The Best Prayer You Can Pray

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.” - Luke 22:42

A few years ago, I had the chance to go to Israel and visit many of the holy sites mentioned in Scripture. Near the end of our trip, we walked through the Garden of Gethsemane, located at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This is where Jesus prayed one of my favorite prayers just moments before He was unjustly arrested. 

He stepped away from His disciples to spend some time with His Father, knowing the agonizing fate that was so quickly approaching. As He knelt in the garden, full of fear and anguish, He prayed,  

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me…” (Luke 22:42, NIV)

Don’t skim over that statement. Here was Jesus, in all of His holy, sinless perfection, knowing full well why He had been sent to earth. Yet He was still asking for a way out. In this moment, He was struggling to accept God’s greater plan. Thankfully, the prayer didn’t stop there. Jesus continued, 

“…yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42, NIV)

What a powerful prayer. Jesus was just minutes away from facing the most painful and terrifying circumstances any human has ever faced, and yet He still asked that the Father’s will would ultimately prevail. What an example He set for us in that moment. 

Jesus knows exactly what you’re feeling and thinking right now. When you’re wondering why you have to go through what you’re going through, why things aren’t turning out the way you want them to, and why your plan and God’s plan can’t be the same thing, He gets it. He understands because He’s been there. And when you’re enduring a difficult circumstance, don’t you want to be encouraged by someone who’s endured the same thing?

As much as I want to be that person for you, as much as I want to be an encouraging, empathetic, honest, and understanding sister in Christ for you, I know I can’t do that perfectly. As much as I love writing these devotions every day, I know I won’t tell you everything you need to hear. I won’t understand every aspect of the season you’re walking through. All I can hope to do is point you to the One who is more than capable of doing all of those things, the One who knows you completely and perfectly. 

It is only because of Him that I’ve made it through my own unexpected seasons, and it will be solely because of Him that you make it through yours, too. 

So friend, whatever it is you’re walking through today, whatever it is you’re waiting on or wondering about, I pray that you look to your Heavenly Father. Talk to Him. Listen to Him. Seek Him out. And pray that your will might align with His. I promise there’s no better prayer you can pray. Jesus Himself proved that.