THE LORD’S PRAYER IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
The Lord Jesus’ life was filled with prayers. Be it in the morning or at night; on mountains or at sea; in the wilderness or in the temple, He set good examples in prayers. The most detailed and heartrending prayer was His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night that He was betrayed. That prayer was not only for His own benefit, but also for the salvation of our souls. From the Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, we learn the following: -
1.Pray With Faith
Mark 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
This shows great faith.
The children of God pray to Him asking for power and grace. Faith is the prerequisite to please God and He will hear our prayers of faith.
The Bible records, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6).
The Lord also teaches us, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24).
Below are the examples.
There came a leper to the Lord Jesus Christ, beseeching and kneeling down to Him, saying, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean (these words were spoken with absolute faith). The Lord Jesus Christ, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched the lepersaying, I will; be thou clean. As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from the leper, and the leper was cleansed (Mark 1:40-42).
Two blind men followed Lord Jesus, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened (Matt. 9:27-30).
As such, when we pray, we must ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavered is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord (Jas. 1:6-7).
2.Pray With Obedience
Matt. 26:39 O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
How obedient is this!
The Scriptures record,“Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1Sam. 15:22). The Lord Jesus Christ also hadHis weaknesses when He was still in the flesh. As such, He said, “If it be possible, let this cup (crucifixion) pass from me”. However, He obeyed the will of the Father in everything, and did not put His own will above the will of the Father, for“He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” (Phil. 2:8-9).
The Bible also records, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1John 5:14).
However, we must not be demanding, just as Paul mentioned: “And lest I should be exalted above the measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2Cor. 12:7-9).
They are truly obedient children of God.
3. Pray Earnestly
Luke 22:44 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.
Such a heartrending and earnest prayer!
To pray earnestly is one of the conditions for our prayers to be heard. The Lord teaches us to ask with importunity (Luke 11:5-13).
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might now rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit (Jas. 5:17-18).
The blind Bartimaeus was healed because he prayed earnestly. The Bible records,“And they came to Jericho: and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10:46-52).
Hezekiah the King of Judah was sick unto death. Prophet Isaiah told him that he shall die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and wept when he prayed to the Lord God. As such, the Lord God answered his prayer, and added fifteen years to his days. The Lord God said, “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears.” (Isa. 38:1-5). This is the effectiveness of King Hezekiah’s earnest prayer.
The Scriptures record, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” (Heb. 5:7).
This was the example given by our Lord Jesus concerning an earnest prayer so that we could follow and emulate Him.
4.Pray With Persistence
Matt. 26:44 (lower portion) Prayed the third time, saying the same words.
This is a representation of persistence.
The Bible encourages us to continue in prayer (Rom. 12:12; Col. 4:2; Acts 1:14). This is the way for our prayers to be heard.
The woman of Canaan prayed to the Lord to heal her daughter’s sickness. Although she was rejected once, she did not give up. In the end the Lord had mercy on her and healed her daughter’s sickness (Matt. 15:22-28). Prophet Elijah prayed seven times to God for rain before his prayer was answered (1Kings 18:42-45). This is an example of persistent prayers.
Lord Jesus spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint,saying, “There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.” (Luke 18:1-8). If we pray continuously and persistently, God will surely hear our prayers.
The above is a good example of the Lord Jesus Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. May all brothers and sisters emulate Lord Jesus’ prayers and pray that the Lord God will listen to our faithful, obedient, earnest and persistent prayers for, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4: 6-7).
For mutual encouragement. All glory be to the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Extracted from: The Holy Spirit Times 1973 – Issue No.271)