Not My Will: Prayer in the Garden

It is not surprising that on the eve of the crucifixion we find Jesus baring His soul in prayer. When you study His life, you discover He is our example of faithful praying. We find Him praying at His baptism, withdrawing from the crowds to pray before choosing His disciples, at the Mount of Transfiguration, and in the upper room before taking bread and the cup; however, this prayer in Gethsemane is one like no other, as He is wrestling and agonizing with His fate of imminent crucifixion.

His cry was, “if this cup can pass from me, let it be, but not my will but Thine be done.” It’s this prayer that settles His soul.

It’s in this prayer, we see the humanity of Jesus. Jesus was tempted as we are, but His pursuit of accomplishing the Father’s will in this mission of redemption could and would not fail. The victory would be won at Calvary; however, the victory at Calvary was preceded by His victory in Gethsemane.

Three truths we can glean from this passage:

1. In Jesus’ personal agony of the burden He was bearing, He resorted to prayer. The antidote for anxiety and fear is prayer. Our prayer-promise (1 Peter 5:7), says we can cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us.
2. While Jesus is fully aware of the mission before Him, He still needs His inner circle of friends with Him, though ultimately, He would die alone. His desire on this night of agony was to be with His closest friends. We all need friends in our darkest hours.
3. Prayer can prepare us to face our fears. The ultimate victory was won at Calvary as Jesus sacrificed His lifeblood atoning for our sins, it was still prayer that paved the way for this ignominious act of love.

Jesus, thank You for taking on my sins on the cross. Your Word makes it obvious  that You didn’t want to endure the cross, but You also knew it to be the only way to redeem us. So thank You for enduring the punishment I deserved. Help me to live  with Your mission in mind and to also place my own agendas to the side. In Your name I pray, Amen.