I have been taught most of my life that prayer is valuable, if not essential to living a life of relationship with God. It is that place of conversation and dialogue that shapes, if not defines relationship. Within the context of my prayer life I realize that most of this conversation has been centered on asking for things that somehow will make my life better or assist me in living my life well. I don’t think these prayers for my welfare, for help and safety, are wrong in the least. All through the Psalms the prayers of God’s people are for help, refuge and salvation. But I do think these prayers present an incomplete picture of what this holy conversation can and should be. My prayers can reflect my distaste of pain and discomfort. They tend to foster prayers of escape. They are my cries for rescue. But what Jesus prays, faced with His own suffering, is something different. In John 12:27 Jesus expresses His own inner turmoil as He approaches the crucifixion. As He reflects on His troubled soul, He responds in prayer, giving us, as He does so, insight into His own perspective on the holy conversation. He says, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Jesus sees before Him the opportunity to pray, and entering into this conversation of prayer He chooses to pray not for rescue or escape, but for the glory of His Father.

Jesus recognizes that this hour, in which He experiences a troubled soul, is an opportunity for His Father to receive glory. That is not necessarily the way I see or experience trouble in my life. Since I dislike trouble, whether in my soul or in my circumstances, I typically want to escape to some other place. This desire to escape has produced all kinds of addictive traits in me, as I search to find any particular means of escape. Though for me, these may not be alcohol or drugs, they are just as debilitating. Whereas initially they provided a short-lived relief from the disturbance, they seem over time to be less and less effective, less satisfying. My tendency to choose any means of escape available does not take into consideration what Jesus communicates in this incident from His life. Jesus seems to understand that the better result to suffering is not my escape, but God’s glory. Therefore His prayer, this holy conversation with the Father, asks that the name of God would be glorified, rather than to experience relief from His troubles. The question is, how might the turmoil I feel be an occasion for the display of God’s glory? How might I stay long enough in that moment to catch a glimpse of God’s power and glory displayed in my weakness? Often I find that God’s work of transformation is most evident in my pain. Possibly, rather than God’s glory being displayed in my rescue and relief, it will be displayed in my transformation through the furnace of suffering. Whatever the case, Jesus seemed to be seeking and attuned to the glory of God through whatever conditions He found Himself.

Jesus also seems to recognize that to escape this hour would thwart the very purpose for which He came. It is often difficult to see our uncomfortable and difficult circumstances as part of a larger purpose for our lives, and thus, when we find ourselves faced with difficulty the first prayer that may come to mind is a prayer for escape. Somehow, Jesus’ troubled soul further galvanizes His sense of mission and purpose. This might lead us to ask ourselves how difficulty and discomfort might be used by God to further clarify God’s purpose for our lives. Recognizing this possibility, we can choose to remain in the circumstances accompanied by the God of love and comfort. By remaining present to those circumstances, we have the opportunity to realize a greater clarity of purpose revealed through those difficult times.

My prayers can and should evolve to include a larger perspective, one that allows for, and celebrates, the glory of God more than just my desire for a life of ease and escape from discomfort. Each day we have the chance to engage in conversation with the almighty God, who loves us, forgives us, guides us and strengthens us with His own grace. Within the context of that dialogue with the Holy God we are invited to receive God’s abundant goodness and care, but we are also invited to realize our greatest purpose as instruments of His glory in all the various circumstances of our lives. It takes a different set of senses to recognize and surrender to the opportunities for God’s glory in the midst of pain and difficulty. It takes a willingness to see through the pain to His purpose realized in our obedience to His will despite the difficulty. Jesus is our example. In His hour of greatest suffering His prayer was that the Father’s glory would be realized. Prayer in every moment, but especially in that moment of darkness and struggle, is my opportunity to seek the glory of God above all else. In this day how might your delightful and especially your disappointing circumstances be occasions to seek the glory of God? In what ways might the Lord be further clarifying His purpose for your life through the difficulties you might choose to escape? May your prayers this day evolve to take on a larger perspective that finds in difficulty the opportunity to see and promote God’s glory.