Tues 9th Mar 2021 - Daily Reading: Luke 22:39-71
Powerful Prayer by Becky Brooks
Only Luke records that Jesus told the disciples to pray that they would not fall into temptation, before he himself drew aside to pray.
The disciples fell asleep, but Jesus wrestled in prayer with his own temptation. He knew the path the Father had prepared for him and he was prepared to walk it, yet there was still a thought that perhaps the Lord might be willing to deliver him from the suffering that was still to come.
When we think about this prayer, we rightly focus on Jesus’ absolute submission to the Father’s will, yet we can also recognise the struggle that he faced. There was a part of Jesus that did not want to go to the cross. Supernaturally (through an angel, as Luke records), Jesus was strengthened for the task ahead.
As a human himself, Jesus knew the challenge of submitting his own will to the Father’s will. He has shared that experience with every human being before and since. In this passage, Jesus shows us how to overcome the temptation to avoid the will of God. It is through prayer that this battle is won, and through prayer that we receive the strength we need to submit.
When the soldiers came, the disciples, who had not prayed, were not in a position to understand or submit to God’s will. While Jesus was ready to go with the soldiers, accepting all that would happen afterwards, the disciples were drawing their swords and trying to prevent the will of God from being fulfilled. Perhaps if they had spent their time in prayer, they would have better understood what was happening and would have been able to react as Jesus did.
So often, the answers to our questions, the solutions to our problems, and the strength to overcome our struggles are available through prayer. Let us follow Jesus’ example and draw aside to spend time with the Lord that we, too, may receive his supernatural strengthening.