GOD ON MUTE

How am I going to get through this?

“And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ … He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’” - Mark 14:34,36


Pause

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?” - Psalm 13:1-2


Reflect

  • Bible: Going a little farther, [Jesus] fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me …” - Mark 14:35-36

  • Book: “Thus far, Jesus has been following the pattern of His own ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ saying ‘Abba, Father’ instead of ‘Our Father,’ and ‘everything is possible for you’ instead of ‘hallowed be your name,’ but now, at the point where He’s meant to pray ‘Your kingdom come,’ He says the exact opposite: ‘Take this cup from me.’ He is going off script, admitting to the Father: ‘I don’t want to suffer. I am scared. There has to be another way!’ If Jesus can be so honest with God and His hour of greatest need, then surely, so can we.” (p.242)


Ask

  • Do you feel forgotten by God?

  • What does it mean to wrestle with your thoughts?

  • In what ways do you pretend or hide from God when you pray?

  • Are there any “tricks” you use to persuade God to grant your prayer requests?

  • When was the last time that you took time to speak to God honestly from your heart?

  • Do you truly believe that God loves you, values your honesty, and is not shocked by anything you share with God? Why or why not?


Yield

A prayer of surrender by Richard Foster:


Today, O Lord, I yield myself to you.

May your will be my delight today.

May you have perfect sway in me.

May your love be the pattern of my living.

I surrender to you my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions.

Do with them what you will, when you will, as you will.

I place into your loving care my family, my friends, my future.

Care for them with a care that I can never give.

I release into Your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity.

Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish your kingdom on earth.

For Jesus’ sake. Amen.




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