Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. Verse 39 says, "...he fell with his face to the ground and prayed." Knowing what was ahead of him, Jesus went to prepare by being before God... "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." His heart was heavy: "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."
Jesus took three of his disciples with him. Even the Son of God found comfort in the company of believers. "...Stay here and keep watch with me."
Jesus warns us: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Even though he knows we are weak... and that we will fail him again and again, he invites us daily to be with him in the garden.
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2 comments:
Helen, thank you for sharing. I was encouraged by your reflection.
thanks for a moving reflection, helen. i can't help wondering if Jesus asked peter, james, and john, not only keep watch with Him that He might draw strength from their presence, but also simply to "watch and pray" and "learn" from His example of praying earnestly in the moment of great trial. shamefully, the disciples fell asleep because of their great sorrow, but in all the coming years, i'm sure they would remember the sight of their Lord falling on His knees and crying out to God in His moment of exceeding temptation. Jesus asks them and us to "watch and pray", that we might learn the "right way" to deal with and overcome those particular temptations in our lives that are so powerful as to lead us into direct disobedience to God and threaten to uproot our faith entirely.
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