In a recent Sunday School class, we were discussing the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I noted something different that had escaped me in the past.
Luke 22
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
He prayed on his own. In prayer he reconciled his will to that of Heavenly Father. Maybe that is the point of prayer. Not to ask God for what we want, but to come to understand what he wants and then adjust our perspective.
After Jesus bent his will to the Father’s, then God sent an angel to strengthen him. How often do things work out better for us once we choose to accept his will over our own? Then as the agony increased so did the earnestness of the prayer of Jesus. Similarly, sometimes life has to become more challenging for us to find inspiration by praying more earnestly.
Finally, when Jesus turned to his disciples he found them asleep. Do we sometimes feel like there is nobody to help us? Others often seem unwilling or unable to assist in our hour of need. Yet, in this case it says they ‘slept for sorrow’. I’m not completely sure what that means, but perhaps it means they were overwhelmed by all that was happening, and did not have the strength to continue. How often do we assume that when others don’t seem helpful, it means they are not motivated or don’t have sufficient faith? In some cases that may be true, but it is just as likely they have some burdens of their own preventing them from helping to lift our burdens.
The pattern that Jesus experienced on the night he spent in Gethsemane can be a pattern that we ourselves might consider.
Luke 22
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
He prayed on his own. In prayer he reconciled his will to that of Heavenly Father. Maybe that is the point of prayer. Not to ask God for what we want, but to come to understand what he wants and then adjust our perspective.
After Jesus bent his will to the Father’s, then God sent an angel to strengthen him. How often do things work out better for us once we choose to accept his will over our own? Then as the agony increased so did the earnestness of the prayer of Jesus. Similarly, sometimes life has to become more challenging for us to find inspiration by praying more earnestly.
Finally, when Jesus turned to his disciples he found them asleep. Do we sometimes feel like there is nobody to help us? Others often seem unwilling or unable to assist in our hour of need. Yet, in this case it says they ‘slept for sorrow’. I’m not completely sure what that means, but perhaps it means they were overwhelmed by all that was happening, and did not have the strength to continue. How often do we assume that when others don’t seem helpful, it means they are not motivated or don’t have sufficient faith? In some cases that may be true, but it is just as likely they have some burdens of their own preventing them from helping to lift our burdens.
The pattern that Jesus experienced on the night he spent in Gethsemane can be a pattern that we ourselves might consider.
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