Our church, The Carpenter's Shop, meets in Jon's Main Street Diner in Creedmoor, NC. We're a small group - 17 if my daughter and grandson show up. Occasionally some friends will drop by and once in awhile a visitor. Those who don't know us that well leave thinking "Well, that was different." We don't have an order of service, praise music, an offering collection or even a sermon. What we do is we sit around and discuss some scripture and talk about what's going on in our lives. We are a church of friends.
Usually, Jimmy will welcome everyone with something like this: "It's so good to see you all. Thank God you survived another week and chose to be with us today!" Then Jimmy will ask if there are any prayer requests. We'll pray for my daughter's cancer, for a neighbor of Jimmy's parents who's having some tests run next week, for high school and college exams, for Jon's business, Jimmy's business, the family of a high school student who lost their dad recently...whatever is on our hearts. Once in awhile someone will ask for personal prayer, often for sickness and we'll obey scripture by gathering around that person and the laying on of hands in prayer. We'll simply believe that it is God's will for His children to be whole and leave the healing up to Him.
A couple thousand years ago, Jesus was sitting around with His friends, perhaps around a meal. It was only a few weeks before He would endure the cross and Jesus was more than a little troubled by what lay ahead. Still, Jesus was always more concerned with others than with Himself and He wanted to teach his friends (disciples) about prayer; so he asked them concerning his upcoming crucifixion, "Should I pray and ask the Father to save me?" Probably everyone around the room nodded in the affirmative; that sounds like a reasonable request and it's what they would have done if they were about to be tried and persecuted. Perhaps a part of Jesus wanted to ask His Father to save Him too. He would offer that prayer later, but tonight He wanted to teach His friends something about prayers. Jesus knew why He was here, for He said to them, "No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!"
Jesus had the same choice we do, to pray a 'save me' prayer, or pray a 'glorify God' prayer. We've all prayed those 'save me' prayers, asking God to get us out of our circumstances; and we've been disappointed when our prayers seemingly weren't answered. We know God can cure cancer, we know He loves us, so why did He not do as we asked? Didn't Jesus say that we could ask anything in His name and God would answer our prayers? Why then does God not answer prayers that are asked in faith and hope by His children?
Perhaps the answer lies in the example of Jesus. In the Garden, Jesus again asks God to save Him from his circumstances, but as He did with His disciples, Jesus adds, "Yet not my will, but Thy will be done." Jesus knew that the best thing that could happen to Him was if God was glorified in His circumstances.
God doesn't get much glory when things are going well for us - when we're healthy, our finances are in order, our marriage on good terms. We assume it's because He's blessed us for our obedience. But let us be beaten down to the point when there's nothing we can do to save ourselves and God comes through in the nick of time and all of a sudden we're praising God. When things occur in life that can only be attributed to God and not to our own power or someone else', then God gets the glory and the world gets to see a loving Father who cares so much about us that He would allow His Son to die so that we don't have to.
What I've learned from Jesus' prayer is that I should pray concerning my son's foreclosure on his first house - Father, glorify your name in that situation! Father, glorify your name in my daughter's cancer! Father, glorify your name in my marriage, in my job, in my weakness, in my dependence upon You! May you be glorified as I trust you have a better plan than my own. Even when I don't see how my circumstances can bring you glory, Father, have your way; so that your name may be glorified and so that the world will know your love through my circumstances.
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