask most what they need and they will respond with physical needs. Few will respond with spiritual needs. Because a spiritual existence is God's plan for us, God will view our spiritual needs as more important than physical needs, and is likely to intervene when physical needs negatively impact spiritual needs. What this means is that a person and God may look at the same situation and come to a different conclusion, and that is okay as long as the person has the attitude of Jesus, who understood it was the will of the Father that had to be done, not his own. The Psalms contain many prayers, and many written by David record the challenging times of his life.

Psalm 31:1-24
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room. Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

The life of David gives us a powerful example. Often he was in trouble, and God saved him. When compared to the prayer of Jesus, we develop a deeper understanding that God can save us multiple times in our life as long as it is God's will to do so, because this action moves us further along on our spiritual path of salvation. What happens when our will and God's will differs and we have to endure something bad, and sometimes, something really bad and scary? Even in these situations God gives us hope through the writings of Paul.

1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Even when our will differs from God's will, God promises that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear unless there is a way of escape. Jesus really wanted to avoid his fate during the prayer, and God knew it was essential. Because Jesus surrendered himself to the will of God, God gave Jesus a way of escape and as the Bible records for us, the escape for Jesus was death. From God's perspective, different than all who are mortal, the death of Jesus was the final victory over evil for Jesus and what secured everyone's opportunity to celebrate and share in this victory.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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