Suffering comes for us all, but whether we walk with bitterness or joy through it is up to us. The following article is an excerpt from “Watching for the Morning,” a 90-day devotional by Vaneetha Risner, that will help you walk through suffering with joy because you walk it with Christ.

He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.

Mark 14:35-36 CSB

In the midst of broken dreams and relentless pain, how should we pray?

Should we pray for healing and deliverance, believing we just need to ask, because God can do anything? Or should we relinquish our desires to God, trusting that even in our anguish He has the perfect plan for us?

Yes. When life falls apart, God invites us to do both.

Right now, I’m wondering if I’ll ever walk again for more than two minutes at a time. It’s been that way for a year, and no signs point to that changing. I vacillate between begging and trusting. Jesus’s example helps me know how to pray.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was facing unimaginable suffering when He prayed, “And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:36 CSB)

Jesus, in His agony, modeled how to pray when life falls apart. He began with “Abba,” an intimate, personal term for a father. Jesus was asking His Father to do something for Him, and I too need to approach Him as my Father. To know that I’m His beloved, and He will not withhold anything good from me.

Jesus knew God can do absolutely anything. Nothing is impossible for God, so I don’t need to limit my prayers to what doctors deem possible. God can change my situation with a word.

Even if I think God can use my suffering for His glory, it’s okay to beg Him to remove the suffering before me. Jesus knew He had come to face the cross, yet in His anguish He asked God to take it away. So many times I filter my requests. Should I ask God to relieve my suffering when I know He can use it? Should I be content with what God’s given me? Yet because Jesus boldly asked if there was any other way, I know I can too.

Ultimately, Jesus relinquished His will to the Father, accepting the decision without murmur or complaint. This step is hard for me since I hold tightly to the outcome I want. I may verbalize, “Your will be done,” but I often just want my will. I need to remember that God is working for my good and that He has a purpose in His denials.

The Father said no to the Son, which brought about the greatest good in all of history.

For now, I must trust that God’s refusals are always His mercies. And even as I struggle to make sense of my pain, I can follow Jesus’s example in prayer—drawing near to God, believing He can change my situation, boldly asking Him for what I need and submitting my will to his.

Spend time with God by writing out and exploring each phrase of Jesus’s prayer in Mark 14:36.

  1. “Abba, Father” (Talk to God using the names you know Him by.)

  2. “All things are possible for you.” (Renew your trust in His limitless power.)

  3. “Remove this cup from me.” (Ask for what you want.)

  4. “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Release your desires, submitting to God’s will.)