Daily Devotions to Encourage Your Walk With Jesus

How to Find Strength in Your Darkest Hour Today

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There are moments in life when the weight of what you’re carrying feels unbearable. However, the only prayer you can manage is, ‘God, please, is there another way?’ If you’ve been there, you’re in good company. On the night before the cross, Jesus prayed that same prayer. Finding Strength can surface in moments like these, revealing how God meets us in our hardest times.

What Does the Garden of Gethsemane Teach Us About Prayer?

In Luke 22, starting at verse 39, we see Jesus doing something that should stop us in our tracks:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples followed Him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly. His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

This passage holds four lessons that can change the way you approach God in your most difficult seasons.

Is It Okay to Be Honest With God When You’re Struggling?

Notice the first two words in verse 39: “as usual.” As the cross drew closer, Jesus did what He always did. He prayed. But this was not like any other prayer. This was the garden prayer.

Jesus knew exactly what He was about to face, and He was completely honest with His Father. “If you are willing, take this cup from me.” In that moment, Jesus was open and fully human. If the Father had any other plan, Jesus was asking for it.

There is nothing wrong with praying like that. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine. You don’t have to walk into a trial already strong. We find His strength in the middle of the trial.

What Does “Not My Will, But Yours” Really Mean?

Jesus finished His prayer with words that are simple but profound: “Not my will, but yours be done.”

That is total surrender. It doesn’t deny the pain. It trusts the Father through it. In that moment, Jesus made Himself ready for the cross.

Honesty and surrender belong together. We bring God how we really feel, and then we bring Him our yes. That combination is not weakness. It is one of the most courageous things a person can do.

How Does God Strengthen Us During Trials?

Then something remarkable happened. An angel from heaven appeared to Jesus and strengthened Him. God gave Him exactly what He needed in that moment.

God often works the same way in our lives today, through people. A friend who calls at just the right time. A text that says, “I’m praying for you.” Someone who simply sits with you and says, “Keep going.”

When God sends those people into your life, be thankful for them. Tell them how much it means to you. Their presence is not a coincidence. It is God answering your prayer.

What Should You Do When You Feel Like Giving Up on Prayer?

After the angel strengthened Jesus, the Bible says He prayed more earnestly. He didn’t stop. He went deeper.

So often we stop right when we should keep going. We feel a little relief and step away from prayer. But Jesus shows us that the strength God gives is not the finish line. It is the fuel to seek Him even more.

There is also a hard truth in this passage. When Jesus returned to His closest friends, they were asleep. The people nearest to you won’t always be able to give you what you need. That isn’t always because they don’t care. Sometimes they are worn out too.

That is exactly why our final source of strength must be the Lord. Look to Him, and He will be faithful.

Four Lessons From Jesus in the Garden

• Be honest with God. You don’t have to have it all together before you come to Him. Bring Him exactly where you are.
• Surrender to His will. Honesty and surrender work together. Tell God how you feel, and then trust Him with the outcome.
• Receive the strength He sends. God is faithful to meet you in your hardest moments, often through the people He places around you.
• Keep praying. Don’t stop when you feel a little relief. Let that relief push you deeper into prayer, not away from it.

Life Application

Additionally, whatever cup you are holding, bring it to the Father honestly this week.

Furthermore, don’t clean it up or soften it.

Tell Him exactly how heavy it feels.

Additionally, after you’ve been honest, you can find Finding Strength through surrender.

End your prayer with ‘not my will, but yours be done,’ and mean it.

Do so as best you can.

Pay attention to the people God sends your way this week. A kind word, a check-in, an unexpected moment of encouragement. Receive those as gifts from Him, and thank the person who delivered them.

And when you feel a moment of relief, don’t walk away from prayer. Let it draw you back in. Go deeper.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect on this message:

• Am I being fully honest with God about what I’m carrying, or am I holding back because I think I should have it together?
• Is there an area of my life where I’m struggling to say “not my will, but yours”? What is making that surrender difficult?
• Who has God placed in my life recently to strengthen me, and have I taken the time to acknowledge and thank them?
• When I feel a moment of relief in a hard season, do I tend to step away from prayer or press in deeper?