MATTHEW 20:20-28 – Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
THEME OF THE DAY. BE CAREFUL HOW YOU PRAY. Today’s scripture is loaded with lessons for us. Here is a list. There is the sin of partiality as we observe the mother of James and John attempting to jockey position for them with Jesus. We also see the disunity caused when self-serving motives arise among God’s disciples. Those are the negative lessons. The positives are Jesus reminding us we are called to be self-denying servants, not self-seeking Christians wanting to be served and the example of our Lord modeling what He preached.
Another lesson to heed is how Jesus responded to the request coming from the mother of James and John – And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” (Matthew 20:22). He basically says to her, “You are being impulsive. You really don’t know what you are asking. I will answer your request, but it won’t be like you think or want.”
Be careful about asking God for things in life and especially spiritual things like growth and usefulness. It won’t be like you think or desire it to be.” And that is relevant in our lives too. How often have we prayed “Your will be done” and the answer unfolds with clarity in these words from Isaiah – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). This truth must be kept ever before our minds and hearts when we pray to be used by the Lord, to be like the Lord, and for the will of the Lord to be done. These three prayers will be answered. God desires to answer them, and He delights in His children when they do pray them. But here is the essential lesson. He will not answer them according to how we want them to be answered. To be used by the Lord will require life altering sacrifice. To be like the Lord will require gut-wrenching self-denial. And for the will of the Lord to be done means our will must be totally and continually suppressed.
Pray earnestly, pray sincerely, and pray fervently to the Lord. And do so with confidence, but don’t put your conditions or your understanding on how He answers. Instead, gladly submit as He does answer and do so with a thankful heart for Him being a prayer-answering God according to His will not ours.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I am impulsive in my praying, though good intended in my praying.”
QUOTE: “Praying ‘Your will be done’ will always unfold in ways we would not imagine.”