And he came out and
went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed
him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray
that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a
stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing,
remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And
there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an
agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood
falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the
disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you
sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:39-46).
Leaving all the drama and revelation of the
upper room, Jesus went, “as was his custom” to one of His
favorite sacred places. He went to a place of prayer on the nearby Mount of
Olives. What a strong encouragement to disciples in every age to imitate the
first disciples by following the Savior to a regular sacred place of prayer.
When they arrived, Jesus gave them some significant instruction about prayer.
The Holy Spirit inspired Luke to provide even further revelation into a special
kind of prayer by giving us a glimpse of the Son’s earnest communication with
His Father. Here at a pivotal moment between the last supper and the cross we
are given some powerful truth about the prayer that strengthens us.
A primary passion of prayer is sanctification.
Prayer provides fortification in the battle against temptation. When Jesus gave
the disciples a command to pray, He added a reason… “Pray that you may
not enter into temptation”. This command echoed the petition for
deliverance from temptation in His earlier teaching about prayer… “And lead us
not into temptation” (Luke 11:4). The Son of God came into the same
fallen, rebellious, and sin-filled world that you and I live in. He experienced
the same temptations we do. He lived in holiness, above and beyond the world’s
temptation… “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are,
yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The Holy Spirit calls us to imitate
Christ’s life of holiness and sanctification… “As he who called you is
holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be
holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Evidence that we are truly
born again maturing disciples is a passionate prayer for grace to overcome
temptation and to grow in the Spirit’s work of sanctification… “But now
that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit
you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:22).
A principal purpose of prayer is surrender.
The fully human and divine Son of Man and Son of God showed us that while we
live here in this temporal world, just like Him, we will experience a constant
battle of wills. God is at work in us to transform our selfish will into a
Christ honoring and God glorifying will… “It is God who works in you,
both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
This is a spiritual work in the soul that our flesh desperately resists,
producing in us a war of wills… “I delight in the law of God, in my inner
being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my
mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members” (Romans
7:22-23). We cannot win this war of wills on our own, but when we choose
sides in the daily battles by surrendering to God’s will, Christ who lives in
us grants us the victory… “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me
from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).
A prominent proof of prayer is steadfastness.
Strengthened by an angel, Jesus “rose from prayer” and commanded
His overwhelmed and sleeping disciples to “rise and pray”.
Earnest and genuine prayers for sanctification and surrender lead to rising
levels of steadfast faith because God will do the same for you and I… “Are
they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of
those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).
As we grow up into Christ, we overcome temptation, surrender our will, and grow in faith as we pray…
The Prayer that Strengthens Us.
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