The Struggle of Prayer - Matt 26.36-46
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
… Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
… Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
The discipline of prayer
Though there have been a few moderately popular books on the disciplines of the Christian life, I am constrained to believe that the average Christian is largely unaccustomed to the regular exercise of spiritual disciplines. Despite a revival of interest in religion and the continued growth of the “seeker-sensitive” church, there remains a crisis of piety on the American religious scene. The piety demanded by Scripture has been distorted by preaching that confuses religious activity with cultural values. In short “religious experiences” have replaced biblical piety. The foremost of the spiritual disciplines is prayer and there are two common reasons why Christians don't pray. First, too many view prayer as a quaint devotional exercise. Prayers of this sort seem easy: they are composed of a few repetitious phrases uttered at mealtimes or at the beginning and close of the day. They have little or no efficacious value – there is no measurable result from this kind of praying. The second reason Christians don't pray is that real prayer is difficult: it demands one’s best energy, the most productive time of the day, a thorough knowledge of Scripture and serious concentration. Even when a person does all these things, it may still seem like he is not making any progress. The initial experience of prayer (particularly intercessory prayer) may cause one to feel like a child being required to write a professional paper on quantum physics.
The psalmist writes: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival (Psalm 42.1-4). These are the words of a person who struggles with the Lord in prayer. There is a longing to be in the presence of God, there is a longing for holiness, there is a longing for the kingdom of God. The struggle of prayer requires an internal constraint to conform the heart to delight in the law of the Lord; it assumes responsibility for the sins of others and prophetically intercedes for all those in need of God’s grace. The believer recognizes that in his prayer life there ought to be a balance between the mystery of the Spirit’s intervention and his own willing response to the Spirit’s prompting. To struggle in prayer requires a passion for the God’s holiness. The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him (2 Chronicles 16.9). How many Christians have such a heart?
In his letter to the church at Colossae Paul commends a member of their fellowship with these words: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis (Colossians 4.12). It was just this kind of praying that Paul asked the Romans to do on his behalf, I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company (Romans 15.30-32). Paul’s prayers were God exalting and kingdom focused. His desire for deliverance was not for his personal comfort, but for the advance of the gospel. Indeed, so very often he informs his readers that they should expect to suffer for the sake of the gospel (e.g., Romans 8.16-18; Philippians 1.29; also Matthew 10.38).
So much of what God desires to give his children comes in response to a life of prayer. This is contrary to a culture where immediate gratification is a primary marketing tool. Immediate, easy and lasting gratification is a myth whether that be diet pills, the Ablounger, driving a BMW M5 or religion. You hear people say, “I gave church a try and it didn't work.” The Bible doesn't ask you to try God because “it” works. It says, seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55.6-7), or Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known (Jeremiah 33.3). Among those who say that religion does not work, who has fasted and prayed for a week? Who has taken a retreat to seek after personal holiness? Who has saturated his mind with the Word of God and begged God for his mercy? Moses and Elijah fasted forty days. Jesus did so as well and frequently arose before dawn to spend time in prayer (cp. Paul in Acts 9.9 or Daniel in Daniel 10.2-3). The problem with living a truly Christian life based on prayer is that most people have never really given it a try.
Jesus’ pattern of prayer in the gospel of luke
At his baptism Jesus was praying when the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3.21-22). This was the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry and it was followed by a period of 40 days of fasting and prayer in the wilderness (Luke 4.1-13). The public ministry of Jesus was important and the demands on him were unrelenting but it was Jesus’ custom to have regular seasons of uninterrupted prayer (cp. 5.12-16). By way of comparison, Mark tells us that Jesus rose very early in the morning while it was still dark and went out to a desolate place to pray. No one knew where he was and they were frantic to find him (Mark 1.35-37). Major events in Jesus’ ministry were preceded by a protracted time in seclusion and prayer. This is supported by the 40 days in the wilderness prior to entering into his public ministry. Before choosing his disciples the Gospel of Luke records that Jesus prayed: In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued to prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles (Luke 6.12-13). Prayer preceded the announcement that he was the Messiah and that the Christ must suffer and be rejected before being killed (Luke 9.18-20). Jesus tells his disciples that effective evangelism follows earnest prayer (Luke 10.1-12). Moreover, those who pray most effectively do not easily give up (Luke 18.1).
Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26.36-46)
As Jesus’ ministry was inaugurated with prayer so it climaxed with prayer. After having spent three plus years with a hand-chosen band of men, his last night with them was overshadowed by the announcement that one of them would betray him and another would deny him. It must have been a shocking moment for the disciples, just as it was a profoundly sad moment for Jesus. After telling an incredulous Peter that he would deny him, he invites him along with James and John to retire to a private place in Gethsemane to pray. Up until this point he had concealed the depth of his emotions, but now, in language reminiscent of the psalmist, he reveals to the inner three that he is overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death: My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your wakes have gone over me (Psalm 42.6-7). Jesus, accompanied by these three disciples, separated themselves from the other eight disciples. Then he further separates himself from the three. Though the distance is only a stone’s throw it is enough to afford Jesus privacy and for the disciples to be visually connected to him as they are invited to join him in the agony of his prayer. Though the disciples may have overheard something of what Jesus prayed, they were unable to maintain their spiritual vigil and they drifted off to sleep.
The words of Jesus’ prayer reflect the tension in every prayer: on the one hand, all things are possible with God, but, on the other, some things are clearly impossible. That is, though God can do all things, he will never act contrary to his nature or decretive will. So, as Jesus pleads with his Father to let this cup pass from me so that he might escape, he is more fully constrained by his desire to be submissive to his Father’s will. The intimacy of fellowship between the Son and the Father is poignantly preserved in Mark’s gospel as we read Jesus addressing God as Abba Father (Mark 14.36; Abba is Aramaic).
After a period of time (not necessary an hour), Jesus interrupts his communion with the Father to monitor the progress of his disciples. They too are about to face their greatest trial to date and he is concerned for their spiritual wellbeing. Sadly, he finds them sleeping. Surely he must have felt some disappointment: in his greatest trial his closest friends (John 15.15) have left him to fend for himself. Of course, it is more than that: they fail to recognize their great danger. Jesus said, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26.40-41). His response is a mixed one. On the one hand, there is the disappointment that they have fail to stand with him in his hour of need; on the other, he warns them of succumbing to their fatigue because a greater temptation lies ahead. The temptation to sleep is not nearly so great as the temptation to renounce their allegiance to him as Messiah. The time is coming when it will be too late to pray.
Again Jesus removes himself from the immediate presence of his disciples to continue his heart-rending petition. There is nothing new in the second and third sessions of his prayer (Mark 14.39). The need for conformation and comfort prompted his continued petition. It is the physician Luke who, not surprisingly, informs us of the Father’s response to his Son’s prayer, And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him (Luke 22.43). He also tells us that the anguish of Jesus’ prayer had physical consequences, And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22.44).
When Jesus returned for a third time to find yet again his disciples sleeping (Luke describes it as sleep from the exhaustion of sorrow – 22.45), he says somewhat ironically keep on sleeping and take your rest. They slept when they should have prayed and now the time for praying is past. The decisive hour has come and now they must act whether or not they are ready. Jesus had already engaged the enemy. He had fought a battle, had been strengthened by God’s messenger, and now it was a matter of finishing the course. Christians have a new life in Christ so that they might pray, and in their prayers they petition a loving Lord that a dying world might live.
Though there have been a few moderately popular books on the disciplines of the Christian life, I am constrained to believe that the average Christian is largely unaccustomed to the regular exercise of spiritual disciplines. Despite a revival of interest in religion and the continued growth of the “seeker-sensitive” church, there remains a crisis of piety on the American religious scene. The piety demanded by Scripture has been distorted by preaching that confuses religious activity with cultural values. In short “religious experiences” have replaced biblical piety. The foremost of the spiritual disciplines is prayer and there are two common reasons why Christians don't pray. First, too many view prayer as a quaint devotional exercise. Prayers of this sort seem easy: they are composed of a few repetitious phrases uttered at mealtimes or at the beginning and close of the day. They have little or no efficacious value – there is no measurable result from this kind of praying. The second reason Christians don't pray is that real prayer is difficult: it demands one’s best energy, the most productive time of the day, a thorough knowledge of Scripture and serious concentration. Even when a person does all these things, it may still seem like he is not making any progress. The initial experience of prayer (particularly intercessory prayer) may cause one to feel like a child being required to write a professional paper on quantum physics.
The psalmist writes: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival (Psalm 42.1-4). These are the words of a person who struggles with the Lord in prayer. There is a longing to be in the presence of God, there is a longing for holiness, there is a longing for the kingdom of God. The struggle of prayer requires an internal constraint to conform the heart to delight in the law of the Lord; it assumes responsibility for the sins of others and prophetically intercedes for all those in need of God’s grace. The believer recognizes that in his prayer life there ought to be a balance between the mystery of the Spirit’s intervention and his own willing response to the Spirit’s prompting. To struggle in prayer requires a passion for the God’s holiness. The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him (2 Chronicles 16.9). How many Christians have such a heart?
In his letter to the church at Colossae Paul commends a member of their fellowship with these words: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis (Colossians 4.12). It was just this kind of praying that Paul asked the Romans to do on his behalf, I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company (Romans 15.30-32). Paul’s prayers were God exalting and kingdom focused. His desire for deliverance was not for his personal comfort, but for the advance of the gospel. Indeed, so very often he informs his readers that they should expect to suffer for the sake of the gospel (e.g., Romans 8.16-18; Philippians 1.29; also Matthew 10.38).
So much of what God desires to give his children comes in response to a life of prayer. This is contrary to a culture where immediate gratification is a primary marketing tool. Immediate, easy and lasting gratification is a myth whether that be diet pills, the Ablounger, driving a BMW M5 or religion. You hear people say, “I gave church a try and it didn't work.” The Bible doesn't ask you to try God because “it” works. It says, seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55.6-7), or Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known (Jeremiah 33.3). Among those who say that religion does not work, who has fasted and prayed for a week? Who has taken a retreat to seek after personal holiness? Who has saturated his mind with the Word of God and begged God for his mercy? Moses and Elijah fasted forty days. Jesus did so as well and frequently arose before dawn to spend time in prayer (cp. Paul in Acts 9.9 or Daniel in Daniel 10.2-3). The problem with living a truly Christian life based on prayer is that most people have never really given it a try.
Jesus’ pattern of prayer in the gospel of luke
At his baptism Jesus was praying when the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3.21-22). This was the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry and it was followed by a period of 40 days of fasting and prayer in the wilderness (Luke 4.1-13). The public ministry of Jesus was important and the demands on him were unrelenting but it was Jesus’ custom to have regular seasons of uninterrupted prayer (cp. 5.12-16). By way of comparison, Mark tells us that Jesus rose very early in the morning while it was still dark and went out to a desolate place to pray. No one knew where he was and they were frantic to find him (Mark 1.35-37). Major events in Jesus’ ministry were preceded by a protracted time in seclusion and prayer. This is supported by the 40 days in the wilderness prior to entering into his public ministry. Before choosing his disciples the Gospel of Luke records that Jesus prayed: In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued to prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles (Luke 6.12-13). Prayer preceded the announcement that he was the Messiah and that the Christ must suffer and be rejected before being killed (Luke 9.18-20). Jesus tells his disciples that effective evangelism follows earnest prayer (Luke 10.1-12). Moreover, those who pray most effectively do not easily give up (Luke 18.1).
Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26.36-46)
As Jesus’ ministry was inaugurated with prayer so it climaxed with prayer. After having spent three plus years with a hand-chosen band of men, his last night with them was overshadowed by the announcement that one of them would betray him and another would deny him. It must have been a shocking moment for the disciples, just as it was a profoundly sad moment for Jesus. After telling an incredulous Peter that he would deny him, he invites him along with James and John to retire to a private place in Gethsemane to pray. Up until this point he had concealed the depth of his emotions, but now, in language reminiscent of the psalmist, he reveals to the inner three that he is overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death: My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your wakes have gone over me (Psalm 42.6-7). Jesus, accompanied by these three disciples, separated themselves from the other eight disciples. Then he further separates himself from the three. Though the distance is only a stone’s throw it is enough to afford Jesus privacy and for the disciples to be visually connected to him as they are invited to join him in the agony of his prayer. Though the disciples may have overheard something of what Jesus prayed, they were unable to maintain their spiritual vigil and they drifted off to sleep.
The words of Jesus’ prayer reflect the tension in every prayer: on the one hand, all things are possible with God, but, on the other, some things are clearly impossible. That is, though God can do all things, he will never act contrary to his nature or decretive will. So, as Jesus pleads with his Father to let this cup pass from me so that he might escape, he is more fully constrained by his desire to be submissive to his Father’s will. The intimacy of fellowship between the Son and the Father is poignantly preserved in Mark’s gospel as we read Jesus addressing God as Abba Father (Mark 14.36; Abba is Aramaic).
After a period of time (not necessary an hour), Jesus interrupts his communion with the Father to monitor the progress of his disciples. They too are about to face their greatest trial to date and he is concerned for their spiritual wellbeing. Sadly, he finds them sleeping. Surely he must have felt some disappointment: in his greatest trial his closest friends (John 15.15) have left him to fend for himself. Of course, it is more than that: they fail to recognize their great danger. Jesus said, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26.40-41). His response is a mixed one. On the one hand, there is the disappointment that they have fail to stand with him in his hour of need; on the other, he warns them of succumbing to their fatigue because a greater temptation lies ahead. The temptation to sleep is not nearly so great as the temptation to renounce their allegiance to him as Messiah. The time is coming when it will be too late to pray.
Again Jesus removes himself from the immediate presence of his disciples to continue his heart-rending petition. There is nothing new in the second and third sessions of his prayer (Mark 14.39). The need for conformation and comfort prompted his continued petition. It is the physician Luke who, not surprisingly, informs us of the Father’s response to his Son’s prayer, And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him (Luke 22.43). He also tells us that the anguish of Jesus’ prayer had physical consequences, And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22.44).
When Jesus returned for a third time to find yet again his disciples sleeping (Luke describes it as sleep from the exhaustion of sorrow – 22.45), he says somewhat ironically keep on sleeping and take your rest. They slept when they should have prayed and now the time for praying is past. The decisive hour has come and now they must act whether or not they are ready. Jesus had already engaged the enemy. He had fought a battle, had been strengthened by God’s messenger, and now it was a matter of finishing the course. Christians have a new life in Christ so that they might pray, and in their prayers they petition a loving Lord that a dying world might live.