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Day 294

Luke 22 : 39-46; Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42 "PROSTRATION IN PRAYER"

Day 294 – Luke 22

Text: Luke 22 : 39-46; Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42

PROSTRATION IN PRAYER

In the prayer vigil in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke noted that Jesus was so focused and intense that He perspired profusely. His sweat was as drops of blood. In the accounts of Mark and Matthew, both noted that Jesus prayed three times, over this issue.

Let us take time to study this account from Matthew’s Gospel. The most immediate question that comes to mind would be to understand just why Jesus prayed three times concerning this issue. Let us consider the text found in Matthew’s Gospel.

“He went a little farther and fell on His face,
and prayed, saying,
‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me:
nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'”
Matthew 26:39

Matthew also noticed that Jesus knelt in prayer, but he heightened the significance of this posture by describing in even greater detail what prostration meant. Jesus knelt in prayer, and actually placed His face to the ground. What a graphic picture of total submission to His Father in prayer. How deeply moving it must have been to note that He who calmed the seas, He who healed the desperately ill, and He who cast out demons with a word, should prostrate Himself so humbly before His Father. What words can describe this profound experience of Jesus in prayer?

MOVEMENTS IN PRAYER

To those familiar with deep prayer, there would be immediate appreciation of the fact that though a prayer may be uttered three times, the prayers are actually different. There are “movements in prayer”. Those movements may seem subtle, but they are nevertheless real and significant.

Let us consider the second time Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Look carefully at the way Matthew recorded the words of Jesus.

“Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying,
‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away
unless I drink it, Your will be done.’ “
Matthew 26:42

The words of the second prayer were similar, but not quite the same. There was a definite movement from the first prayer to the second one.

In the first prayer, Jesus said,

“If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me…”
Matthew 26:39

In the second prayer, Jesus said,

“If this cup cannot pass from Me, unless I drink it…”
Matthew 26:42

There was an interval between the two prayers. Jesus went to check His Disciples. He found them sleeping. He then returned to praying.

We must understand that all the time Jesus was in constant communion with His Father. He was grappling with His own human feelings that surged powerfully from within Him. Jesus was both Divine and totally human. The human nature expressed itself in its fullness. To accept pain, suffering and death would not be something easily understood or something that would come about readily.

The full and final acceptance of the Will of God came about gradually. Jesus moved from “If it is possible…” to “If this cup cannot pass from Me, unless I drink it…” There was a definite movement towards accepting the will of God.

It is a great challenge to understand movements in prayer. This movement comes about when the following things are observed:-

1. The will of God makes a deep and profound impression on the human soul.

2. The will of God is understood at an even greater level.

3. The human will yields humbly to a greater will – God’s!

4. There is gradual understanding leading to full and final acceptance of God’s will.

Again, it must be said that prayer is not to be understood as a static or passive thing. Prayer is a deeply moving experience. Prayer is alive in every sense of the word. God interacts with the petitioner. However, it would take much maturity and experience on the part of the petitioner to understand movements in prayer.

STILL UNABLE TO SHRUG OFF SLEEP

After the second season of prayer, Jesus once again went to look into how His Disciples fared. He had already given sound advice concerning the need to watch and pray (Matthew 26:41). How would they respond the second time round?

Matthew recorded a solemn reality. The Disciples failed their Teacher once again.

“And He came and found them asleep again,
for their eyes were heavy.
So He left them, went away again,
And prayed the third time, saying the same words.”
Matthew 26:43-44

Did the Disciples struggle to keep awake? We must say that they must have tried. However, the combination of factors worked against them. They were sorrowful in heart, they were physically worn out, they were not used to praying the way Jesus did, their spirit had not learned how to overcome the flesh, and they had not learned how to discipline themselves so that their bodies obeyed at the slightest command of the spirit. They failed miserably in their prayer life.

THE THIRD TIME AROUND IN PRAYER

The third time around saw Jesus triumphant. The struggle of the will was over. Prayer made in the spirit of totally humility had made all the difference. Jesus would drink the cup that His Father had given to Him. He would drink every drop of pain and suffering. How awesome is the role of prayer in life.