Prayer and the Plan of God

Open: Preparing for a final involves late night cramming. Students forgo sleep for one last opportunity to “get it done.”

The final 2 minutes of a basketball game - the intensity is at full throttle as both teams try to finish with a W

Transition: As Jesus approaches His destiny with the Cross, He too is making final preparations. He has participated in His final Passover meal with the 12 and transformed that observance into what we know as Communion; He has modeled humility and has taught on the important role of the Holy Spirit, and He has strengthened His followers for the coming conflict. In the final hours prior to His betrayal, Jesus takes His disciples one last time into the school of prayer. They unfortunately missed out on this lesson at the time, but we have it recorded for us so that we can benefit from it.

READ the Text: Matthew 26:36-46.

We are to be REGULAR in the practice of prayer (Matt 26:36, Luke 22:39)

Explanation: Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe the occasion of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was very aware that this gathering would be interrupted by the arrival of His betrayal. He spent His final hours in prayer with the Father. In Luke’s account, we are told that Jesus went to the Garden, “as was His custom” (Luke 22:39). This was not the first time Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden for prayer. Judas had been seeking an opportunity for the betrayal (Mk 14:11) and the regularity of prayer provided Judas with the advance knowledge to take to the authorities.

Example: Daniel was caught in a trap laid by his enemies, and the trap was arranged according to the prophet’s predictable pattern of prayer. (Daniel 6:5, 10)

Argument: Ask yourself the question as to the probability of your enemies being able to trip you up on the basis of your regular and established pattern of prayer.

Application: You CAN be regular in prayer. If you have a hit or miss approach, determine to be intentional. Set a time and a place and go there for the express purpose of meeting with God.

We are to be PASSIONATE in our prayer (Matt 26:37-39)

Explanation: Jesus tells the disciples that He is “sorrowful and troubled,” as He goes to His place of prayer. In His case, Jesus is facing the Cross where He is going to bear the full weight of humanity’s collective sin. That burden is inconceivable to the human mind, but we have an understanding that it would be a terrible ordeal. In light of this impending crisis, Jesus approaches His time of prayer with a burdened heart and he falls on His face for His physical attitude of prayer. (v. 39)

Argument: The Bible mentions several physical postures for prayer that is acceptable to God and they include, sitting, standing, kneeling and being prostrate. The point is not to define one position as acceptable while others are not; the point is to have a serious attitude as we approach the throne of God.

Illustrate: We would not consider going into an important interview 15 minutes late, wearing shorts and a t-shirt and chomping on gum. Yet we often approach a Holy God in a casual manner with a “ho-hum” attitude. Should we be surprised when we don’t experience much in the way of answered prayer?

No set length of time for the Prayer of Jesus is given in this passage. We do know that He went and prayed three separate times, and each time he was gone long enough for the disciples to fall asleep. When Jesus woke them up after His first session of prayer, He asked Peter if he could not stay awake for one hour (v. 40). It seems reasonable to assume this was a lengthy prayer session and Jesus was passionate in His approach to the Father.

Application: The Psalmist was passionate in his approach to God. He declared that as the deer panted after streams of water, so his soul panted after God (Ps 42:1-2, and in other Psalms we read of saints “crying out to God.” We can and should be passionate as we approach God in our times of prayer.

We are to be Kingdom-focused in prayer (Matthew 26:39b, 42b, 44b)

Explanation: The content of Jesus’ prayer was centered on seeing the Will of God accomplished. He was troubled by His destiny with the Cross. His apprehension had nothing to do with physical death, even though He knew it was going to be brutally painful. His anguish was of a spiritual nature. He knew the holiness of God could not even tolerate looking upon sin (Hab 1:13) and yet He was about to take on the essence of sin (2 Cor. 5:21). He shrank back from the thought of that, but yet He sought the will of the Father and not His own.

Argument: The content of our prayer reveals quite a lot regarding our priorities. When we examine the prayer lists of the modern church, we are much more likely to find that the physical needs far outweigh the spiritual. This is NOT to say that that the physical is unimportant - Jesus healed people on many occasions. It is not wrong for us to pray for friends and family member’s health concerns, but it is important to be balanced. As one pastor stated, “we pray more and harder to keep saints from entering heaven than we do for sinners to be brought into the Kingdom.

Application: Being intentional or Praying on Purpose IS possible. You CAN praise God for who He is instead of entering His presence by asking for things. You CAN pray and ask God for opportunities to share the Gospel. You CAN engage in Kingdom ministry.

What prevents you from stepping up your prayer life? Is it possible that you and I are guilty of being complacent in our faith journey? We find three positive aspects of prayer in this passage, but there is also a warning:

Giving in to the desires of the flesh will keep us from Kingdom prayer that accomplishes the will of God (Matt 26:41)

Explanation: While Jesus is agonizing in prayer with the Father, the disciples are sleeping. As He was leaving them to meet with the Father, Jesus said, “watch with Me.” He instructed them to join Him in prayer. The word watch means to be on the alert, to remain awake. The carries the idea of guarding something by being alert to all possibilities in one’s surroundings.

Remember the context: Jesus has just told the disciples that they would all run away and that Peter would deny Him three times. In spite of this dire warning, the 11 are caught napping when they were supposed to be praying. They weren’t only caught napping once, but Jesus found them asleep each time He returned. He woke them up and scolded them for sleeping, and then, when He left, they fell back asleep.

Argument: It was not their intent to fall asleep. They were tired from a long day, but they most likely wanted to please their Master. Their spirits were indeed willing, but they allowed their flesh to let them down.

Illustrate: Being involved in a ODWG camp involves 3 to 4 wide-open days. Driving to the destination, two late nights working on the assignments, and 2 full days of events, and I am tired by Saturday afternoon. I know that if I sit down around 2 or 3pm I AM going to nod off.

Argument: I can have good intentions, but if I put myself in that place, I WILL fail - my body will shut down on me when I get still. The answer is to physically get up and move.

It is very possible that we need to spiritually get up and pray. We need to “spiritually” put on the armor of God and to join in the battle with Kingdom-focused prayer.