Good morning! Have you felt like you prayed and you prayed and your prayer was still not answered? Well today we are going to read Jesus’ example in a similar situation in Matthew chapter 26.

BIBLE VERSE – Matthew 26:42-46
“⁴² Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³ When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴ So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!””

Let’s recap…

• Jesus went into prayer the 1st time (we read about that yesterday) and asked God, “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.” (v.39)

• The second time Jesus went to pray he said, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” (v.42)

• The third time Jesus went to pray “saying the same things again.” (v.44)

it was a total of three times (there is something significant about three – remember Jesus predicted Peter will deny him three times v.34) that Jesus prayed to God about what was about to transpire.

REFLECTION
Maybe you have been praying faithfully for the same thing and have not received any results, what I challenge you to do in faith is, let the Lord’s will be done. While it may be painful and not the answer we want to hear, we must learn to trust God’s plan before our own (surrender our will).

So while you are in prayer and anxiously in need of the Lord to answer, listen. Listen, to the small still voice of our Heavenly Father and be obedient to what He calls you to do. If it is to keep praying for that wayward child, that person you know or stranger who is addicted to a drug(s), alcohol, sex, lies, food, etc., your family, your future spouse, your marriage, or your health – keep praying. We may not know God’s will, but He gives us permission to approach him in prayer. Pray about it! He is the one who heals, cures, reconciles and has the wisdom to act on what we have been praying about.

PRAYER
Father God, in the name of Jesus we come to you in prayer asking that you hear and answer our prayers. Lord, you know what is on the hearts of these readers and what our needs are – cover us with your peace and surround us with your grace and love. Remind us of how precious we are to you. Teach us to trust your plan, teach us how to remain attuned to your voice and remove us from places and situations where you desire to move us from so that we can flourish in you and your plan for our lives. Lord, strengthen our faith and resolve just as you did for Jesus in these verses. Lord, even when his trusted friends let him down, you never left His side. Therefore, Lord, we trust you to never leave our side. Continue to change us into the people you have chosen and designed us to be. In Jesus name, amen.

Keep seeking! Keep trusting! Keep Praying.

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Sisters and brothers we are looking for new board members to serve a two year term. This is an important phase for our non-profit and we are excited for the next steps. If you are interested, please send an email to: contactus@maryewhiteministries.com

We are also seeking volunteers for our retreat, which will be in November.

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SAVE-THE-DATE
Our Next Women’s Retreat is
Saturday, November 5, 2022.
Stay tuned for more details.

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PRAYER REQUEST
Do you have a prayer request? We would love to pray for you. Send your prayer request to: contactus@maryewhiteministries.com

Bible Reference: http://biblegateway.com

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