One Weird Trick to Getting All Your Prayers Answered the Way You Want

Learn Jesus's secret to getting God to give you what you want.

Okay, I’ll admit that the headline is just pure click-bait. Guilty.

But here’s the thing — it’s true, and the trick really works.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

So, there you are, praying to God for something. And in the back of your mind, there’s always this nagging question as to whether God is going to say Yes or No. Will He? Won’t He? Did I confess all my sin? Is there any possible reason God could say No?

Sound familiar?

I think we’ve all been there.

Now, what if I told you that there was a 100%, surefire way to get your prayer answered the way you want? One weird trick.

Would you believe me?

Well, Jesus used this technique and it’s available to you, too.

Holy Thursday

Let’s start off the night Jesus was arrested, on Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday.

Everything was going well at the beginning of the night. Jesus joined the disciples in the Upper Room to celebrate Jewish Passover. He washed the disciples feet and taught them many lessons that night, including Communion. They ate and talked.

But now, it was go-time. Jesus left the upper room with all the disciples except for Judas, who had left early to commit his act of betrayal.

They crossed the Kidron Valley, on the east side of the temple in Jerusalem, to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

There, Jesus waited for Judas to give him over to the Jewish religious leaders.

While he waited, Jesus went off a little ways by himself and started to pray.

As the night wore on, Jesus became increasingly anguished. Normally, he was unflappable, but not tonight. Tonight he was sweating blood.

Luke records the scene in Luke 22:

³⁹ And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” ⁴¹ And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” ⁴³ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. ⁴⁵ And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Luke 22:39-46 (ESV)

Jesus is stressed like he’s never been stressed before. Luke says he’s in “agony.” He knows what is heading his way. Further, he’s isolated and alone. He keeps asking the disciples to pray, but they keep falling asleep. The disciples still don’t understand that he’s going to his death in the next 24 hours.

The Weird Trick

And in the middle of that passage, Jesus puts something in front of God the Father and then he uses the one weird trick. Did you catch it?

Look at verse 42. Jesus says, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

To paraphrase Jesus, he’s saying, “I don’t want to go through this, Father. I know this is going to be painful. If there is another way, let’s do that instead.”

If there was ever a time when you want God to say, “Yes, I hear you. Let’s not put you to death,” this is it. And it’s Jesus praying, and he’s sinless. So, there’s no reason that God will turn away and fail to hear his prayer, right?

But then, Jesus uses the weird trick. He says, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Did you get it? Boom.

What just happened?

Well, Jesus just said, effectively, “I want what you want, Father. I’m making the conscious decision to align my will with yours. Yea, I’ve got my own ideas about this, and I’ll be honest that I’m not feeling it right now, but in the end, this is all about You and your will. And I choose that above everything else.”

So, now, whatever God says, however God answers that prayer, Jesus gets what Jesus wants. Because Jesus wants the Father’s will to be done, and if there is one thing to bank on for eternity, it’s that God’s will is going to happen. Jesus doesn’t have to wonder if he’s good enough. He doesn’t have to worry about God not showing up. He doesn’t have to worry about somebody else’s will happening.

All because Jesus aligns his own will with the Father’s.

And then God does show up. He sends an angel to minister to Jesus (verse 43).

At the end of the passage, Jesus is still wrestling with this. He knows this is going to be painful, demeaning, agonizing, and ultimately test every bit of physical, mental, and spiritual strength he has. But Jesus has given God his agreement to do it God’s way.

Whose Will Be Done?

So often, Christians, even Godly, well-meaning Christians, will try to live their lives as they see fit, calling on God when they get in trouble or to make their plans come true. We want God to help us do what we want to do.

It’s like we’re riding a motorcycle and we put God into a side car. We want him right beside us, going where we’re going, always available, but we want to be holding the handlebars and doing all the steering. If God can help us, great. But if not, then our will be done, one way or another. If God’s will aligns with our will, sweet!

You ever hear that saying, “God is my co-pilot.” That’s how many people treat God: as the co-pilot, not the pilot. We want to be the pilot. God is the backup plan.

Photo by David Tostado on Unsplash — “DOG is my co-pilot.”

But here’s the thing — God had a plan for the heavens and the earth and everything in them before the creation. He has always known what he’s going to do, always had it figured out, always seen every move that needed to be made. And His plan is perfect. There is literally no plan better than His. None.

So, Jesus says, “I’m really not feeling it tonight. Do you think we can do this another way?”

God says, “Sorry, no. You have to go through with this. But I’ll give you the strength to get it done.”

And Jesus says, “OK, your will be done.”

Then, in the coming hours, Jesus gets exactly what he prayed for — God’s will. He gets arrested, sent to trial, tortured, forsaken by God, and ultimately killed on the cross. All part of God’s will. All part of the plan. And because Jesus was faithful and obedient, he is able to give us the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, and he’s able to bear any burden that we might have.

But first, Jesus needed to submit himself to God’s will.

Why Pray?

If God’s will is going to happen no matter what, and it’s all good and perfect, why pray? God knows everything. He knows what we need. And if his plan is perfect, then we should be good with it. So, why pray?

1. First, we’re commanded to pray. There’s an element of prayer that is just about obedience and discipline. Do it because God told you to.

2. Second, it forces us to interact with God. You can’t have a relationship with somebody you never interact with. And God created you to be in relationship with him. Prayer is how we stand in the presence of the Almighty and speak directly to Him. That’s powerful, and we should want to do that all the time.

3. Finally, prayer allows us to change our minds. The Bible is clear that God doesn’t change his mind. You can read more about that here. But we do change our minds. And after a long talk with God about a difficult subject, we’ll often realize that we need to approach things differently. Ideally, we use Jesus’s one weird trick and we completely adopt God’s view of the situation and we tell him, “Your will be done.” And then, God, like he did with Jesus, will help us get through the situation. And even if that’s messy and painful, it will be the best outcome.

See here for more on why we should pray.

So, that’s it. One weird trick. Pretty simple. And it has a great track record. 100% success. Guaranteed.

Today’s Prayer

Holy Father, maker of all things, we worship you and we say wholeheartedly, “Your will be done!” As your people, we know that we were created to serve you, rather than the other way around. And so rather than putting you into that sidecar and trying to steer ourselves, we ask you to take control and steer for us. Help us to be wholly dependent on you. And help us to learn to be comfortable and confident as we hand over our lives to you. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for making a way for us to have a relationship with you through Jesus’s sacrifice. Thank you for all the blessings that you give to us. Help us through those painful times when your perfect plan says that there is no other way. Send your angels to minister to us and give us the strength to keep going. Amen.

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