How to Pray When Life Falls Apart
Vaneetha Rendall Risner
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In the midst of broken dreams and riveting pain, how should we pray?
In the midst of broken dreams and riveting pain, how should we pray?
Should we pray for healing and deliverance,
believing that we just need to ask, because God can do anything?
Or should we
relinquish our desires to God, trusting that even in our anguish He has the perfect plan for
us?
Yes.
When life falls apart, God invites us to do both.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus faced unimaginable suffering.
Sweating drops of blood, He fell to the ground and prayed: “Abba, Father, all things are possible
for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you
will” (Mark 14:36).
Jesus, in his agony, is teaching us by example how to pray when we are
desperate.
"Abba, Father"
Jesus does not begin with, “Almighty
God, Maker of heaven and earth.” Of course, God is Lord of all and
deserves honor and reverence. But Jesus chooses a term of endearment: “Abba.”
Abba is an intimate, personal term for a father. Jesus is asking His Father
to do something for Him.
In a similar way, I need to draw near to God in my pain. He is the
Almighty Lord, but He is also my Abba Father (Romans 8:15).
I need to approach him as such.
Nothing Too Difficult
Jesus knows God can do anything. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
All things are his servants. Nothing is impossible with him.
While I know those Scripture verses by heart too, I often
functionally doubt God’s ability to change my situation. I scan my
circumstances and assume things will continue as they are.
Even as I am praying, I do not look for miraculous answers; my prayers
become rote recitations of requests more than earnest petitions of faith.
But in Gethsemane, Jesus knows His Father can grant His request. God
gives life to the dead and summons into being things that do not exist.
And I need to remember His limitless power when my situation looks
insurmountable.
Remove This Cup
The cup Jesus asks God to remove is not mere physical suffering.
Disciples and martyrs through the ages have faced physical pain without
fear. Jesus is anguished over suffering that is infinitely deeper. He is facing
the terrifying fury of God’s wrath over our sin. And He is facing
that wrath alone, with no comfort from above.
Jesus knows God can change this horrifying situation. So He asks. He
wants God to remove the very suffering He was sent to bear, the suffering He
willingly came for, the suffering that would secure salvation for His people.
Jesus was not coerced onto the cross. He lay down His life of His own
accord (John 10:18).
But now Jesus is asking if there is another way—any other way—for God to
accomplish His purposes.
So many times I filter my requests. Should I ask God to relieve my
suffering when I know He can use it? Is it okay to ask for healing, or is
that presumptuous? Should I not ask for anything and just accept what I have been
given? That posture seems more holy.
Yet, Jesus asks God to remove the cup.
If Jesus can ask, I can too. It is appropriate to ask God to remove my
suffering, change my situation, keep me from further pain. He longs to give me
good gifts.
I have begged God to heal friends, save family members, and
give clarity. And He has answered “yes.” But I have also pleaded with
God to save my dying son, heal my escalating disease, and bring back
my husband, and
He said “no.”
So even though I
do not know how He will answer, my Father still bids me to earnestly petition
Him for the things I desire.
Not My
Will, But Yours
Jesus finally relinquishes His
will to the Father. When denied
His desire, Jesus accepts the decision completely. He
stumbles to His execution without murmur or complaint.
This relinquishment is not easy for me. When I keep God at a distance, I
can stay detached without expectations. But if I draw near to Him and truly
believe He can change the situation, I can start to clutch the outcome I want.
I may verbalize “Your will
God often has
to pry my fingers off my desired outcome. Though I have felt devastated by His “no’s,” as I submit
to His will—often with disappointment and tears—He assures me He is working for
my good. I see only part of the picture. He has a purpose in His denials. .
The Father said “no” to the Son. And
that “no” brought about the greatest good in all of history.
God is not capricious. If He says
“no” to our requests He has a reason, perhaps 10,000. We may never know
the reasons in this life, but one day we will see them all.
For now, we must trust that His refusals are always His mercies to us.
Run to
Your Father
And now as we wait, still struggling to make sense of the storms in our
lives, let us pray as our Savior did. Let us draw near to God, believe He can
change our situation, boldly ask Him for what we need, and submit our will
to His.
Our Father’s plans are always perfect. They will always be for our
good and His glory.
A loving Father
God
reveals Himself to mankind in the role of a Father in several contexts. The
most important is that of a spiritual Father.
Thus,
Christians experience a God who expresses all the qualities of a loving Father.
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He gives us life (John 3:3);
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He loves us (John 3:16);
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He rewards our efforts (Hebrews 11:6);
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He communicates with us through His Word ( John
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He corrects us lovingly (Hebrews 12:3-11); and, most important,
God
will grant us the ultimate gift, eternal life in His Kingdom through His grace
if we repent of our sins and obey His commands .
To
experience God as a personal, caring, loving Father, you have to receive Jesus
Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You will become a child of God and
begin the fulfillment of the reason you were created by God.
Say the following prayer:
“Father
God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
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lyrics
Verse 1
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
there's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.
Chorus
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
Verse 2
I've been to lots of places,
I've seen a lot of faces,
there's been times I felt so all alone.
But in my lonely hours,
yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus lets me know that I was His own
Chorus
Verse 3
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.
Chorus
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
Verse 2
I've been to lots of places,
I've seen a lot of faces,
there's been times I felt so all alone.
But in my lonely hours,
yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus lets me know that I was His own
Chorus
Verse 3
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do
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