‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.’ Luke 22:42
Father God,
As we walk with Jesus through Holy Week,
as we kneel with him
while he washes his disciples’ feet,
as we listen to him
give the new commandment
to love one another as he has loved them (John 13:34),
may we also stay awake with him
in the garden as he agonizes in prayer.
As we watch and listen with Jesus,
may we notice that no answer comes to his prayer.
You do not speak.
You do not send an angel.
You are silent in Jesus’ moment of agony.
And may your silence speak
into every empty space
we have ever known in our prayers.
When we beg you for years
to bring our child home
and she just seems to wander farther away from you.
When we urge you for decades to heal our chronic pain,
and it lingers, weakening us and making us irritable.
When we plead with you daily to free us from addiction,
but the craving still strikes out of the blue.
In your silence to Jesus
may we hear your whispered response
to every prayer that hangs in the balance:
I abandoned my Son to the cross for you (Psalm 22:1-2).
I sent my Son to take on your punishment and your pain (Romans 3:25-26).
I sentenced my Son to death that you might be raised to new life.
I am your beloved, and you are mine (Song of Solomon 2:16).
As we remember these answers to prayers we did not pray,
may we draw near to the throne of grace
and find mercy to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
In Jesus’ suffering name. Amen.
Read Luke 22:39-46; Psalm 22:1-2; Romans 3:25-26; Song of Solomon 2:16; Hebrews 4:16.
Note: This prayer is based on my Holy Week devotional, The Gospel Day-by-Day. Get your Holy Week devotional e-book free now. Link in profile or copy/paste link into browser: http://eepurl.com/b__teX.
