SCRIPTURE
"He [Jesus] went a second time and prayed, 'My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'" (Matthew 26:42)
OBSERVATION
Jesus prayed three times in the garden of Gethsemane. This was the place where he was arrested and led away to be tried and crucified. The first time he prayed to his Father to take the cup (a metaphor for suffering and anguish) away from him. In this passage he prays a second time. Matthew writes he prayed the same thing a third time. Each time he prayed, he resigned himself to his Father's will. "May your will be done."
However, there is a difference between his first and second prayer. In this prayer he adds, "unless I drink it." This is huge. The cup would be taken away but only after he drank it. The way he found relief from the suffering was by going through the suffering and coming out on the other side. It's the way of Jesus. To go through the suffering, drinking the cup, is to have it taken away. God has much more to accomplish in the lives of those who are obedient to him than making sure life is pain free and comfortable.
APPLICATION
I'm all for the first prayer, "Take it away." Avoid pain at any cost. Don't let me touch the cup, smell or savor its contents. The second prayer is a whole different story. "Lord take this suffering from my life, but only after I go through it." It goes against the natural (you might say it's supernatural). To be like Jesus means to submit to God's will. All of it. Even the parts that I don't like or are very uncomfortable. God is more concerned about the growth of my character than that I have a cushy life. So, I reluctantly pray, "Your will be done." But I confidently pray, "Your will be done" because I can always trust in God's goodness and faithfulness to me.
PRAYER
Lord, if I truly believe your will is perfect that means drinks are included.
