Luke 22: 39-46
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 ‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’
As Jesus kneels to pray he says “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Upon reflection of this verse, I gain a deeper understanding of “take this cup”. He wants to avoid the suffering he knows will happen, but he had a deeper understanding of this cup. It was much more than the physical suffering, which was hard enough, but the spiritual suffering as he bore the weight of sin. It was drinking the cup of God’s wrath, all the way to the bottom. He bears the judgment for the sins of all and, for a time, the total separation from his Father. Jesus’ prayer re-minds me of how fully human he was, yet also fully divine.
Jesus prays with gut-wrenching honesty. These verses re-minds me that God never leaves me alone, but is with me and strengthens me through all the difficult times I face.
Do I pray with this much honesty? Do I fully believe that He will come to strengthen me when I need it? Can I empty my-self in prayer with the trust of knowing that Jesus knows how I feel? Lord, give me strength to be honest with you and with myself.
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