PRAYER:
A Demanding Discipline (Matt 26:36-46)
A Demanding Discipline (Matt 26:36-46)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2015
When you talk to God, are those sessions generally long or short? …The answer probably depends in part on how much you have to say and how urgent the situation is.
The author of Genesis records that Jacob “wrestled” with an unidentified man (Gen 32:24), which incident an early Jewish commentary treats as referring to prayer. Paul commends Epaphras because he wrestled in prayer on behalf of the church (Col 4:12). These two passages do not describe literal altercations but figurative contact with the numinous, though contact that is more strenuous than having a simple conversation. These verses also indicate that prayer is more than positive thinking, that it entails more than the common but essentially empty assertion: “I’ll be thinking of you.” Prayer is engaging with God in a way that involves more than just words. It is an activity that is potentially demanding. Too often we are content with a brief “shout out” to the Lord, as if He is satisfied when we simply acknowledge His existence.
While it is true, as the common dictum states, that prayer changes things, an equally important effect is that prayer changes people, specifically the ones who engage in it, by bringing them into conformity with God’s expectations. Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane illustrates the potentially demanding nature of prayer.
The first principle of prayer is that…
This is not like the popular picture, “Jesus Christ Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane” by James Paulgaard that depicts Jesus on his knees with his hands folded before him and his eyes gazing upward toward heaven, as a light shines down on him.
Prostration, which is what Matthew describes, is a pose of deep humiliation, with arms spread on the ground and face down. It is a posture reserved for the most serious situation. Here, Jesus displays his submission to the Father before the savior faces the cross. In the same way, there might be an occasion when you want to impress upon God your understanding that a particular situation is truly urgent and that you are appealing to the only one who is able to help. At such a time, you may wish to demonstrate that understanding physically by lying spread-eagled on the ground before God, as Jesus did in the garden when he showed his deference to the Father.
Once, I was very concerned that a woman I knew, distraught over the death of her husband, would commit suicide. That is what she threatened, despite my repeated attempts to console her and offer hope for the future. I knew the grief she was experiencing would lessen with time, but it was raw and debilitating at the moment. I did not know what else to do. I was, of course, praying for her throughout this whole ordeal, but the situation had become critical, as her mourning deepened. So I went into my study, lay prostrate on the floor, and prayed again for God’s mercy, asking Him to intervene and show her that all was not lost. I assume He heard my request, because over the next few days and weeks her attitude gradually grew more hopeful. Whether my posture in prayer had anything to do with the change in her outlook, I cannot say with certainty. I am confident, however, that prostration in prayer was the appropriate course of action.
In this same verse, the second principle of prayer is that…
The third principle of prayer, again, in this same verse, is that…
The fourth principle of prayer, later in this passage, is that…
Similarly, while it is generally important to persist in prayer, there may be a limit to what God considers enough because His decision is set, and further prayer will not alter the outcome. At that point, we must stop, not because continuing to pray might annoy Him, merely that such activity will be ineffective, effort we would better apply elsewhere.
There are some aspects of Jesus’ life that we cannot emulate in more than a superficial way or not at all, such as his many miracles and his sacrificial death. There are other aspects of Jesus’ life that we can and should emulate, such as his selfless attitude and his devotion to prayer. The latter is a demanding discipline he does not shirk, especially in his final hours, as he demonstrates here in the garden.
A young boy was “acting up” during the morning worship service. His parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally, the father picked up the little fellow and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little boy called loudly to the congregation… “Pray for me!”When you talk to God, are those sessions generally long or short? When Jesus talked to God in the garden, the situation was urgent, so he kept the conversation relatively short.
The author of Genesis records that Jacob “wrestled” with an unidentified man (Gen 32:24), which incident an early Jewish commentary treats as referring to prayer. Paul commends Epaphras because he wrestled in prayer on behalf of the church (Col 4:12). These two passages do not describe literal altercations but figurative contact with the numinous, though contact that is more strenuous than having a simple conversation. These verses also indicate that prayer is more than positive thinking, that it entails more than the common but essentially empty assertion: “I’ll be thinking of you.” Prayer is engaging with God in a way that involves more than just words. It is an activity that is potentially demanding. Too often we are content with a brief “shout out” to the Lord, as if He is satisfied when we simply acknowledge His existence.
While it is true, as the common dictum states, that prayer changes things, an equally important effect is that prayer changes people, specifically the ones who engage in it, by bringing them into conformity with God’s expectations. Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane illustrates the potentially demanding nature of prayer.
Matt 26:36 [After their last Passover together] Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”1 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup2 be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”3 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”In this episode, at the close of Jesus’ ministry, he illustrates several principles that we should bear in mind when we pray.
The first principle of prayer is that…
I. Jesus showed his deference to the Father (v. 39a).
People showed deference to a superior in various physical ways, such as bowing or kneeling. The most extreme posture, however, was prostration, as Jesus does here, “with his face to the ground.”4Matt 26:39a …he fell with his face to the ground….
This is not like the popular picture, “Jesus Christ Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane” by James Paulgaard that depicts Jesus on his knees with his hands folded before him and his eyes gazing upward toward heaven, as a light shines down on him.
Prostration, which is what Matthew describes, is a pose of deep humiliation, with arms spread on the ground and face down. It is a posture reserved for the most serious situation. Here, Jesus displays his submission to the Father before the savior faces the cross. In the same way, there might be an occasion when you want to impress upon God your understanding that a particular situation is truly urgent and that you are appealing to the only one who is able to help. At such a time, you may wish to demonstrate that understanding physically by lying spread-eagled on the ground before God, as Jesus did in the garden when he showed his deference to the Father.
Once, I was very concerned that a woman I knew, distraught over the death of her husband, would commit suicide. That is what she threatened, despite my repeated attempts to console her and offer hope for the future. I knew the grief she was experiencing would lessen with time, but it was raw and debilitating at the moment. I did not know what else to do. I was, of course, praying for her throughout this whole ordeal, but the situation had become critical, as her mourning deepened. So I went into my study, lay prostrate on the floor, and prayed again for God’s mercy, asking Him to intervene and show her that all was not lost. I assume He heard my request, because over the next few days and weeks her attitude gradually grew more hopeful. Whether my posture in prayer had anything to do with the change in her outlook, I cannot say with certainty. I am confident, however, that prostration in prayer was the appropriate course of action.
In this same verse, the second principle of prayer is that…
II. Jesus shows his dedication to the Father (v. 39a).
It is important we direct our prayer properly, as Jesus instructs the disciples.Matt 26:39a …he…prayed, “My Father….”
Matt 6:9 This…is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven….’”Jesus prays similarly here, in the garden. Christians, however, do not always follow his lead, sometimes addressing their prayers to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit. Biblical prayer, as is clear from the many examples in scripture, is properly “addressed to God as Father, in the name of Christ as Mediator, and through the enabling grace of the indwelling Spirit” (Lambert 1915 4:2431). Therefore, if you would speak with God, you should ‘dial the right number.’ He will still get the message if you address another member of the godhead, but why take a detour, especially if He has laid out the most direct route? However attractive it is to think of Jesus as a friend and confidant, that is not his role with regard to prayer. Unlike other religious traditions, which rely on the intercession of priests, saints, or angels, true contact with the divine requires no such auxiliary aide, no intermediaries. As Jesus shows his dedication to the Father here, he prays to Him directly, and so should you.
The third principle of prayer, again, in this same verse, is that…
III. Jesus shows his desire to the Father (v. 39b).
During his ministry, Jesus stressed the importance of doing God’s bidding.Matt 26:39b …not as I will, but as you will.
Matt 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven…to do the will of him who sent me.This was also part of his earlier instruction to the disciples about prayer. They were to remember that God’s program is paramount.
Matt 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.Of the various temptations Jesus faced in the course of his ministry, the greatest may have been the lure of charting his own way rather than following the one God had for him. That independence was at the heart of Satan’s suggestions at the outset of Jesus’ ministry:
- The temptation for refreshment
Matt 4:3b …tell these stones to become bread.
- The temptation for recognition
Matt 4:6 throw yourself down [and] his angels…will lift you up….
- The temptation for rule
Jesus’ response to these temptations was to recognize them as attempts to deflect him from God’s plan, and he resisted them. There were other temptations to stray from the path God had appointed for him, like the one he faced here in the garden, to flee rather than be arrested. As Jesus shows his desire to the Father again, he affirms God’s authority and surrenders to His will. Surrendering to God’s will is necessary for us as well, if we would enjoy the blessing of His success.5Matt 4:9 All this I will give you…if you will bow down and worship me.
The fourth principle of prayer, later in this passage, is that…
IV. Jesus shows his determination to the Father (v. 44).
Certain numbers have meaning beyond their essential value. Three signifies sufficiency, sometimes marked as such by a closing action or assertion.Matt 26:44 …[He] prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
- God marked the sufficiency of Elijah’s three-fold appeal for the healing of a widow’s son by raising the boy from the dead.
- God marked the sufficiency of Paul’s three-fold appeal for relief from his “thorn” by assuring the apostle of divine grace.
Similarly, while it is generally important to persist in prayer, there may be a limit to what God considers enough because His decision is set, and further prayer will not alter the outcome. At that point, we must stop, not because continuing to pray might annoy Him, merely that such activity will be ineffective, effort we would better apply elsewhere.
There are some aspects of Jesus’ life that we cannot emulate in more than a superficial way or not at all, such as his many miracles and his sacrificial death. There are other aspects of Jesus’ life that we can and should emulate, such as his selfless attitude and his devotion to prayer. The latter is a demanding discipline he does not shirk, especially in his final hours, as he demonstrates here in the garden.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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