The Prayer Of Gethsemane Series

I love that God has invited us into this beautiful story. And he asks us to trust Jesus for salvation – and not only for salvation, but to trust him as Lord of our lives…which means we submit ourselves to him day in and day out as we pray “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

I hope you are encouraged that Jesus knows what it’s like to WANT to do God’s will and yet NOT want to suffer in the midst of it. Jesus has felt your inner struggle. He knows the tension you are facing. He knows what it looks like to pray earnestly, to want to please God…and yet the realization that there will be much pain ahead. He knows what it’s like to want to obey when our flesh is screaming out against it.

Unlike the disciples who ended up abandoning Jesus in his moment of need, Jesus doesn’t abandon fulfilling God’s will. So Jesus is not only our perfect example to follow as we pray, Jesus is our perfect Savior who we get to trust, love, and abide in every second of every day. We’ve been talking about OBEYING God’s will, but do you know the best way to DISCERN his will? Follow Jesus as he prays. Learn from him. Sit with him. Ask of him. Worship him. And as you do these things, you’ll be start to know God’s will better and will be even MORE likely to carry it out.

Jesus told his disciples back in verse 41 to watch and pray so that they wouldn’t enter into temptation. And we too are confronted with temptation as WE watch and pray. So what temptations are in front of us:

• The temptation to not be honest with God in prayer?

• The temptation for our will and desires to be more important that God’s?

• The temptation to stop trusting when the outcome is not favorable.

And so church, let’s stop right here this morning, and let’s pray together that we would not allow these temptations to creep into our lives as we pray honestly and submissively, and as we live obediently…to the glory of God.