By Gary Patton

My brothers and sisters! In Christ have you ever gone through moments or seasons in your life where you dread certain circumstances or realities coming or developing in your life that you would rather avoid facing or experiencing? You find yourself making decisions or acting to reroute certain events or matters and even find yourself asking the Lord God to cause certain experiences to be stopped or to be set aside from your life, but everything you do seems to be failing, even prayer? Do you find yourself that when it seems like there is no answer or favorable one, you question God’s presence, His faithfulness, His care, His interest in your well-being or success in life, whether or not He is listening to your petition to Him at times? The matter could be life threatening health condition, loss of employment, trying to support family needs, homelessness, unhealthy marriage/possible divorce, struggling to eat or to afford education for career, etc. Consider Jesus, our Savior and Lord who left God’s throne, came into the world, became fully human, lived under God’s law and man’s rule. Kept God’s law without sinning and didn’t violate man’s law. In all of this, one could say that since Jesus did the Father’s will, never sinned against Him, everything that He prayed for should have been an immediate “yes” response from God the Father. But within the divine realm are the realities of divine purpose. The Father doesn’t respond to our prayers purely based on our performance of morality or new identity in His Son alone but, on His own prerogative on the things that leads to salvation for everyone who would respond. Jesus did not always get what He desired or prayed for in the moment. In Luke 22:39, Jesus is coming out of the upper room at the Inn that was set up for the Passover meal for Himself and the Twelve. But at that table Jesus addressed a number of attitudes and issues with His Twelve. With them He addressed some of their desire for “popularity, power,” others of them “presumption, fear,” the others money, materialism, and betrayal. As His usual habit He went to the Garden of Gethsemane known as the “Olive Press” to pray. But before He proceeded towards the garden He commands them to pray (God’s supplication) repeatedly for their own mental condition against falling into enticements or lapse from faith in (v 40). He went away to kneel in continued prayers for Himself in regards to the Father’s will (v 41). The content of His prayer validates His full Humanity as God’s Son, “Father if itis your will, take this cup from me“ in verse 42. According to Mt. 26:40-46 and Mark 14:37-42, Jesus uttered this request three times. What does Jesus mean by “take this cup from me”? The word “cup” from the Greek is Poterion, means “one’s lot or experience, divine appointments, whether joyous or adverse, favorable or unfavorable. Jesus’ words express His inner tension and supreme concentration of powers in the face of decisions or disasters. His concern was for victory in the face of approaching decisive battle on which the fate of the world depends. But ultimately, He still sought to acknowledge the Father’s appointment for Him though it was unwanted. Jesus was in need of more courage for His soul that the Father sent an angel to strengthen His courage to face all of His sufferings in (v 43). He needed some counseling from God. Why did the Human Jesus need this support? Because He was in agony (v 44), and His soul was deeply troubled. While mentally experiencing “fears, agitations, grief, depression, stress sweating (Apocrine) like thick drops of blood (thrombosis), the praying of Jesus became more intent to avoid facing this battle in case there was another way in the will of the Father. The internal war that was active in His conscience was in John 4:34, Jesus said that “His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him.” He was expressing His state of mind in that He found delight and satisfaction in His assignment of the Father’s will for His duties. He also said in John 12:27, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I came to this hour.” This is self-examination through self-interrogation. He became fully aware of why this cup “His hour” would not pass from Him. He knew that this was appointed for Him alone. The Father revealed to the Son His will in this utterance from Christ. In this specific appointment, Jesus was satisfied with His duties to the Father and troubled by a part of them. The temptation that Jesus faced in the moment was to draw back from the Cross. The Lord of Grace stepped in to fulfill the Law and became a sin offering to God who faced the Father’s wrath on sin which He bore on our behalf. All alone He won while on His face praying. On all three occasions Jesus returned to His disciples and found them sleeping when their instructions from Him were to watch and pray, (Mark 14:34-40; Mt. 26:39-46). This was the disciple’s opportunity to actively sympathize with Christ concerning His weak moments related to His death on the Cross. The reason that Jesus commands them to continually pray is that though “the spirit (as the part of human personality, the inner moral life, the seat of insight, feelings, and will ) is ready but the flesh (as the instrument of actions or expressions sensuality) is weak.” Epicurus the philosopher, says the Sarx “flesh” is the bearer of sinful feelings as well as the means of sensual enjoyment. They needed to pray continually for their inner man to prevail against their flesh impulses. Now, that time has passed and He pursues bravely towards His appointed hour. In Luke 22:45, Jesus found them sleeping due to sorrow. They were mentally crushed by their state of grief. Their flesh was weak. In (v 46), His question “Why do you sleep” is a call for them to search their hearts. In other words, why is your spirit crushed? Is this about how they feel or about Christ? He calls their attention back to His original message, this time adding “Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” The word “rise” (anistemi) means “to stand again, to stand up from a recumbent or sitting position.” In this use, they are to stand up again from their crushed state of sorrow. In summary like Jesus, every child of God in Christ has divine appointments set up in some part of their life or future, either alone or together that we must face. If like Jesus, you find yourself continually praying to avoid something in life that you fear and you find that the situation is still excelling in the same direction, then, there is a strong possibility that the situation may be your divinely appointed work to complete. Continue at those moments to pray for the accomplishment of God’s will. In those times we must pray continually that we do the Father’s will and that we do not come into a state or an event that causes us to lapse from faith in Christ back to our flesh ways. Jesus was the example to them and us in the Garden of what He commanded concerning prayer (Lk. 22:40, 41). He was prostrate before the Father through all of the weak human conditions that He experienced in His temptations and conquered it all on His face to God. He fulfilled everything. This is Good News because as our High Priest who sits at God’s right hand, He is qualified to sympathize with all of our carnal weaknesses (Hebrews 4:14-5:10). How are we handling our appointed experiences? Are any of us spoiled, clueless, self-entitled, arrogant, controlling? If Jesus expressed any of these conditions would He have prostrated Himself before the Father in the Garden or let Himself be sacrificed for us? No. We have desires, imaginations, opinions, and passions, that the weak flesh promotes in our daily ethics that need to be prayed against. What parts of your thoughts, feelings, desires, and behaviors, are out of alignment with the will of God? What should we be praying for concerning our problems of submission to His will? Are you aware of the dispositions that hinder your divinely appointed mission work to fulfill? Jesus says pray!

Questions

1. In Luke 22:39, he makes reference to Jesus “coming out.” Where did Jesus and the Twelve disciples come out from and what was the occasion of celebration? Read Luke 22:10-23
2. What problems concerning the Twelve disciples’ thoughts, ambitions, desires, and expectations, in following Jesus were addressed by Him in the upper room? Read Luke 22:24, 33, 35-36
3. In Luke 22:40, since some of the Twelve disciples desire to gain sovereignty, some presumptuous, material or money-driven, others betrayal, were revealed and addressed by Jesus, should they see a reason to keep praying for themselves?
4. How often were they to pray for themselves to negate falling into temptation?
5. Has the words of Jesus revealed to you the worldly aspects of your thoughts, desires, plans, interests, as you follow Him?
6. What are the temptations that you fall prey to if you do not continue to pray not to succumb to them?
7. Why are you tempted by _________, to ignore your faith in Christ? Why is the deception more desirable to us than the truth in Christ?
8. Should we in Christ be aware of what and how sometimes, we are tempted by our flesh to think or behave against our profession of faith? Why?
9. Were the disciples commanded by Jesus to continually pray for their issues with the flesh or was that given as an option? (Luke 22:40, 46)
10. When Jesus prayed in the Garden, what was the state of His soul and mind? (Luke 22:44; Matthew 26:37; Mark 14:34; John 12:27-28)
11. When praying, should we recognize in that active petition that as we prostrate ourselves before the Father, His help is essential to our personal and collective success in Christ? (Luke 22:43)
12. In our prayers to the Father should there be in our disposition an absence of anxiety, fear, depression, anger, lust, selfishness, and the like, or are we commanded to pray to the Father while we are in any of these states? Look at Jesus and His disciples (Luke 22:42)
13. What should be our ultimate focus and concern when we ask the Lord for supplication? (Luke 22:42)
14. Does God answer our prayers to Him against His own will or eternal purpose for us?
15. If we have to face a divine appointment in some aspects of our life and ministry that will not go away how should we adjust our prayers for our duty to God in Christ? (Luke 22:46)
16. Have you fallen asleep to Bible learning, to prayer, to remembering Christ sacrifice, to fellowship, to ministry opportunities, to reaching lost souls? Why?
17. In what areas and practices of your Christian life have you fallen asleep?
18. What condition of sleeping in specific parts of your Christian life does Jesus command you to arise from and pray? (Consider the covenant roles that you have)

For understanding
If anyone is in Christ, He invites us to sit at His table to: Eat with Him, open up our thoughts to Him, receive learning and correction from Him, see ourselves through Him, receive our direction and practice from Him, and be identified with Him.

We should also know and respect that as we pray for supplication, our identity in Christ, our feelings, our desires, and our performance of obedience, will never supersede the divine prerogative in regard to His eternal will and purposes in executing His salvation plan for all to whom He has promised and chosen regardless of gender, nationality, language or class. His eternal salvation plan determines how He will answer our individual requests, but it all works out for the good of everyone who loves God and is called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).