Choosing To Pray When In Distress
We all know what happened in Gethsemane. We all know the intensity that Jesus felt in that place. We all know the sense of urgency he felt, the tears and the sweat and the emotions that overwhelmed him at that moment. He knows what will happen in a few hours and as a result, he cherished that little garden and made that moment a time of solitude with his Father in heaven.
If you were there simply observing Jesus and what he said to his Father, you would definitely notice that the conversation was much lengthier than what had been recorded in the Gospels. You would notice that Jesus felt all kinds of emotions in that time because of what he had felt for himself, his mission, his disciples, his future disciples and the people who will persecute him. But amidst the conversation lies Jesus’ dependence on his Father through the act of praying.
He Was Troubled And He Chose To Pray
In the Gospel of Matthew, what was really interesting was the fact that Jesus was so troubled that he kept telling his disciples to keep watch. In Matthew 26:37, the Greek words used there to detail the emotions meant that he was very sad and very disturbed. This feeling of being disturbed came to a point that this Son of God who can control the world with just a command is rather feeling insecure.
This can be observed by him commanding his disciples to keep watch when they arrived then telling them again how he felt and how they must keep better watch of the surroundings. After an hour, he returned again to the disciples and found them sleeping. He scolded them for sleeping and not keeping watch; he told them again to keep watch. After praying, he went back to the disciples for the third time and found them sleeping again which resulted in another scolding.
What Jesus was feeling is understandable because he was about to put all the sins of the world upon his shoulders. However, even though that is a topic in itself, the direction I want to go is Jesus’ reliance in prayer when he is in need.
Setting An Example For His Disciples
In that situation, Jesus and the disciples knew that what Jesus has said would happen is about to happen. However, Jesus was the only one who fully understood the events that are about to take place. The disciples only knew that Jesus was not bluffing and his death may be somewhat not as extreme as it would be.
There are two types of attitude shown in that garden. One who faithfully prays in submission to his God despite being sleepy and the other one who chooses to sleep instead of doing what is right which is to pray. These two attitudes are present in us today and they contradict each other. The question is: which one are you?
When You Are In Distress… Pray
No matter the problem that arises, Jesus is telling us through that moment in Gethsemane that we should pray. Even though that did not save him from death, it gave him the confidence to face death. We cannot change anything by praying because it is God’s work to do miracles. However, we can use this act of praying to change our attitudes and be filled with God’s perspective in this matter. This communication to our Father is a gift and we must therefore take advantage of this.
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Joseph Su is a preaching elder at Community For Christ. He is the director of God's Beseechers and owns Godward Enterprises. He is married to his wife, Sharon and they have a son named Caleb. They live in Davao City, Philippines.
believe that God’s intention is to do a ceplmote restoration body soul and spirit, He calls us to do the best for everybody ( pray and heal) but it is up to the sick to choose at their level of faith what is going to happen, God uses this to proclaim the kingdom through the demonstration of his power (by healing) that is why a believer who knows his identity in Christ and is empowered by the anointing of the spirit will know that in order to be effective representing God you need to do everything , heal them Physically and proclaim salvation (prayer to repent because if they accept Jesus in their hearts that will automatically heal their spirit) you claim that soul for the kingdom of God by prayer!! otherwise they will think that every time a back or a knee hurts they can come to the gene and that is all they need; we have to use the opportunity given to the max ,the soul will be only saved by prayer and repentance and is the only eternal part of us ,the only one that really matters so do we need to pray? if we do only prayer or healing then you’re cheating them of a blessing because if you don’t tell them about salvation you will be responsible for that soul in front of God one day and if you don’t heal them knowing that God is entrusting you that power for His glory and proclamation of his kingdom then you’re in trouble too because God tells us to give, and don’t tell people you can’t give something when you have it to give . I think that is the diversion of the devil he never tells the whole truth so people are deceived thinking we can only pray and ask God then wait see what He does but unless you dig a little deeper you might get prayed for or even heal but what about your soul? is it saved if your knee or elbow gets heal? Prayer is very important, it opens the door but once inside you have to do as much possible according to Gods plan and what the persons faith will believe God can do, Jesus gave this guys the power to do everything, we also have the power in our authority in Christ and the power of the holy spirit living in us but a lot of people do not know who they are and they are deceived . Jesus sent the 72 to proclaim the kingdom. he told them to do two things not only heal the sick also proclaim the kingdom …..Heal the sick who are there and tell them, The kingdom of God is near you.’… ..in v16 he confirms that they were not only to heal 16“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” .I think people are content with just a prayer because they are following traditions and they are not aware of the full power of God they do not know who God is, or who they are (body soul and spirit) that’s the problem they just do what they learned in Sunday school there is no knowledge of God and the devil takes advantage of it because he knows the bible better than some believers. when Jesus sent the 72 to proclaim the kingdom to me that is salvation back then they did not know salvation because Jesus did not die for our sins yet ,but he was calling them to a higher standard a ceplmote transformation to a kingdom living that will keep them away from hell and send them to heaven. to me the healing was the bonus to proclaim the kingdom is like going to costco and trying the samples they give you as you’re shopping down your list, their intention is to change your mind into buying something better, that is what Jesus was doing giving people a taste of the kingdom if they bought into that they will have to change their lifestyle to please God and consequently make it to heaven but if they rejected them they were not willing to change and even that may be they got heal physically they were rejecting eternity in heaven because they were not desiring the change and make a commitment to God, they were just tasting the sample and walking away without buying the product it feels good when you try that piece of special cooked tritip or chicken but if you walk away without buying it you’ll never going to taste it again.What is the difference?If you just pray for them the prayer may not be that effective because of other emotions or spiritual issues or soul issues on the way, but if they start by giving their life to God by repenting then the healing process is already started with their spirit and it will be at full blast!! The Holy Spirit has a lot more room to move in a repentant heart, but I think either prayers or healing will be limited without repentance.