Let This Cup Pass

The Garden of Gethsemane

My oldest daughter was getting ready to go to bed a few nights ago.  But her last minute request stopped us both in our tracks.  “Mom, would you pray for me?”

“Sure, what do you want me to pray about?” I asked with my mom-senses all tingly and on alert.  You never know what will come next. Tears, smiles, or a mix of both.

“Would you pray that school would be cancelled tomorrow or that we would have a delay?” she asked shyly.

“Why, honey?” I questioned, bracing myself for the worst.  Bullies? Mean girls? Big test? Head lice?!

“Because I don’t want to have swim class.  It’s scary and they are going to make us float on our backs and I hate that.” Then the tears began to flow from her eyes.  “I just don’t want to do it!” she said with the sobs flowing freely.

Now for a moment, I felt for her.  I remember having swim class back in school.  But my experience was much different.  It was surrounded by a bunch of other middle schoolers, awkward and trying to just melt into the background.  And swim caps.  They were AWFUL! Plus there was the pressure of trying to make yourself look presentable after wearing the dreaded swim cap and not be late for your next class! (Do they still make kids wear those?!)

But then I remembered the Bible story we read a few nights beforehand.  The story of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane.  How He prayed for the cup to pass him by.  But if not, let God’s will be done. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." Luke 22:42 (NLT)

I shocked my daughter by denying her request.

“Honey, I’m not going to pray for school to be closed or delayed.  But I will pray for God to be with you.  I will pray for Him to take away all your worries and fears.  I’ll pray for Him to help you do well with swimming.  And mommy can find some Bible verses for you to remind you that God is with you and He will help you.”

My daughter stopped crying and was ready to pray.  So we held hands and I prayed over her.  I prayed that she would have no fear as she stepped into the swimming pool.  I prayed that God would help her to complete all the exercises the teacher gave her to do in the pool. I prayed that she would remember that God goes before her and behind her, that He’s got her back.  When we finished, she was excited to see what verses I would have for her the next morning.

“Are you really going to find all that in the Bible mommy?” she asked.

I reassured her, “Oh yes! It’s in there.”

As I poured through my Bible later that night, writing down each verse for her, it struck me how often, in our adult lives, we ask God to take away something.  It is such an immediate response to stress, pain, and suffering. “God, please take this away.  Lord, remove this.”  But how many times do we really say, “Your Will be done”?

I think of Jesus that night in the garden.  How absolutely wretched that dark night must have been.  He knew what was coming. He knew what would happen the next day.  “He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” Luke 22:44 (NLT)

 I just can’t even imagine it.  Can you even wrap your mind around it?  The anguish. The pain.  The suffering.  Yet, Jesus wanted His Father’s Will to be done.  Oh to have that heart!

I can only pray that the next time something comes up in my life, before I am quick to ask for release, to ask for relief that I remember too, that truly, I want His Will to be done in my life.  That God does have my back.  That He does go before me and behind me, hedging me in.  That if He is willing, He’ll let the cup of suffering pass.  But that I want His Will to be done and not mine.


Post by: Marcy Gates


Curious what verses I placed by my daughter’s seat at the kitchen table the next morning?  Well, here you go!  I inserted her name before each one.  I encourage you to do that too! Nothing is more powerful that praying God’s Word!

Insert your name right here: ______________,

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.  For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT)

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

“The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” Psalm 145:13b (NIV)