LIFE SCRIPTS

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 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? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 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. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Mark 14:32‭-‬42 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.14.32-42.NIV.

The Garden of Gethsemane was an experience that was heavy for Christ. He was weighed down by nothing other than the sin of man. The weight of our sin was so real in this place that He pleaded with God the Father to take away the cup of suffering from Him. Yet not His will but the will of the Father to be done. Philippians 2 tells us that Christ, though being God, did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped. But humbled Himself to death on the cross. He had the power to set aside this painful experience but chose to submit to the will of the Father. Scripture gives us two choices when it comes to humility… We either choose to humble ourselves like Christ or be humbled like Nebuchadnezzar. Humility is like a clothe we choose to wear. People all around us see it.

The Gethsemane experience reminds us that prayer should be continuous and fervent. Christ knew what was coming but still subjected Himself to prayer. Do we still seek God even when we know that we’ll still have to face the inevitable? When we pray at such times, God gives us grace to endure… strength for tomorrow. The disciples struggled. Their eyes barely remained open. This is the struggle we face on a daily basis on the prayer battle front. Prayer is a deadly onslaught against the kingdom of darkness. It’s not a surprise that it faces such an uphill challenge. But this shouldn’t discourage us but should instead make us more hopeful as we seek God. It should help us tarry in prayer.