Praying through the Pain
This week, we are learning how the cross brings clarity to the pain we experience, and today, we are going to focus specifically on praying through the pain in our lives. Today’s time will likely bring up some tender moments, so let’s ask the Lord to walk through our pain with us.
Father in heaven, open my heart to the abundance you have for me. Help me trust in Your promises that You are close to the brokenhearted, and bind up my wounds. Give me courage and strength from Your Holy Spirit to face pain, and stay close to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Matthew 26:36-39 (NLT)
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and He said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and He became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with His face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
This scripture is one of my favorites. To me, it is the clearest moment in the Bible where the full humanity and deity of Jesus Christ are seen simultaneously. Jesus asked His Father to take the cup of suffering away from Him that He was asked to drink on our behalf–a logical human response. But then He immediately followed up that request by saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”–a divine God response.
In verse 37, Jesus tells his closest friends that He is in anguish, and His “soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” Have you been there? Have you ever been crushed with grief or in anguish?
Jesus was, too. Because Jesus felt pain, He can empathize with our pain, so we can trust Him with it. We can tell Him anything and everything we are going through: the cancer diagnosis, the negative pregnancy test, the job we lost, the breaking apart of our family, the loved one who is making harmful choices that we can’t stop. God wants us to pray through the pain with Him so that He can comfort us.
My family was shocked by an advanced cancer diagnosis my grandma received on February 6, 2024, and we are grieving that it took her life on February 27, 2024. What pain are you experiencing right now? Stop what you’re doing, and acknowledge the pain you feel.
Jesus took on my pain and yours when He sacrificed Himself on the cross for us, and He takes it on again when we pray through our pain now. Take everything to Him in prayer.
Ask God to reveal the pain in your heart to you.
Ask Him to take that pain away from you only if it is His will.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
Father in heaven, open my heart to the abundance you have for me. Help me trust in Your promises that You are close to the brokenhearted, and bind up my wounds. Give me courage and strength from Your Holy Spirit to face pain, and stay close to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Matthew 26:36-39 (NLT)
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and He said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and He became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with His face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
This scripture is one of my favorites. To me, it is the clearest moment in the Bible where the full humanity and deity of Jesus Christ are seen simultaneously. Jesus asked His Father to take the cup of suffering away from Him that He was asked to drink on our behalf–a logical human response. But then He immediately followed up that request by saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”–a divine God response.
In verse 37, Jesus tells his closest friends that He is in anguish, and His “soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” Have you been there? Have you ever been crushed with grief or in anguish?
Jesus was, too. Because Jesus felt pain, He can empathize with our pain, so we can trust Him with it. We can tell Him anything and everything we are going through: the cancer diagnosis, the negative pregnancy test, the job we lost, the breaking apart of our family, the loved one who is making harmful choices that we can’t stop. God wants us to pray through the pain with Him so that He can comfort us.
My family was shocked by an advanced cancer diagnosis my grandma received on February 6, 2024, and we are grieving that it took her life on February 27, 2024. What pain are you experiencing right now? Stop what you’re doing, and acknowledge the pain you feel.
Jesus took on my pain and yours when He sacrificed Himself on the cross for us, and He takes it on again when we pray through our pain now. Take everything to Him in prayer.
Ask God to reveal the pain in your heart to you.
Ask Him to take that pain away from you only if it is His will.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
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2024
January
My Only AimRun to WinSetting Aside the Good for the BestDon’t Lose HeartFight the Good FightReflecting on Finishing Well…Not The Year But LifeLook UpPurposed in My HeartA Life of PrayerTo the Left or to the Right Seeking Godly CounselThe Word of the LordReflecting on Looking UpLooking BackGod is FaithfulSpiritual EyesRememberWorthy of PraiseThrough All GenerationsReflecting on Looking BackLook DownMoments of TruthThink It ThroughGod-Centered DecisionsLive Without Regrets Heartbreaking HindsightReflecting on Looking DownLooking ForwardA Solemn WarningSeeking God’s WillLearning What Is Good
February
Nothing Is HiddenAt The CrossroadsReflecting on Looking ForwardConsider Your WaysOpen Your EyesLord, Open Our Eyes!Seeing the UnseenKeeping Our Eyes on JesusTrusting God AloneGod Is With UsReflecting on Open your Eyes The Calling of GodIf it Pleases the KingFollow MeHere Am IFuture BlessingsWhat Do You Want Me To Do?Reflecting On The Calling of GodNot Coming DownWhen Adversity Arrives Focused on the CallingThe Armor of GodThe Voice of OppositionGod’s Glory on DisplayReflecting On Not Coming DownThe Principle of “And”Prayer and PetitionEvaluate and Get StartedPray and FightWork and ProtectLiving with Purpose
March
Faith and WorksReflecting on The Principle of “And”Bad Timing is Perfect TimingConsider Your WaysThe Richness of JesusSacrificial GivingThe Willing HeartThe Blessings of ObedienceReflecting on Bad Timing is Perfect TimingLegacySetting a Godly ExampleThe Next GenerationHanding Down FaithfulnessGod’s WisdomTeach Your Children WellReflecting on LegacyEveryone Did Their PartUnited With PurposeStaying the CourseWalk In UnityEmbrace My RoleAm I accountable?Reflecting on Everyone Doing Their PartClarity to PainPraying through the PainThe Throne of GraceCasting Your CaresRedeeming Our PainRestoredReview: Reflecting on Clarity to PainThe Cross Brings Clarity of God’s Love
1 Comment
Jenna, what beautiful writing. You so gently guided the reader to the place of Christ's anguish, so that we can unbandage our own wounds and give them to Him. Thank you for sharing your time and heart!