The Struggle of Prayer
Luke 11:1 KJV And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Mark 14:32-42 KJV And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. [33] And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; [34] And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. [35] And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. [36] And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. [37] And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? [38] Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. [39] And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. [40] And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. [41] And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. [42] Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
I. INTRODUCTION
-I hope that all of you have had the opportunity at least once to have been in a time of prayer where your own personal will has been so stretched that it was shaped into what God wanted.
-I am fearful that I live in a time that this sort of praying is become almost extinct. The enticements of Laodecia have overcome the willingness for us individually to really struggle in prayer as is modeled for us by Jesus in Gethsemane. Laodecia has a choke-hold on far too many in this generation. Babylon has intoxicated our “struggling” in prayer.
I can remember a few of those “struggling” prayers in my own personal life that have pushed me in the direction of the path that I know travel. There were prayers in the old prayer room behind the platform when I was 14, 15, and 16 years old. There were those prayers that I prayed in my 20’s seeking further direction of God and for Him to open doors that no man could open. There have been prayers under benches in the choir loft even since I have been involved in spiritual leadership that has helped me to gain my footing with God.
-Those prayers and others like those have become so very valuable to me. . . . Particularly now that I am looking back from the half-way point in life. Only eternity will be able to shed light on the value of those prayer meetings.
-When I say “struggling” in prayer, I do not mean it is those prayers that we are fighting with some besetting sin or with the devil or with some outside temptation. . . . When I say “struggling” in prayer, I mean those times that our will does not match up to the will and purpose of God.
• Those prayer meetings are marked with tears.
• They are marked with desperation.
• They are imprinted with fear and trembling.
• They are defined by deep emotion.
-I should think that most who make any effort to fully turn their life over to God will find a certain initial resistance to what God really longs to do within us. Far too often we choose to allow a bit of carnality and stubbornness to stifle our relationship with God.
Samuel Chadwick -- There is no power like that of prevailing prayer—of Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in the sweat of blood. Add to this list from the records of the church your personal observation and experience, and always there is the cost of passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails. It turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God.
II. GETHSEMANE
-Gethsemane was the place of the olive press. There are several different translations that shed a little more light on Gethsemane.
Rheims -- A country place (Matthew). A farm (Mark)
Knox -- A plot of land (Matthew).
Twentieth Century New Testament -- A garden (Matthew).
-It appears that Gethsemane had a certain comfortable and restful air about it. But the peace of the garden was about to be so disrupted by the most intense prayer that was ever prayed in the history of the world.
-There are certain characteristics of “struggling” prayers:
• They shatter the peacefulness of our surroundings.
• They usher in pain and agony to the careful order of life.
• They battle with our will.
• They disrupt the meticulously groomed paths that we travel.
• They sharply confront the production of our own ideas.
• They are marked by urgency and intensity.
-Some other translations give this description of the Lord in that place of “struggling” prayer:
Matthew 26:38 KJV Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. . . .
Weymouth -- My soul is crushed with anguish, even to the point of death.
Luke 22:44 KJV And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly. . .
Beck -- He begin to struggle inwardly. . .
Weymouth -- An agony of distress having come upon Him. . .
-What one discovers in the Gethsemane’s of prayer and in the pattern of “struggling” prayer that the greatest trophy is not a crown but a cup.
-The preaching of Jesus (Matthew 21-25) in the Passover week was steadily bringing things to a head. This is what happens with all real preaching. If preaching does not subdue us, it will anger us. The better the preaching is, then the more it either becomes the savor of life or a savor of death to us.
-This kind of preaching has to be fueled by prayer or the preacher will not be able to bear the burden alone. That is why it is imperative that in all that I attempt to do. . . . . that prayer must be at the forefront.
III. LESSONS FROM THE TEXT
-A few weeks ago, I preached a message on the “Thieves of Prayer” and the focus was on the external things that hinders our prayer. Things such as Convenience, Busyness, Apathy, and Hypocrisy which rob us of the ability to pray.
-In my thoughts, the only higher realm of prayer than the Gethsemane type prayer is intercessory prayer. When we begin to “struggle” in our prayer, we are much like Jacob of old who wrestled with the Lord. “Struggling” prayers will always bring agony but they also bring unmeasured anointing.
-There is a great amount of spiritual health that comes to a man who submits himself in the place of “struggling” praying.
-In this passage of Scripture from Mark there are some very valuable lessons that come to us when we find the place of “struggling” prayer.
A. It Is A Place of Loneliness -- Mark 14:33, 37, 40
-First and perhaps foremost, the place of “struggling” prayer is a place of loneliness.
Mark 14:33 KJV And he taketh with him Peter and James and John. . .
Mark 14:37 KJV And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
Mark 14:40 KJV And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
-There are some struggles in prayer that you will have to navigate alone as there will be no allies to help you. But what I need to let you in on is this: There are powerful victories that await those who get involved in Gethsemane praying.
-How many will you try to take with you to Gethsemane? The Lord took with Him eleven and the closer He came to the battle He begin to roll them off. . . Finally, He was down to three. . . . Who are your MVP’s (Most Valuable Pray-ers)?
• I am taking with me the pray-ers.
• I am taking those who know their God and can do exploits.
• I am taking those who really know how to pray.
-Think on this for a moment. . . . .
• Who would you take with you to the place of your greatest struggle in prayer?
• Who would you allow to get within a stone’ s throw of your greatest battle in prayer?
-The answer to that question says far more to us than any we might have wondered about today.
-But there is another factor to this question that I need to bring to your attention. . . They can only come within a stone’s throw from you. . . . You have to go the rest of the way. . . Alone.
It is said of the gladiators that on the day before a mortal battle to death, that they would visit the arena. It would be empty and quiet. As the quiet prevailed, they would begin to imagine the enemy, be it man or beast, approaching. In their mind, they could hear the roar of the crowd, they would see the glint of sunlight tapering from the scepter of the Caesar, they would smell the fear, they would know the rush of adrenaline, and they would stretch their muscles. The great gladiators would practice their moves. The victory would be won before the day of the battle ever began. They were crossing the Kidron before they ever got there.
-This is what the Lord was doing in the place of struggling prayer. . . . He was crossing the brook Kidron before He ever got there.
B. It Is A Place Of Deep Distress -- Mark 14:33-34
• First, the place of “struggling” prayer is a place of loneliness.
• Secondly, the place of “struggling” prayer is a place of deep distress.
Mark 14:33-34 KJV And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; [34] And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
-When we read the accounts of the Gospel writers about this time of “struggling,” distressing prayer in the Garden, they use words like:
• Sore amazed.
• Very heavy.
• Sorrowful unto death.
• The flesh is weak.
• Agony.
• Sweat.
• Great drops of blood.
• Prayed more earnestly.
A few days ago (1/24/07), __________ related to me the story of ___________, an old-timer from Ohio who has passed to his reward, who drove quite a distance to talk with ____________, who was another preacher known for his praying and working in the Spirit. When Brother _________ arrived at the place where Brother _______ was holding the revival, he met the pastor in the church and asked him where Brother _______ was. The pastor told Brother _________ that Brother ________ was in the church and had been praying for revival and for souls going on ten hours. The pastor told Brother ________, “I cannot interrupt him now. He has been praying with great weeping and tears for the souls of this church.”
Brother ________ also told me that in Brother ________ early days when he was 9 and 10 years old that his mother would bring him to church and he would spend hours in prayer. There were times as he progressed into his teen-age years that he would go to the church on Friday night and spend entire weekends at the church. Days and nights given to prayer and seeking the face of God. Brother ________ mother would bring him clothes on Sunday mornings for him to change into directly before church.
-Brother ________ was so distressed by the churches that he walked into for revivals that he gave himself to prayer.
-I find myself convicted when I hear stories of these men who were so given to prayer. The reason for the conviction (not condemnation) is because I know that in my own life no more time is spent in prayer. While I am not ready for people to start dying. . . . what I am ready for is for a revival to so grip us and change us that we indeed become a church of the powerful and the miraculous.
-Whatever you are spending your time on is what you are spending your life on!
-What if such distress could mark our prayers that we would set aside times to pour out of our spirits the worldliness, carnality, burden-less, vision-less living? So much could be changed about us and about this church.
C. It Is A Place of Desperation -- Mark 14:35
• First, “struggling” prayer is marked by loneliness.
• Secondly, “struggling” prayer is marked by distress.
• Third, “struggling” prayer is marked by desperation.
-Desperation is far different from distress. Suddenly there is a light reveals a portion of the path that must be walked. The path the Lord saw was one that was leading to His death.
-It cannot be prevented. . . Disaster is looming on the horizon.
-This is prayer in agony, in fact, Luke tells us that He begin to pray more earnestly and that the sweat became as great drops of blood.
-I need to let you in on something. . . . Your walk with God will never amount to anything nor will it rise to what God desires to do with you, until you can prayer this kind of prayer.
-Agony always accompanies desperation. The Greek word for “agony” is AGONIA. It indicates a struggle or a conflict. The underlying thought comes from the thought of the place of the Olympic games. There are two opponents in a place of contest and struggle for the crown. Someone will be injured and someone will be the victor.
• Prayer in Agony.
• Prayer in Pain.
• Prayer in Weariness.
• Prayer in Labors.
• Prayer in Stripes above Measure.
• Prayer in Prisons.
• Prayer in Dying.
• Prayer in the Beatings.
• Prayer in the Rods and Stonings.
• Prayer in the Shipwrecks.
• Prayer in the Uncertainties of the Deep.
• Prayer in all of the Perils of Life.
• Prayer in Watching and Waiting.
• Prayer in Hunger and Thirst (for Righteousness).
• Prayer in Fasting.
• Prayer in the Cold.
• Prayer in the Weakness.
• Prayer in the Offenses of Life.
• Prayer in the Infirmities.
-All of these things are found in the “struggling” points of prayer.
-This place of desperate prayer finds the greatest struggle with what issues from within. This is the crux of “struggling” prayer. The most important prayers that you pray will be those you pray to overcome self.
D. It Is A Place of Defeat -- Mark 14:36
• First, “struggling” prayer is marked by loneliness.
• Secondly, “struggling” prayer is marked by distress.
• Thirdly, “struggling” prayer is marked by desperation.
• Fourth, “struggling” prayer is marked by defeat.
Mark 14:36 KJV And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
-It is a place of defeat. “I know that God can provide a way out. I know that He can bring an answer to this matter. But not my will, but Thine be done.”
-This is the difficult end to come to when the answer from Heaven is not what we desire it to be.
• It does not mean that God cannot do it!
• It does not mean that God has lost His power!
• It does not mean that the devil has control of the situation!
• It does not mean that we have sin in our lives!
• It just means that it is not the Will of God for it to be answered!
-Consider this:
Luke 22:39 KJV And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
John 18:1-2 KJV When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. [2] And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples.
-This was not the Lord’s first prayer meeting in this place, it just so happened that the nature of His prayer was different this time. His time here in Gethsemane had been a habit.
• He had been strengthened in this place before.
• It had been a place of discovery.
-What is so amazing about this place of His prayer was that this was where He would be betrayed. He frequently retreated to this place.
-Because we often have the tendency to see the place of prayer as a place of retreat and comfort (and it is), it also has other capabilities. It is a place where the things of the flesh will attempt to betray the things of the Spirit.
-How could this happen in a place of prayer, one would ask?
• Flesh refuses to drink the bitter cup.
• Flesh betrays the crucifixion of self.
• Flesh hinders self-surrender.
• Flesh hungers for earthly thrones.
• Flesh can never see beyond a Cross.
• Flesh balks at a sacrifice that will benefit others.
• Flesh does not want to fall into wicked hands.
-Every one in this house has a tinge of a Judas in our spirit. John says (18:2) that Judas knew the place also. Flesh always realizes and knows where the greatest spiritual battles are won and lost.
-But when Judas finally showed up for the betrayal, the Lord had already prayed Himself into the will of God. No longer was it “Let this cup pass from me. . .” now it was “Not my will but Thine be done!”
• He had gotten deliverance that would reach beyond the pain.
• He had gained victory that would reach beyond the anguish.
• He had embraced the power that would reach beyond the anger of the enemies.
• He had found a grace that would carry Him beyond the greatest hour of trial.
-He would still have to bear it all. . . . For He was the Sin-Bearer. . . . All of these things would have to be confronted before a Resurrection could happen!
-This the great struggle with prayer, God often confronts us with challenges that will leave us in the “power of his resurrection” (Php. 3:10).
-The power was in the Gethsemane praying, the “struggling” prayer that would take Him beyond all of the duress of a trial, a beating, a crucifixion, and a mockery of the crowd.
IV. CONCLUSION -- THE REWARD OF “STRUGGLING” PRAYER
-There really aren’t any drawbacks to “struggling” prayer. This message isn’t really one that “goes dark” as some preachers like to say. . . . This message only “goes dark” if you refuse to get involved in “struggling” prayer.
• First, “struggling” prayer is marked by loneliness.
• Secondly, “struggling” prayer is marked by distress.
• Thirdly, “struggling” prayer is marked by desperation.
• Fourth, “struggling” prayer is marked by defeat.
-But there are huge dividends that come to a man who prays in the place of “struggling” prayer!
-What you don’t realize is that when you begin to pray like this:
• There will be angels that will come to minister to you (Although many of us may never see them.)
• There will be a will of God which you can embrace and it will change the whole course of your life.
• There will be loneliness with man but there will be incredible fellowship with God.
• There will be a separation from this world but there will be a seat found in heavenly places.
• There will be a power that will help you overcome Satan, the world, and your flesh.
What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Philip Harrelson
barnabas14@yahoo.com
