Jesus Prays

Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove, Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray. He took Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair.

Then he told them, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awake with me.”

He went forward a little, and fell face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine.”

Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep. “Peter,” he called, “couldn’t you even stay awake with me one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For the spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!”

Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot go away until I drink it all, your will be done.”

He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy, so he went back to prayer the third time, saying the same things again.

Then he came to the disciples and said, “Sleep on now and take your rest . . . but no! The time has come! I am betrayed into the hands of evil men! Up! Let’s be going! Look! Here comes the man who is betraying me!” (Matthew 26:36-46, Living Bible)

It’s Thursday night, and Jesus has just eaten His Last Supper and instituted Communion. In only a few hours, Judas Iscariot will turn Him over to the authorities. The next day, He will be convicted during a mock trial, beaten, and sentenced to die. He knows what is coming, and though He has brought it up several times, His disciples still don’t understand how this week will end.

Jesus takes His closest disciples to a garden to pray. They fall asleep on Him, not once, not twice, but three times!

Which is what I do most nights after I go to bed. After I turn out the lights and get all comfy, I start saying my prayers. I don’t get through the Lord’s Prayer. My mind wanders as I try to confess my sins for the day. I forget all the things I’m thankful for. I can’t remember all the needs I wanted to bring to the Lord in prayer. And as many times as I pull my brain back to the matter at hand, I can never finish that prayer. My mind keeps wandering, or I simply fall asleep.

I keep thinking I need to change my routine and say my prayers while I’m still sitting up in bed. Or maybe while I’m still in the living room, after I’ve turned off the TV and before I’ve brushed my teeth.

But there I am, no better than the men who followed Jesus when He lived among them. He forgave them, and I know He’ll forgive me. But I still need to keep trying.  

(The picture is of the rose garden at the Green Lake Christian Conference Center when I was there in 2011 for a writers’ conference.)