Examples

Luke 22:41-42
    "41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

I want to start this by saying that I, in no way, can say I have suffered anything like Jesus. But that hasn't stopped me from identifying with His prayer here. To me it's almost the ultimate prayer for Patience. Jesus is getting ready to give up His life here, His prayer is so intense that is says His sweat was as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). That is some pretty intense praying right there. He is fighting the need to do His Fathers will against the desire to live. Ultimately He's asking God to either take away the task/pain or to give Him the patience to endure it.

This is the very same thing that I've needed to ask God. I have been looking for a way to pray this to Him. How do I say I really, REALLY don't want to suffer anymore, but if this is YOUR will then I will do what needs to be done? This prayer is as close as it gets for me. I don't pretend that I can easily accept God's will and plan for my life; but it is a starting place for me.

I've been asking for patience this year, patience to wait for healing, a baby and so many other things; but I've also been fighting with my human nature that wants it all now. I've been actively praying for that patience; but have I been actively admitting that it might not be in God's will for my life? At times I have, but most often I have just prayed for healing. Most often I try and force my will, wants and desires on God instead of acknowledging that His will is so much better then my own. After all, God can see what is going to happen to me in the future, He knows WHY His timing is perfect and I don't. The only thing that I can see is the present and past. The past helps me understand why, in the present, I couldn't have certain things; but my future is "bleary" at best. The future I can "see" is only what I dream for myself, not what God actually has planned. Sometimes God's plan and my dreams are exactly the same; but more often then not God's will and plans are so much better then anything I could have imagined for myself.

So while I'm praying for that elusive patience, I need to remember to pray that HIS will be done in my life, and not MY will. Thank You Jesus, for setting such a wonderful example for me, one that demonstrates that it is God's will for my life that I should be seeking. I love you and know that Your timing really is perfect!