Possible but...

Standing at the corner of our house, our hydrangea tree showed off a profusion of blossoms this year.

There is something very inviting about the beauty of a garden, something peaceful. I thank God for the beauty He created but often wish I was a better gardener, a better keeper of that beauty. I would love to have one of those designer gardens with paths and benches and arbors and...

I have a friend who is a Master Gardener. She has exactly the kinds of gardens I dream of. She and her husband even have a prayer garden with a cozy little spot tucked away where they can go and read God's Word and pray.

I wonder if the Garden of Gethsemane was such a place when Jesus retreated there to pray before His crucifixion, if it provided the peaceful atmosphere He longed for as He prepared for and sought strength for the horror ahead of Him.

As I ponder His time in prayer with His Heavenly Father, the example He set for us, I cannot help but examine His well-known prayer:
Abba, Father,
all things are possible for you.
Remove this cup from me.
Yet not what I will,
but what you will.
[Mark 14:36 ESV]

I wonder how often we pray with that attitude in our hearts. I'm thinking right now of my brother-in-law who is battling cancer. Do we pray with an acceptance of God's will in this situation? Or are we storming the throne of grace with petitions for a miracle only? At this point, I think we are well past that petition, accepting that God is not going to provide that miracle. But, as believers in Christ's atonement and victory over death, we know that God is going to heal Danny, even if not in the way the world thinks of healing. When Danny passes from this life into the next, he will indeed be healed, no longer inhabiting a flawed, ailing, pain-filled temporal body. Praise God for that sure hope, for the joyful knowledge that one day Danny and all we who love God will one day receive brand new immortal bodies!

Naturally, I am thinking of Danny right now, but I also realize that our desires invade our prayers more often than not. We find ourselves praying for healing or money or a home or a car or a new job or changes in other people or even changes in ourselves. 

But aren't most of these requests selfish? How often are we willing to consider what God wants? Perhaps He wants us to learn contentment regardless of our health, our financial condition, our job situation, or the people who surround us. Perhaps we need to learn to depend totally on Him. More importantly, we probably need to focus on what honors and glorifies our God rather than simply what we desire.

...for I have learned in whatever situation I am
to be content.
I know how to be brought low,
and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
 I have learned the secret of 
facing plenty and hunger, 
abundance and need.
I can do all things 
through him who strengthens me.
[Philippians 4:11b-13 ESV]


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