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.)

 

Tuesday Mornings with . . .

I can’t remember when it started, but it has to be five or six years ago. One of the doctors that I work with and another co-worker go to the Northwoods Vineyard Church here in our town. They asked their pastor if he could join them in starting a Bible study at the clinic where we work. Tuesday mornings at seven was the chosen time.

I maybe wake up fairly early every morning, but I really don’t like talking to anyone or even seeing anyone for at least a couple hours after crawling out of bed. I used to be quite the grouch at work when I first arrived. But I knew that God would get me through those Tuesday mornings and that I would learn to be a morning person.

I still can’t say I’m a morning person, and though I can smile and converse, I can’t honestly say that I think too deeply. But I have managed to make it to Bible Study many Tuesday mornings.

We have gone through five or six books of the Bible and studied three or four other books on living the Christian life. The group has fluctuated over the years, averaging from four to ten people. Many people have come and gone as their schedules and other outside factors have come along. It seems that when someone drops out there is always someone else who starts coming.

We open and close each week with prayer and the discussion in between often veers from the book we are supposedly studying. If anyone has a particular need, we will spend the time encouraging them and praying with them. Or we might spend an entire hour on one Bible verse or even one word. It never fails to amaze me how rich the Bible is, each verse, each word means something. Definitely a book which the writer should study for writing tips.

But that’s not the real reason I included a thank you to this group in the acknowledgements of my book. It is a rare thing in this society to be able to openly share your faith with others and even more rare to share your fears and doubts. The members of our Bible Study have supported me and strengthened my faith more than words can say. I’ve been reminded through that group, time and time again, that God is always near.

 Thank you, guys, and thank you God, for bringing us all together.

Holy Wednesday

He pulled away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, "Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?" At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face. Luke 22:41-44 (The Message)

Just like everybody else out there, I think I know what I want. I think I know what would be best for myself and my family and friends. If I pray to God that relatives with medical issues would be healed or that friends with financial difficulties would have a sudden windfall, I know that He hears my prayers. But when my prayers are said with total sincerity and unselfishness, why doesn’t He answer? I am not asking for anything for myself; I’m asking for help for loved ones. Surely God will answer those prayers.

For anyone who thinks that God doesn’t answer our prayers, or even hear them, this is the line to remember. “Not my will, but thine will be done.” God knows what is best for every one of us. He didn’t bail out His own son in his time of need, because He knew what had to happen next. And God isn’t going to bail us or our family or our friends out every time. He’s going to bail us out when He knows it is the right time.

But no matter what we pray for, God will be there and He will hear us.

pray, pray, pray

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New King James Version

As you may have noticed from previous blogs, I am not much in to picking apart Bible verses and giving you a play by play of what they mean. I usually share a story from my life and use my God-given ability of finding a Bible passage that goes with it. I can think of countless life experiences that go with this particular verse from the New Testament, but today, for a change of pace, I’m going to analyze it.

OK, I hope you saw right through that. Like I could ever analyze anything in the Bible. But I am going to go as far as giving this sort of passage a name. A sandwich.

I love the “rejoice always” and the “in everything give thanks”. Those are such important words, instructions from God. For me, they are like pieces of fresh whole wheat bread, spread with Miracle Whip. It is not truly a sandwich without the bread. The thinly sliced turkey? That would be the “pray without ceasing”.

Those three words compose one of my favorite verses. I may not be able to do much. I am not about to preach to the masses. I feel uncomfortable sharing my faith with a stranger. I cannot heal disease with the touch of my hands. But you know what I can do? I can pray.

I have prayed day and night. I have prayed on my knees and in the fetal position. I have prayed in my closet and in the bathroom. And that’s all that God asks. That I pray continually, conversing with Him constantly, keeping Him close every minute of every day.

Dear God, Heavenly Father, my prayers may not be the most eloquent, but Lord, you know that my words come from my heart. You know my prayers before I even say them, and yet it brings You joy to hear my simple words, to know that I want You as part of my life. Father, I know You hear my every prayer and that You answer my every request. And I humbly accept that Your answer may not always be the one that I want. Amen

When Un-prayed Prayers are Answered

“My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight.” James 1:19-20

I was having a bad day at work. We were working short-handed. Again. The doctor I was working with was an hour behind and his patients were relishing taking it out on me. One woman in particular had an attitude that just plain made me mad! It wasn’t my fault that she had all these problems or that the doctor wasn’t running on time.

We carry our notebook computers with us from room to room and I usually keep my e-mail open on it. I had just gone in a room with the next patient when in the corner of my screen the little box popped up informing me that I had a new e-mail. The heading was "slow to anger". A co-worker sent daily Bible scriptures and I happened to receive this passage right at that moment.

I caught my breath and nearly fell off my chair. I was even tempted to say something to the patient I was with; I actually almost wanted to give him a hug and tell him how much he was loved. That probably was not a good idea. Instead I refocused and finished questioning him about his symptoms and getting his vital signs.

After I left the room and pulled the door shut behind me, I leaned against the wall for a moment. All my anger was gone, the tension in my body had ebbed away. I smiled.

God is always with us. He knows our every need every second of every day. He answers our prayers even when we don’t pray. When things are dark and we don’t know how we can get out of yet another mess, God is there. Sometimes He sends the perfect e-mail at the perfect time, but most of the time we don’t realize until much later what He has done for us. But never, ever think for a minute that He isn’t right there beside you.

Lord, God Heavenly Father, thank you for the little things and for the big things. Help us to remember that our anger will never make things better; that the best way out of any situation is to turn it over to You. You are with us. Amen.