Mark 14:26-42
Be still: Lord, teach me how to be honest with you in prayer, even in my weakness. Amen.
Read: Mark 14:26-42
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ … Going a little farther, he 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. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’ (vv32, 35–36)
Encounter: Gethsemane is one of the most vulnerable and intimate windows we get into the heart of Jesus. He tells his disciples, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.' Then he falls to the ground and pours out his anguish before the Father.
What strikes me is how honest Jesus is in prayer. He doesn’t disguise his feelings or pretend to be strong. He asks plainly: 'Take this cup from me.' Yet his prayer doesn’t end there. He surrenders: 'Not what I will, but what you will.'
Often I feel the pressure to clean up my prayers to make them sound polished, positive, or spiritual – even thinking of how I can pray to yield results. But Jesus shows us that prayer is the place for raw honesty. If the Son of God could weep, struggle, and ask for another way, then surely, I can bring my weakness, sorrow, and fear before the Father.
But more than that, Jesus’ example doesn’t stop at honesty. It moves through to surrender. Prayer is both confession and trust, telling God exactly how I feel – but then yielding to his will. That’s the wrestle of faith. We are instructed through Scripture to weep for others in prayer, to be expectant to see a change, a transformation, but also to surrender to his will.
I can think of times when it has been easier to pray half-prayers: I told God my feelings but never surrendered, or I surrendered without ever really being honest. Gethsemane teaches us to hold both together: Here is my sorrow, my fear, my weakness… yet not my will but yours.
Apply: This week, choose one area where you feel burdened or overwhelmed. Bring it honestly before God in prayer, don’t hold back. Then, after speaking honestly, echo Jesus’ words: 'Yet not what I will, but what you will.'
Devote: Abba Father, thank you that I can come to you with raw honesty. Teach me to pray as Jesus prayed with both honesty and surrender. Not my will, but yours be done.