Prayer in the Garden

Mark 14:32-42

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Why do we pray? Of what value is the time spent. Elizabeth Sharp wrote in a Facebook post that her son didn’t understand why his prayers for her to be healed of her cancer were not being answered. The atheist says it’s because God is not there and prayer is a waste of time. What does Jesus demonstrate and what does God say to us?

Jesus, on the night that He is arrested retreats to the Mt. of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. It is not unusual for Jesus to spend periods of reflection and prayer. He does it when He chooses the twelve for wisdom, when John the Baptist dies He prays for comfort, and at other times when He is making ministry decisions. The New Testament mentions that Jesus often retreated to be by Himself and pray. And in this text, this is the final mention of His retreating for prayer.

We can see in Jesus’ practice of prayer His need for prayer and what He pursues in prayer much that we can learn from for our own spiritual benefit.

The purpose of prayer is much more than us trying to get God to intervene in our circumstances and do something that we want Him to do for us.

What can we learn from Jesus about the power of prayer in His life?

 

  1. Fighting Against Distress and Trouble
  2. Jesus was distressed so He prayed

        34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he         said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

            35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if    possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,[f] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet        not what I will, but what you will.”

There are two ways that we can have our life troubles relieved through prayer:

  1. God can change our circumstances
  2. God can change us, our desires, displacing anxiety with peace.

Phil 4: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anxiety is a normal part of living in a sinful world. Things don’t work as they should, and that includes me! Prayer is a bulwark against anxiety. In prayer we focus on God instead of circumstances. In Job, it is the appearance of God that causes Job to come to peace. His children did not arise from the dead. But God did restore His blessing in Job’s life. Romans 8:28 is true. Do you know why it is true? It is true because God is. Do you know for whom Romans 8:28 is not true? Those who do not love God and who are not pursuing His purposes.

  1. Jesus knew the Apostles were about to be distressed

21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

John 14: 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

  1. God knows we will all confront trouble

John 16: 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Beyond fighting distress and trouble, we also see Jesus fighting for others in prayer, and we see His desire that they might fight for Him!

 

  1. Fighting For Others
  2. Jesus fought for the Apostles in prayer

38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into      temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

John13-17 again:

13: 33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer.      You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you    now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

            34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have        loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

            5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going,         so how can we know the way?”

            6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No     one comes to the Father except through me.

 

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear      fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear         fruit unless you remain in me.

            5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me,     and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can      do nothing.

16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 

4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will         remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this    from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going      to him who sent me.

John 17:

9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those     you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and       all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

            11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the         world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may      be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been    lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture      would be fulfilled.

            13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am      still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my      joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world   has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of       the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They         are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them        by the truth; your word is truth.

 

  1. Jesus sought help from others in prayer

He calls them aside.

He expects them to be watching and praying.

He is disappointed that they are asleep. More than metaphor.

When we are awake to our need and to the power of God, then we will pray in order to be connected to God!

II Corinthians 12: Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

  1. Our prayers matter

        Ephesians 6: 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then…

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

(Consider the different kinds of Psalms to lead you to different kinds of prayers.) Celebration, Rembering God’s goodness, Calling down wrath on enemies, pleas for salvation and vindication, Declarations of trust etc.

Phil 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I Thes 5: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19 Do not quench the Spirit.

Romans 8: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I Corinthians 14: 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

Beyond fighting personal distress and trouble, and fighting to help others, the real spotlight in Jesus’ prayer in the Garden is His fight to submit to the will of God!

III. Fighting for God’s Will

  1. If any man lacks wisdom

James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who         gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given    to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not      doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to       receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-  minded and unstable in all they do.

 

  1. The battle between spirit and flesh

        This is going to be a battle that relates to human desire. We cannot have whatever we want. We are allowed to ask, seek and knock with perseverance. Jesus prays three times in one hour! It seems obvious to me that God is silent. But, Jesus also makes His request in a humble and submissive manner. He entrusts His life to God!

Galatians 5: 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 

  1. Finding God’s will in submission

        Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in   heaven.

        36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”