So, it’s Thursday. Midnight. The Passover meal with his disciples is over. He’s washed each one’s feet, showing himself the servant that he wants them to be. He’s graciously shared in the bread and the wine with all of them, ushering in the celebration of Holy Communion to his followers everywhere. And he’s sent Judas, the turncoat, on his way to do what he was determined to do… Let’s now share in today’s part of the story (Matt. 26:36-46, NLT):
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” 42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”
So, here we are at midnight on that first Holy Thursday, getting ready to move into what’s come to be known as Good Friday or Black Friday, depending on your perspective. And Jesus knows that it’s crisis time—time for some serious, soul-wrenching prayer. He’s led the disciples from the room in the upper part of Jerusalem where they’d celebrated the Passover, down past the Temple Mount, through the Kidron Valley, and onto the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane is located. And he throws himself down on the ground and begins to pray…
If there is one place where I’m always moved, both spiritually and emotionally, it’s the Garden of Gethsemane. And I believe that every group I’ve ever taken to that garden feels the same way. The Garden of Gethsemane is basically a grove of olive trees. Some are old … and some are ancient, having stood there in that garden since the time of Jesus. The garden looks directly onto the east wall of the Temple Mount and the Eastern or Golden Gate—the very gate Jesus passed through not long before this night, riding on a donkey…
Nearby is the modern-day Church of All Nations, built over a holy site, like most churches in the area. And this church marks the rock—the place where Jesus would have knelt down and prayed on that memorable night. And each time I, and the group with me, go to that place, we take the time to remember Jesus’ night of agony, of prayer, and of final decision…
I believe with all my heart that Jesus knew clearly what was coming on Friday—the kiss & betrayal of Judas, the arrest by the Temple authorities with Roman soldiers in tow, the trials before the high priest and Pilate, the beatings and torture that followed, and even his own agonizing death on the cross. He knew exactly what lay ahead…
Because of that, he prayed fervently—so intensely that, according to Luke (22:44, NLT), ‘…his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” And in that prayer he asked God (Matt. 26:39, NLT), “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.” Just as Gethsemane actually means ‘the oil press’—used to squeeze the juice out of ripe olives to make olive oil, so Jesus must have felt as if his life blood was being squeezed right out of him. Incredible symbolism…
Here’s what I want you to notice, as we begin today’s study: Jesus, folks, was a man of prayer! The church has often understated our Lord’s lifelong prayer life—how key it was to his power to live the life God wanted him to live. His days were saturated with prayer—prayers of gratitude, prayers for healing, prayers for his disciples. Again, as he was journeying from the Mount of Transfiguration to his final destination—the cross, Jesus continued to teach his disciples through example. So today, folks, we’re not going to understate Jesus’ prayer life; we’re going to highlight this vital part of Jesus’ life. And here’re some things we need to pay attention to:
WE NEED TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER. Jesus knew the importance of prayer, as did several spiritual giants throughout Christian history; some examples of these would be:
- John Wesley. John Wesley said, “God’s command to ‘pray without ceasing’ is founded on the necessity we have of his grace to preserve the life of God in the soul, which can no more subsist one moment without it, than the body can without air.” His mother, Susanna Wesley, raised each of her children with a time designated for each of them every week; in a letter written to her son, John, she talked about teaching them to read the Bible and to pray before breakfast…
- Martin Luther. Luther launched the Protestant Reformation when he nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany; he believed deeply in the importance of prayer, asking his friends—often in letters—to pray for him…
- Mother Teresa. A Catholic nun & missionary, she devoted herself to caring for the sick and poor, and in 1979 she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work; her life illustrates prayer as a way of understanding God’s call on our lives; here’s a story told about Mother Teresa…
On a train trip from the Bengali lowlands to Darjeeling in the Himalayan foothills—a trip filled with hairpin turns and splendid views of the mountains—Mother Teresa had a deep prayer experience. She heard the voice of Jesus; she conversed with him; and she had several visions of Christ on the cross. In prayer, Jesus and Mother Teresa talked … and Jesus told her to start a radically different religious order in India. Jesus said to her, “I want Indian nuns, Missionaries of Charity, who would be my fire of love among the poor, the sick, the dying, and the little children.” Thus began her ministry, recruiting hundreds of Indian nuns and ministering to untold numbers of poverty-stricken, sick, and dying Indian people…
Folks, all of these spiritual giants developed intense personal prayer lives, built on the foundation of habitual and organized prayer times. And such personal prayer habits helped launch new methods of discipleship—in the likes of the Protestant Reformation (Luther), the Wesleyan Revival (John Wesley, saving England from a revolution like France had just gone through), and ministries to the poor in India (Mother Teresa)… Prayer is important! It was for Jesus and many have followed his example throughout the centuries since, seeing God move in powerful ways. Next…
WE NEED TO COME TO SEE PRAYER AS A WAY OF LIFE. Millions have found daily devotionals to be helpful to this end—using the Daily Bread or other such devotionals to guide their daily prayer times. Sometimes we must pray for guidance, for courage, and for faithfulness as we face the future … and aids like a daily devotional can keep us regular in our prayer life. And Jesus had other ways to keep his prayer life both consistent and energized—a way that we can still use in our lives today; so, like Jesus, we too need to learn to pray the Psalms…
I believe Jesus knew the prayers of the Psalms by heart; let me give you some examples from the very day we’re getting to here. From the cross, Jesus prayed:
- “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, NRSV).
- “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Psalm 31:5, NRSV).
Do you remember how Jesus and the disciples concluded Passover? By singing a hymn, selected from Psalm 113 through Psalm 118. And it’s still part of the Jewish Passover Seder today, called Hallel, meaning praise (root of ‘Hallelujah’). … So, are the Psalms poems? Are they hymns or songs? Are they prayers? Are they Holy Scripture? And the answer is … ‘Yes!’ Unfortunately, most of us simply read them as scripture, but as Jesus shows us, they’re meant to be used in a variety of ways … so we too need to learn to make them a part of our lives, using them as prayers…
Like John Wesley, Jesus probably learned to pray and to listen to God even as a child. His home would have been saturated with prayer. You can see this in Jesus’ mother, as she reacted to the angel who visited her, telling her about her future. You can also see it in Jesus’ earthly father, as Joseph listened to and obeyed the angel who visited him in a dream, letting him know everything was going to be alright. Prayer was a way of life for Jesus’ family … and it should be for ours, too…
The disciples were so impressed by Jesus’ prayer life—his ability to discuss matters with God the Father—that they point-blank asked Jesus (Matt. 6:9-13, NRSV), “Lord, teach us to pray!” And he did. We call it ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ today and pray it most every time we gather… Finally, as we continue on this journey with Jesus…
WE NEED TO KNOW THESE REALITIES OF PRAYER: CRISIS AND LONELINESS. Sometimes our prayer time means ‘fish or cut bait!’
Have you ever been in a situation where everything seems to be on the line—now or never, do or die? Let me remind you of Jesus’ story here… Jesus had traveled to Jerusalem. He’d confronted the powerful Roman and Jewish authorities. He’d overturned tables of money changers. He’d denounced the injustice—the taxation, and the showy celebrations of the priests, pleading that God’s house should be a place of prayer! He knows that he has challenged the leaders of society, and unless he flees, he’ll be arrested, ridiculed, beaten, and crucified. So what’s he supposed to do now?
Jesus goes to prayer; he takes it up with God to make absolutely certain that he’s on course—doing the right thing. If he were going to flee, heading back toward Galilee, he’d need to do that now. Or if he takes all his ‘Jesus power’ and challenges the Roman Empire, he must do that now. Or if he stays the course for the next few hours, as the ‘Savior of Love,’ his fate’s already determined. Whatever he chooses, the time for the final decision is now…
So in the midst of this time of crisis, the Gospels tell us Jesus prayed seeking discernment, asking for crystal clear guidance at this particular time. He had to know for sure—that what was ahead was God’s plan for his life. And folks, sometimes we can spend time consulting others too, but when it comes down to it, the decision is really ours—those prayer times just between us and God. Can you remember a time like this in your life?
I’ll never forget praying during a time like this back in the 80s. I knew God had called me into the ministry. I knew that I’d run from that call for about a decade. But now, it was time to ‘fish or cut bait’. It’s like God was giving me one more chance to say ‘yes’ to his will for my life. And I’m not sure I even realized then how many lives would be affected by this one decision—not only Jane’s and my kids’ lives, but countless other lives who my future ministry would impact. At the time, I had no idea … but God did! Full-time ministry—nothing more & nothing less—is the only thing that would be acceptable to God…
So what was I going to do? Not that any of us have ever experienced the kind of prayer Jesus did on that night—sweating drops of blood, but it still felt pretty intense for my life. Folks, I’d grown up in pastor’s home; I’d seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of this crazy life of full-time ministry. But thankfully, following Jesus’ lead, I chose God’s will and not my own. And one more thing I learned during these days of prayer in my life—something we also need to learn from Jesus is this…
The hardest praying we do … is when we’re feeling alone! Yes, Jesus was ‘fully divine’, but he was also ‘fully human’; let’s not forget that; Jesus really does understand what we go through in our lives—how it feels when we’re left to pray all alone…
If you remember our story for today, 3X Jesus asks his disciples to pray with him—to stay awake for a few moments while he knelt in agony. But it was midnight or one o’clock in the morning, and Peter, James and John were exhausted! They fell sound asleep, leaving Jesus to face his devastating future in awful loneliness…
Of course, Jesus pled with them to stay awake for another reason. Jesus would be facing trials … but so would they! Later that very night, hiding there in that courtyard, Peter denied even knowing ‘the man’ (Matt. 26:69-75) three different times. He needed to be in prayer with Jesus in the garden. But the disciples fell asleep, leaving Jesus all alone to walk through those difficult, lonely hours. “Come pray with me,” pleaded Jesus.
Jesus, knowing full well the awful suffering that lay before him, knowing the possibility that his disciples would deny him, betray him, and run in all directions, he prayed for them. In the accounts of Jesus’ arrest that night, we read about the kiss of Judas, the gentle reproof of a follower for cutting off the soldier’s ear, and—in John’s Gospel—the quiet manner in which he responded to the question, “Are you Jesus the Nazarene?” where he simply said, “I am” (John 18:5). How in the world could Jesus stay this calm at a critical time like this? He’d prayed it through. He was at peace. He’d completely surrendered to the Father’s will and purpose. And he was now ready for the cross…
And as I close today, know this: As we ‘set our face’ to do God’s will in our lives, prayer is what will give us the strength to do God’s will! Prayer will be our lifeline … when it comes to those ‘fish or cut bait’ kind of situations that life throws at us! Jesus was person of prayer; you and I need to be the same. Jesus didn’t want us to be a people of prayer for his sake; very much like the disciples on that first Maundy Thursday, Jesus knows we’ll run into times of crises too in our lives. With him, we too need to pray…
So, this coming week, I want you to think about your practice of prayer. Consider your current prayer life and if you need to do something more or different. Do you need to start using a daily devotional to help you stay in God’s word and remind you to pray? If you do, make arrangements to get one before you leave here today. What else might you do to enrich your prayer life? Here’s one suggestion for you, if you’ve struggled in this area of your walk with God: Start by saying a prayer of thanksgiving each and every morning before your feet hit the ground! “Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this beautiful new day! Let me be who you want me to be today!” A regular prayer like that will change your life. As a matter of fact, it may just change the world! Are you ready to be a person of prayer? Jesus was … and we need to be the same…