Luke 22:41-42/ Prayer for Our Little Friend Naomi

" 41 And [Jesus] withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:41-42

Jesus prayed this prayer before He was captured, tortured, and crucified. It's one of the darkest moments of His life. But in it He gives us the blueprint for staying faithful to God in a world marred by sin:

1) We Honor God by Praying for What We Want -- "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me."

2) We Honor God by Accepting His Will-- "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Prayer like this helps us honor God whether we get what we want or not. And if we set this sort of praying as a framework for our lives, we will be protected from all sorts of sickness of the heart:

We won't grow bitter toward God when we don't get what we want.
We won't fall into hopelessness when the circumstances are grim.
We won't dishonor God by not coming to Him with our needs or expecting much from Him. Instead, our hearts will be full of faith—whether we get what we ask for or not.

Naomi's parents sent out an update on her battle with cancer:

"We had our big meeting this morning with a board of doctors to talk about 'options,' which are all fairly bleak at this point. Science doesn't have much more to offer, besides maybe buying a little time."

These are grim circumstances. It's a dark moment—like Jesus' in the garden—which is probably filled with anxiety for her family! So, how do you faithfully walk through something like that? Just like Jesus did. Here's what they said in the rest of the update:

"We've said it all along - Jesus will decide exactly how long our kid will live. He spoke the stars into existence and measured the water in the seas. He knows the hairs on her head, and foresaw this day before she took her first breath. He is more than able to heal her, it's now just a matter of whether He will or not."

Did you catch that? Her life is in the hands of God. He can save her, it's just a matter of whether He will. This family seems to supernaturally be at peace with God's will for Naomi. They're "Honoring God by Accepting His Will."

But they are not hopeless, they added:

"Naomi will have another bone marrow biopsy to see how quickly the cancer is progressing. Please pray she doesn't have any cancer. Please pray for total healing."

Doctors say it doesn't look good? Fine, we will transcend science. We will pray to the one who holds every atom of her little body in place. They're "Honoring God by Praying for What We Want."

Would you join Naomi's family in praying for that?

Let's pray for God's grace in their lives:

1) Pray that God totally heal Naomi.

2) Pray that their family would accept God's will for their lives

We've also got a praise! God has already been gracious to little Naomi—so let's praise Him for that. Read what they said about her morale:

"Naomi is sweet, energetic, eating well, growing hair, loving on Jesse, playing peek-a-boo, and being her adorable self. I really wish you all could meet her. She steals my heart every day. She feels great and has no idea she's sick - thank God"

Thank God indeed! That's the grace of God. Let's pray for even more of it as Naomi and her family move forward!

If you want to dig deeper into this, need help, need prayer, or have questions—please reach out to us here: Roots Help & Prayer Form

Faithfully,

Pastor Kevin

Corinn ElliffFebruary 24, 2022