Mark 14:34-36 -- On Prayer and Possibility

"And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt."
Mark 14:34-36


This is Christ in Gethsemane, before Judas comes to betray him. He knew what would happen, and he prayed at least twice that he could be relieved of the obligation (Mark 14:39 tells us that he prays these same words a little bit later). He knew that all things were possible with God, and he wanted a possibility that led somewhere else. In this case, he didn't get one, because that isn't what was going to work for God's plan, but it was also an important prayer, helping us to know where to go when we are in need.

We know that God was willing to go through with his Father's plan, despite personal reservations about wanting to suffer and die (which I think we all have personal reservations about), and we know that he had to go through things that no one wants to go through, some of which no one else could possibly go through (suffering for our sins), and none of it was justified in the least. None of this truth makes the suffering better or erases it, but Christ also showed us that he overcame it and triumphed even over death (D&C 19:18-19).

We often suffer things that we don't want to suffer as well. It's going to happen. It's part of the plan, of learning about the world and about who we want to be... "these things shall give [us] experience, and shall be for [our] good" (D&C 122:7). The cool thing about the chosen scripture today isn't about the suffering, but that Christ showed us the way, even in this. When we run up against things that test us right down to the core and that we absolutely do not want to deal with, he taught us to pray. We plead with the Lord and put it in his hands, but need to stay willing to do his will, even when we don't want to go through it. The answer might be, as it was with Christ, that this is something that we have to endure. In other cases, God will help us find another way. But no matter what happens, if we put the Lord first, we will be helped before, during, and after all of our trials. Helped to prepare, helped to learn, strengthened to endure, helped to find another way, or assisted with whatever else is necessary to the situation.

Today, let's pray as Christ did, recognizing God's power over all things, but also respecting his will. Let's pray to escape, endure, learn, listen, love, help, invite... whatever we need, but also always make sure that we are willing to do things God's way, and that we are seeking the good of his kingdom and the betterment of humanity. :) As we pray, God will open up possibilities that we often haven't seen and lead us towards the best possible future, even if that means enduring some hardship in the present.