Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:35-36)

I've read this many times but it struck me differently this time. Think about it. Jesus prayed and God said no. Jesus wanted so badly in that moment for God to release him from the suffering that was to come. If we look at that one prayer alone, we could be tempted to question God's ways. How could he let this happen? How could he let his own son go through this? But if we consider God's big story, we are brought to our knees thinking about the sacrifice that He was making for us. He was doing all of this so that we could be saved. So that we could have a relationship with God, our creator, through His only son. 

Sometimes I pray for something so much. I want it so badly. This scripture reminded me that when God says no to me, it's because he has something even better in store for me. It can be difficult to fathom that in the moment. Next time I pray, I'm not going to shy away from asking God for my desires. But I'm also going to pray more eagerly for His will - trusting it will be better for me than anything I could think to ask Him for.