What do you do when you are so overcome with pain and sorrow that you can't pray?
Think about Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion.
He knew he was going to be betrayed. He knew his friends were going to abandon him. He knew he was going to die.
In his agony, he prayed prayers that reflected his agony. But he prayed in faith.
John White, author and Christian psychiatrist, discusses Jesus' final prayers in an absorbing chapter in his book on prayer - Daring to Draw Near: People in Prayer.
White notes that Jesus called some of his disciples to join him in prayer because his soul was troubled "even unto death". He wanted human companionship as we often do when we are suffering - sympathetic companionship.
We know that he prayed repeatedly to the Father, asking him to take the cup of suffering away from him. Again, that's what we often do when we are in pain.
At that moment, he was in such distress that he sweat drops of blood.
But his next prayer was so powerful that it has been quoted throughout the ages: "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."
That seems beyond me - beyond most people. But we can do it - we can pray those words. I speak from knowledge - a good friend prayed those words when he learned he had cancer that would take his life.
The Father, whose heart must have been pierced by what Jesus was going through, responded lovingly to that momentous prayer struggle by sending an angel to strengthen him.
God is aware of our struggles, too, and offers us support and strength to carry on.
Then, think of the prayers Jesus spoke on the cross.
He thought of others, something that is very hard for us to do when we are preoccupied by heartache.
Yet his prayer "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" is a prayer we need to make for ourselves as much as for those who hurt us. We will not be free of our pain if we refuse to forgive.
In that prayer, Jesus is asking the Father to withhold justice for the people who are killing him and mocking him. Can we do that? Perhaps not in our own strength. But we can ask God to give us the strength and the power to forgive.
Then, one of the most heartbreaking cries ever uttered: "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
Did Jesus lose his faith with that shout? No, for what he says later makes it clear his faith remained strong.
For me, it is a cry of pain, of bewilderment. As White says, we often cry out "Why?" to God when we don't understand. Jesus knew he was fulfilling his mission, but he also knew that the Father had to turn away from him when he took on the sins of the world.
Even knowing that some things must happen doesn't prevent us from asking: "Why? Why can't there be an easier way? Why does it have to happen this way?"
Jesus was human as well as God. We, too, may cry "Why?" when we don't understand. It is a release and it is far better than turning away from the Lord.
And, finally, Jesus made the ultimate statement of faith: "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands." He knew where he was going and he gave everything up to the Father.
Throughout, Jesus never lost his grasp on the Father. Even in our grief and pain, we must hang on to God, too.
Think of Jesus.
Think about Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion.
He knew he was going to be betrayed. He knew his friends were going to abandon him. He knew he was going to die.
In his agony, he prayed prayers that reflected his agony. But he prayed in faith.
John White, author and Christian psychiatrist, discusses Jesus' final prayers in an absorbing chapter in his book on prayer - Daring to Draw Near: People in Prayer.
White notes that Jesus called some of his disciples to join him in prayer because his soul was troubled "even unto death". He wanted human companionship as we often do when we are suffering - sympathetic companionship.
We know that he prayed repeatedly to the Father, asking him to take the cup of suffering away from him. Again, that's what we often do when we are in pain.
At that moment, he was in such distress that he sweat drops of blood.
But his next prayer was so powerful that it has been quoted throughout the ages: "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."
That seems beyond me - beyond most people. But we can do it - we can pray those words. I speak from knowledge - a good friend prayed those words when he learned he had cancer that would take his life.
The Father, whose heart must have been pierced by what Jesus was going through, responded lovingly to that momentous prayer struggle by sending an angel to strengthen him.
God is aware of our struggles, too, and offers us support and strength to carry on.
Then, think of the prayers Jesus spoke on the cross.
He thought of others, something that is very hard for us to do when we are preoccupied by heartache.
Yet his prayer "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" is a prayer we need to make for ourselves as much as for those who hurt us. We will not be free of our pain if we refuse to forgive.
In that prayer, Jesus is asking the Father to withhold justice for the people who are killing him and mocking him. Can we do that? Perhaps not in our own strength. But we can ask God to give us the strength and the power to forgive.
Then, one of the most heartbreaking cries ever uttered: "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
Did Jesus lose his faith with that shout? No, for what he says later makes it clear his faith remained strong.
For me, it is a cry of pain, of bewilderment. As White says, we often cry out "Why?" to God when we don't understand. Jesus knew he was fulfilling his mission, but he also knew that the Father had to turn away from him when he took on the sins of the world.
Even knowing that some things must happen doesn't prevent us from asking: "Why? Why can't there be an easier way? Why does it have to happen this way?"
Jesus was human as well as God. We, too, may cry "Why?" when we don't understand. It is a release and it is far better than turning away from the Lord.
And, finally, Jesus made the ultimate statement of faith: "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands." He knew where he was going and he gave everything up to the Father.
Throughout, Jesus never lost his grasp on the Father. Even in our grief and pain, we must hang on to God, too.
Think of Jesus.
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