Jesus Christ knew what He came down on earth for. He knew in advance what He was going to accomplish, who He would come in contact with, and how His life would end. He knew He would be beaten, mocked, cursed at, ridiculed, and then crucified. Even when He knew what was going to happen, He didn't run away or hide. Jesus Christ kept doing what He was supposed to do; He obeyed His Father and did His will.
Jesus spent a lot of time with the 12 disciples whom He mentored. He didn't rub it in their face and say, "Because all of the bad things you and everyone in the world has done, I have to be crucified and go through a lot of anguish..." No he didn't say that. He didn't even throw a pity party and say, "woe is me." He felt total compassion for them and the generations to come, which includes you and I.
Jesus brought the disciples with Him to Gethsemane and asked them to sit while He walked away from them to pray; He had Peter, James, and John go with Him. I think He chose those three to go with them for support and He just needed His close friends by Him. Remember this Jesus (who is also God) is in human form when He was on this earth. He felt pain and emotions just like you and I do.
Suddenly the weight of this heavy burden was on His shoulders; He began to be sorrowful and troubled and told them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death; stay here and keep watch with me."
When He was in the garden praying, He fell on His face and cried out to his Father (God). I think he was probably feeling very "alone" at this moment. He cried out,
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." He not only prayed this once, but three times.
He knew what He was about to go through; I think perhaps He was hoping that His Father would change His mind and not have Him go through the suffering He was about to go through. He knew that God could take this from Him in an instant. He had seen people healed of leprosy, others raised from the dead, and even demons being cast out of people. So why did His Father, God, not answer His prayer the way He wanted it to be answered? Why was this time different? Surely God could change His mind; surely God could find another way to take away the sins of the world. But God knew best.
As Jesus prayed and felt so heavy and burdened down, an angel came to Him and strengthened Him. There are so many times in our own lives when we are going through tough times, that God may send an angel to help us or strengthen us.
Jesus was in so much anguish about what He was going to do that while He prayed, His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. He was basically in turmoil. He prayed again: "Not my Will, but Yours." He had put His feelings and emotions aside, and told His Father that He would go through with it because He knew it's what His Father wanted Him to do.
I can imagine that maybe Jesus' mother quietly begged God, "God, please don't let Jesus die; don't let my baby go through pain or sorrow. You know He has served you wholeheartedly; He was a good boy and has grown up to be a godly man. Please take this from Him. Please God, Please." And why wasn't her prayer answered? Have you ever prayed that kind of prayer for someone you loved who was going through cancer, who was on their death bed, or who has diabetes, or some other illness. Why doesn't God answer the prayer? (Why doesn't He do what "I" think is best?) Hmmm.
I am in a growing time in my life; a time where I am learning more about God and how He answers prayer. I've always prayed a certain way when it came to praying for people. I've had faith to see people healed and a lot have not been healed, including myself. I've had faith to have a lot of prayer requests answered, my way, but a lot did not happen. I have always heard that God answers prayers by "Yes, No, or Maybe". I didn't totally understand that, until now. See, I am a person who wants to see others healed, blessed, and loved. I want to see great things happen, and not bad. I want God to answer all the prayer needs the way I think they should be, but guess what? He doesn't. But, Why? Because we don't know the outcome. We don't know that if our friend dies of cancer, than maybe her family will draw closer to God, or if a person loses their house, they possibly need to learn how to trust God more, or if a person has an injury, that even though they will be suffering physically, they will draw closer to God. See, we don't know the outcome...but God does...He knows what is best.
So when you pray: even though you are praying with all your might that your need will be met, and even though you have so much anguish that your sweat becomes blood, remember to pray what you want, but then pray that God's will, will be done. It might be the best thing that has ever happened to that person you are praying for. If God answered (my imagined) prayer of Jesus' mother, that God would not let Jesus die, than we would never have a savior. If the Father, God, answered Jesus' prayer and said, "Okay Jesus, I will not have you die on the cross," we would have no one to cover our sins. So as the old saying goes, "What would Jesus Do? Well, He would say "Father, not my will, but yours."
I know, this is easier said than done, so allow God to speak to your heart as He has mine. This is hard for me too, but I so want to do the will of God, and there are so many times, my will gets in the way.
..If you are praying for me, it's okay to pray for God's will for my life.
Oh by the way, after Jesus died on the cross, He rose again!!! He is ALIVE!!!
References: Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46
Jesus spent a lot of time with the 12 disciples whom He mentored. He didn't rub it in their face and say, "Because all of the bad things you and everyone in the world has done, I have to be crucified and go through a lot of anguish..." No he didn't say that. He didn't even throw a pity party and say, "woe is me." He felt total compassion for them and the generations to come, which includes you and I.
Jesus brought the disciples with Him to Gethsemane and asked them to sit while He walked away from them to pray; He had Peter, James, and John go with Him. I think He chose those three to go with them for support and He just needed His close friends by Him. Remember this Jesus (who is also God) is in human form when He was on this earth. He felt pain and emotions just like you and I do.
Suddenly the weight of this heavy burden was on His shoulders; He began to be sorrowful and troubled and told them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death; stay here and keep watch with me."
When He was in the garden praying, He fell on His face and cried out to his Father (God). I think he was probably feeling very "alone" at this moment. He cried out,
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." He not only prayed this once, but three times.
He knew what He was about to go through; I think perhaps He was hoping that His Father would change His mind and not have Him go through the suffering He was about to go through. He knew that God could take this from Him in an instant. He had seen people healed of leprosy, others raised from the dead, and even demons being cast out of people. So why did His Father, God, not answer His prayer the way He wanted it to be answered? Why was this time different? Surely God could change His mind; surely God could find another way to take away the sins of the world. But God knew best.
As Jesus prayed and felt so heavy and burdened down, an angel came to Him and strengthened Him. There are so many times in our own lives when we are going through tough times, that God may send an angel to help us or strengthen us.
Jesus was in so much anguish about what He was going to do that while He prayed, His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. He was basically in turmoil. He prayed again: "Not my Will, but Yours." He had put His feelings and emotions aside, and told His Father that He would go through with it because He knew it's what His Father wanted Him to do.
I can imagine that maybe Jesus' mother quietly begged God, "God, please don't let Jesus die; don't let my baby go through pain or sorrow. You know He has served you wholeheartedly; He was a good boy and has grown up to be a godly man. Please take this from Him. Please God, Please." And why wasn't her prayer answered? Have you ever prayed that kind of prayer for someone you loved who was going through cancer, who was on their death bed, or who has diabetes, or some other illness. Why doesn't God answer the prayer? (Why doesn't He do what "I" think is best?) Hmmm.
I am in a growing time in my life; a time where I am learning more about God and how He answers prayer. I've always prayed a certain way when it came to praying for people. I've had faith to see people healed and a lot have not been healed, including myself. I've had faith to have a lot of prayer requests answered, my way, but a lot did not happen. I have always heard that God answers prayers by "Yes, No, or Maybe". I didn't totally understand that, until now. See, I am a person who wants to see others healed, blessed, and loved. I want to see great things happen, and not bad. I want God to answer all the prayer needs the way I think they should be, but guess what? He doesn't. But, Why? Because we don't know the outcome. We don't know that if our friend dies of cancer, than maybe her family will draw closer to God, or if a person loses their house, they possibly need to learn how to trust God more, or if a person has an injury, that even though they will be suffering physically, they will draw closer to God. See, we don't know the outcome...but God does...He knows what is best.
So when you pray: even though you are praying with all your might that your need will be met, and even though you have so much anguish that your sweat becomes blood, remember to pray what you want, but then pray that God's will, will be done. It might be the best thing that has ever happened to that person you are praying for. If God answered (my imagined) prayer of Jesus' mother, that God would not let Jesus die, than we would never have a savior. If the Father, God, answered Jesus' prayer and said, "Okay Jesus, I will not have you die on the cross," we would have no one to cover our sins. So as the old saying goes, "What would Jesus Do? Well, He would say "Father, not my will, but yours."
I know, this is easier said than done, so allow God to speak to your heart as He has mine. This is hard for me too, but I so want to do the will of God, and there are so many times, my will gets in the way.
..If you are praying for me, it's okay to pray for God's will for my life.
Oh by the way, after Jesus died on the cross, He rose again!!! He is ALIVE!!!
References: Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46
