PrintToday's "Moment with Mark" (92)
21 February, 2013
He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. (Mark 14:35-3 NLT)
There is an integrity about this prayer engagement that warms my heart and encourages me to be as open and as transparent as possible in prayer; especially is this the case when I am confronted with circumstances and situations that generate within me "horror and deep distress".
There can be no doubt that Jesus' personal preference - His own will on the matter - was quite different to that of His Father. Three times He pleaded with God His Father to abort the mission or to find another way to accomplish it. The father's Will was one thing; the Son's will was something else. The Will of God. The Will of the Son. This will lead to conflict with cosmic consequences except for one word. "....nevertheless..."
At that point the Will of the Son surrendered to the Will of Father. Submission saw two conflicting positions merge and become one. This prayer was prayed three times. (You might recall that the Apostle Paul prayed three times that the "thorn in his flesh" be taken away).
I know full well that no experience we face can be compared with what Jesus faced. But it is possible that someone reading these lines is facing an "awful hour" and their desire is to have that experience pass them by. You have prayed repeatedly for God to take it away. You have pleaded with Him. You have agonized before Him in your desperation. But the 'awful hour' remains.
Despite your tears that marriage for which you have prayed fervently is dying a slow death and the 'awful hour' of divorce and loss of family seems inevitable now. Maybe the 'awful hour' was sealed when the doctor reluctantly advised you that the disease was terminal and "unpleasant". It's bad enough that you are going to die but does it have to be that way?
Surrender? Submission? These are words that do not come easily in such situations. In the final analysis your heart struggles to get to the point where you can say (and mean it) "Yet I want your will, not mine".
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