“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

(Luke 22:42).

This is the most faith-filled prayer a person can pray . . . if you mean it. This isn't about piety, it is about truly trusting the Lord.

There are times when life is hard. We want the problems to go away. We know the Lord can heal, restore, and change circumstances. We ask boldly for God to do what we want Him to do. This is how Jesus prayed.

However, Jesus adds the words, "Yet, not my will, but yours be done." In these times of prayer, we must recognize that we don't see all the moving pieces. God may be doing something in us or through us that we cannot perceive. The prayer for God's will to be done is in essence saying, "Lord, I know that anything you are doing is far better than what I want. If your purposes are different than mine, I submit to Your will."

This is not an easy prayer to pray sincerely. It is giving up our right to direct our lives. It is surrendering to a wisdom greater than ours. It is a willingness to go where He leads . . . even if it is different from what we have chosen for ourselves. It is a prayer of faith.

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” Luke 21:1–4.

We spend a good deal of time focusing on the wrong things. We look at a person's appearance rather than at their heart. We look at profits rather than at quality. We look at popularity rather than character. We focus on degrees rather than wisdom.

This is what happened at the temple. The disciples may have marveled at the amount of money some people were giving. Jesus saw past the amount. He knew those people were giving out of "their surplus" while the woman gave all she had.

Let's work on seeing others through the eyes of Jesus. Let's look deeper. See the progress some have made in their faith even if they do not know what you know. Look at their faithfulness rather than their appearance. Look at how they use their money rather than looking at how much money they have.

If you do this, you will be surprised at what you see. You will see God's love manifest in the diversity of those whom you previously overlooked. And you will be grateful you don't look past them any longer.

For the LORD is a great God,

a great King above all gods.

He holds in his hands the depths of the earth

and the mightiest mountains.

The sea belongs to him, for he made it.

His hands formed the dry land, too.

Psalm 95:3–5.

Read and ponder these words slowly. Reflect on how great and powerful God is. There is no one over Him, there is nothing that happens that is beyond His control.

Two things. Isn't it great that we can know this God because of Jesus? Those who are "born of the spirit" (John 3) become part of His family. Those who obey and follow bring Him delight. Don't miss the blessing that is ours in knowing Him personally.

Second, when you ponder the greatness of God you should conclude that no matter what your problem, trial, hardship . . . the Lord can resolve, use, or even bless it. We don't always see it but this much is true: No matter what you are going through . . . He's got this! He's got you.

So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:12).

We spend too much of our lives waiting for that day when we will "get serious in our walk with Christ" or spend time with our family, or even do what we always dreamed of doing. How many live their lives just waiting to retire?

We don't know how much time we have. This much is sure: we have less time and less energy to do what we keep putting off doing than we think we will have.

We must live wisely all our days, making the most of every opportunity. Some of the saddest words are these: "What might have been." Today is the day to squeeze every bit of juice out of the day. Don't waste any of it.

For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

(Psalm 84:10–11).

There is this false notion that living life according to the Bible is to "miss out" on the fun in life. It could not be further from the truth.

The Psalmist declares it is better to be the person who holds the door into the Kingdom of God than to live in the way of the world. It is better to have the opportunity to find life. peace, joy, contentment through the ways God prescribes, than to pursue the perversions of the world.

The Lord did not give us His Word to restrict us, but to set us free. The ways of the world are temporary and take you into a hole that leads to bondage and an empty lostness. The ways of God touch the depths of our souls and become the delight of our lives.

God gives us the choice and we make it minute by minute. He lets us choose to think our will, our choices, our sinful desires, are a better barometer of happiness than His way. In other words, He will let us choose the way of the fool if that is what we want.