When You Can’t Do One More Thing

Key Verse: Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. (Matthew 26:39)

Lord, I do not want to do this…..

Yes, that was my prayer.  Have you ever prayed a prayer like me?

I admit it didn’t seem like much of a prayer but honestly that was all the words I had left in me. Life and all my responsibilities that went with it just started to add up leaving me feeling completely overwhelmed. Overwhelmed and honestly….unwilling. Actually, a whole lot of unwillingness in my moment of weakness. 

That one more thing I had to do on my list was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. That one more thing that made it all crumble to the floor and brought tears streaming down my face. I wasn’t willing to do one more thing. Not one big thing. Not even a small thing. 

So, I prayed my imperfect prayer.  I marched me and that prayer right into the throne room.  And you know what? God listened.  He didn’t scold me or criticize me. He didn’t tell me to go away and come back with a better prayer.  He listened and then he ever so gently showed me another “I don’t want to do this” prayer in the Bible. 

And that prayer he showed me changed everything that I was feeling. 

Did you know that Jesus prayed that same prayer? He did. He prayed this:

Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Think about it…….

Jesus didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to carry that cross. He didn’t want to be crucified. He would have loved it if God the father could have pulled out another plan that night in the garden. But there wasn’t another plan. There wasn’t another way. So he prayed his I don’t want to prayer too. 

But….

Jesus was able to turn his I “don’t want to do this” prayer into a but I “will do it anyway” prayer. Not my will turned into a but thine.  You know how? He didn’t just pray one time. He prayed three times. (Matthew 26:39-44)

Sometimes we may have to pray something more than once before we get our I “will do it” back. 

God gave Jesus the strength to do his big I don’t want to do thing that lay stretched out in front of him.   Not just because he was God. But because he prayed. 

Prayer really does change everything. Even imperfect prayers like mine. 

So I prayed again…..And honestly I had to pray again. 

I still didn’t want to do my thing.  But God gave me a willingness and strength to do the small thing in front of me that looked so incredibly big.  All because I took my I can’t do this to him. 

My small thing got done that day and even a couple other big things. God’s strength is so much stronger than mine and accomplishes so much more.  Strength freely given to me because I took an unlikely prayer before God’s throne. 

I find myself learning who God is a little more everyday and it never ceases to amaze me when he continues to show up in my messy overwhelming days.  He actually shows up because he wants to.  Imagine that.

If you have a I can’t do this thing today, tell God about yours too. I guarantee he won’t scold you or criticize you either.  You may just find yourself as surprised as I was that He has an answer for you.  And who knows you may just find yourself suddenly being able to accomplish even more than you imagined you could do too. 

Or…..

You may even find yourself like Hannah who also prayed her I don’t want to this prayer. She didn’t want to do the whole going through life without a baby thing. So she prayed her I don’t want to do this before the throne too. 

God changed Hannah’s I don’t want into a not going to have to….

He gave her the baby her heart longed for. All because she took her I don’t want to do this to the one who has the potential to change everything. 

Just a reminder today from someone who knows.  Sometimes God changes our circumstances when we pray. Other times he changes us. One thing is certain. There are no good prayers and bad prayers that we take to the throne room. 

Just answered ones.