32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. 41 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 betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" Mark 14:32-42
I think this passage tells us what it means to be a Christian. First we see that his closest friends couldn’t hang in there with him at the most crucial time of his life. Yet Jesus remains loyal to the end. This is how Jesus deals with us. He knows we will fail him. A Christian is dependent not independent. A Christian knows his sin and failure, yet knows he is loved unconditionally anyway.
Second we see the foundational prayer that every Christian should memorize, pray and get into the core of his being.
“Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
“not what I will, but what you will” In this prayer Jesus demonstrates trust, submission, sacrifice, and love of His Father. He is actually praying to His “Daddy” because “Abba” is the diminutive, personal, intimate form in the Hebrew language of “Father”. In this prayer we see a son talking to his dad, asking to be rescued, yet choosing to trust that the opposite of His request is actually light years better than the answer he asked for would have been.
This is the highest and best prayer that a Christian can pray.
I love how even Jesus wanted an outcome to be different. However, he submitted to God immediately, something that I usually do not do. Let me take a lesson from Jesus and submit right away to the calling of God.
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