Drawing Strength
| Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." (Luke22:39-46) |
Jesus prayed in lonely places.
He prayed before making big decisions or taking important steps.
He also encouraged his followers to pray and even taught disciples to pray.
Just before he took the disciples to Mount Olives for prayer, Jesus assured Peter that "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers". This Gospel of Luke presents to us a Jesus who drew strength through prayer, to remain steadfast in faith and overcome.
In the text we see Jesus drawing strength for at least three purposes:
1. To Overcome Pain
2. To Overcome Temptation
3. To Dwell in the Will of God
In his moment of anguish Jesus chose to DRAW STRENGTH through PRAYER. He chose this setting of Mount Olives to be in prayer in the moment of great agony to point us to something symbolically, that it is a garden where olives are crushed and pressed to produce oil pointing to something. This is what suffering and death did to Jesus, he was pressed and crushed only to produce oil of gladness which is salvation, but it is PRAYER that sustained and give him strength in the moment of pain. In the moment of all our pains, distress and heavily burdened we draw the strength to overcome pain from the discipline of prayer.
The presence of the disciples in prayer with Jesus was so significance because it meant responsibility to support Jesus. But in this responsibility of supporting Jesus the temptation to sleep, the temptation of weariness, the temptation of burnout and the temptation of being diverted was always near. Despite the existence of temptation Jesus retained prayer as the strategy for war in overcoming temptation. When surrounded by temptation we need to support one another in prayer. It is your responsibility and my responsibility to pray for those who are weak and to encourage them to draw strength to overcome temptation through the discipline of prayer.
Jesus prayer was answered in Mount Olives as angels of God appeared to him, strengthening him, and that was a demonstration of the will of God. Jesus sets an example for us that prayer aligns us to and allows us to dwell in the will of God and to live in intimate relationship with God. The more we dwell in prayer, the more we seek the will of God, and we are strengthened by God's awesome presence.
Let's remember that we draw strength through prayer
In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.
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Rev Sam Kudakwashe Ruzivo, married to Charity and blessed with 2 children- Glenda and Denzel. Serving at Makokoba UPCSA in the Presbytery of Zimbabwe.
