gathsamane

Prayer in the garden of Gethsemane

After predicting that Peter would deny Him thrice that night, Jesus along with His disciples came to a place called Gethsemane. He said to His disciples to sit there while He wanted to go and pray. They He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee i.e. John and Jacob for prayer and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He asked them to say there and to watch with Him (Matt.26:36-46). The first prayerHe then went a little farther and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt”. Afterwards, He came to His disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prepared Himself through prayer to face His suffering and crucifixion because He needed spiritual strength through prayers. He needed the fellowship of His close companions all the more at that point of time. He wanted them to watch with Him and to pray. But they fell asleep. When He came to His disciples for their words of comfort and of prayers, he found them sleeping. Similarly when we had needed the intercessory prayers of our spiritual companions during our times of trial, they failed to uphold us in our prayers. But they were found slumbering.

Jesus prayed the above prayer to His Father. He knew well that this cup would not pass from Him as it was ordained by His Father that He should drink it. Since Jesus was 100% human and was manifested in flesh, He had to experience mental agonies like you and me. At times, we pass through the furnace of afflictions, we pray, “Let this cup pass from me”. But we do not add, “if it be possible” of “not as I will, but as Thou wilt”.

Jesus told Peter who was about to deny Him that he should watch and pray with Him for one hour so that he might not enter into temptation. I have heard preachers say that if Peter had watched and prayed, he would not have denied Jesus. This is not correct. Jesus had already predicted that Peter would deny Him. Even if Peter had watched and prayed with Jesus, the former would have denied Jesus because the prophecy of Jesus that He would deny Him thrice needed to be fulfilled. Jesus revealed to Peter the secret of prayer that in order to overcome temptation, he needed the spiritual strength from God so that he might not enter into such temptation in his life. Jesus did not mean the temptation of Peter to deny Him at that particular time but the temptation Peter would face in his entire life towards the lust of the flesh and the lust of the world, especially after the ascension of his Master into the heaven.

Prayer prepares us in our spiritual life so that we may not enter into temptation at all. These days, we do not pray before entering into temptation but pray only after entering into temptation.

Luke writes in his gospel that an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnest. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:43-44). Nobody else in this world could have prayed like this. Nobody else would also pray like this. Oh, this precious prayer of Jesus was not only for Himself but also for His Body, the Church. As we remember our Lord praying for us in the garden of Gethsemane, we get His strength in our life to overcome any temptation. In almost every Christian home, the picture of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane adorns the walls.

Similarly, in our life, as we pray earnestly during our trial, the angels do visit us and strengthen us.

The second and the third prayers

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done”. And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

In this second prayer, Jesus yielded completely to the will of His Father, stating “Thy will be done”.

Then Jesus left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to his disciples and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray Me”.

Thrice He found His disciples sleeping. Today also, the same Jesus finds His Church sleeping as this world is passing through turmoil, violence and war. Let us today dedicate ourselves to prayer and fasting because the hour is at hand for the prophesies of Jesus regarding the end of this age to be fulfilled.

- Job Anbalagan