That Nevertheless Faith
When I was a kid and even as I transitioned into a young adult, I used to pray a lot of “but” prayers. You know these prayers – “Lord, I would really love if you could make this happen!” I would declare, and then quickly whisper, “but if you don’t, that’s cool, too. I don’t want to hold you to it.” It was a cop out – I was giving God room to say no or not come through (that’s what I told myself). In reality, I was preparing myself for disappointment in the event that he didn’t come through. “No big deal,” I would convince myself. “I figured he wouldn’t.” Over time, resentment grew for ‘unanswered’ prayers. These “but” prayers tended to be selfishly motivated and came from a place of fear of disappointment – and they tragically showed the little faith I actually had in my God.
I’ve been away from the blog for a bit recently because some things came up and I needed to shift my focus to my family. It’s been a stressful time, but I’ve been amazed at the peace and calm I’ve had through the Holy Spirit! Since my new walk with God began, he’s given me the desire to pray “nevertheless” prayers. These are the prayers that declare, “God, I believe you for this outcome, for this healing. Nevertheless, I know your Will shall be done and it will come to good no matter what.”
You may be thinking, “That sounds kind of the same as the ‘but’ prayer,” and at first I used to think that, too, and was hesitant.
I remembered two instances in the Bible where someone essentially uses a “nevertheless” prayer. The first is in the Old Testament in Daniel 3, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are standing before crazy King Nebuchadnezzar. They defy the order to bow to the golden image and he’s threatening them with a fiery furnace if they don’t bow. Their response? “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Daniel 3:17-18. You can take “But if not” and replace it with “Nevertheless”. That doesn’t sound much like a cop out, for them or for God.
The second instance is documented in Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, and Luke 22:42. For context, Jesus has just entered the garden to pray as he knows his time is drawing near to be crucified. Knowing what is in store, he is deeply anguished and, leaving his disciples to be alone, prays an interesting prayer. Here is the version from Matthew: “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Note, in this prayer, Jesus isn’t questioning God’s ability to take this trial away. He’s asking for another way that isn’t the horror of the cross – in fact, in Mark, you have this prayer: “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.” Jesus acknowledges that God is fully capable, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did before King Nebuchadnezzar. But Jesus acknowledges something I think sometimes we as Christians don’t like to think about – that even though our God has all power to do all things, he might choose not to do what we know he can do. This isn’t because our God is arbitrary and unloving, but because his Will is far above our desires. He came through and saved those boys from the fiery furnace to show Nebuchadnezzar who the true God was, but he chose to have his only Son drink the cup of wrath to show the world how much he loves us.
These prayers weren’t cop outs designed to give God leeway to not do what was asked of him or to lessen the disappointment. These men spoke with the authority of their belief, knowing God was capable but also knowing that God’s capability and his will for our lives can sometimes diverge. And they accepted that God’s Will would trump their desires and prayed accordingly.
I think we are hesitant to add “nevertheless” to our prayers because it feels like maybe we don’t believe God enough for what we’re praying for, especially when it comes to breakthroughs and healing. I’ve even heard preachers say a prayer like that opens the way for doubt. But the reality of our God is that he isn’t going to give us everything we ask for or give it to us in the time that we ask for it, even if we’re walking faithfully and desiring things that we know he would desire. Does he hear our prayers and yearn to comfort us in our distress? Absolutely. But he may rescue us, and then again he may ask us to drink the cup faithfully, and I don’t think it’s doubting to acknowledge this as a possibility in our prayers. Doubt is worrying if God’s going to give you what you ask for, exactly as you asked for it, exactly when you asked for it. Faith is knowing God is going to supply you with what you need, no matter the answer to your prayer.
It takes a lot of faith to believe in God’s omnipotence and also accept that he may choose not to show this all-powerful capability in my situation, and simply show his all-consuming peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. Praying from that “nevertheless” position of, “God, I really need you to work this out, but I’m gonna trust you no matter the outcome,” isn’t a cop out. It’s placing tremendous faith in God that he knows what he is doing, that he is a faithful and trustworthy God that keeps the promises he has made, and that he will work all things out for good for them who place their trust in him.
My prayers for God to work were answered in such a mighty way. But I know just from the peace that I have walked in that no matter the outcome, I would have still given thanks for his provision, even if it was simply the peace of God that passes all understanding.