Mark 14:32-42

Mark 14:32-42  They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them.  “Stay here and keep watch.”  Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep?  Could you not keep watch for one hour?  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”  Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.  When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  They did not know what to say to him.  Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?  Enough!  The hour has come.  Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise!  Let us go!  Here comes my betrayer!” 

Are you praying?  God's will for your life is to hear his voice and to follow it.  Some people want to know explicitly what God's will is for their lives.  Well, obviously, according to this passage, one important aspect of God's will for Christians is to pray.  Jesus prayed alone in the garden, but He also desired his disciples to pray with him, to support him in prayer.  How many of us are willing to support others in prayer not only in our closets but with them in a collective prayer.  How many of us have never prayed out loud in a body of believers?  Notice in the above passage, Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, for He knew He was the sacrificial lamb to satisfy God's wrath towards sin and to complete God's righteous judgement for our sins that we have all committed, for all who sin WILL DIE outside of Christ.  In this hour his flesh was weak: he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me."  He needed others to support him in prayer, so much so, that He kept returning to his sleepy disciples and asking them to pray with him.  In this hour, Jesus needed prayer from others.  

In every church we have people in their hour of desperation.  These people need prayer, not only the prayers we send up in our closets, but collective prayer.  They need believers who will pray for them, with them.  In our midst there are those with terminal diseases.  They need prayer, not only for healing, but for strength, courage, and hope.  Death is difficult to face without support, prayer, and love.  Jesus went back the third time to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting?  Enough!  The hour has come."  In essence, He was saying, "The hour has come: your opportunity of praying for me has ended.  Your opportunity to work for me, to help me through this difficult period, is over.  Enough!"  For each of us, there will be a time when the Lord will say that to us, maybe through a heart attack, a stroke, cancer, terminal disease, or just old age.  Jesus will then say, "Enough, you have had all the chances you are going to get to support me in your life.  You had your chance to do my work.  Now, it is over.  Rise, meet your Maker, YOUR DAY IS FINISHED.  The night (death) has come when no man can work."  

I often pray about my life, about who I am and what I am.  When I pray like that, I always hear the Spirit say to me, "I have work for you to do."  I know intuitively that when I no longer have work to do, God will say, "ENOUGH, RISE, and meet your MAKER."  Today, every Christian has work to do.  The smile, the handshake, the friendly response, the loving touch are all God's work.  The happiness you bring to people today is God's work.  You are the salt and the light of the world.  But even if you don't have any opportunities to interact with people today, you can pray in your closet.  You can hold their hands up to God; you can support their weak knees and wavering hearts.  Even if you don't know them well, you can give that support in prayer.  You can bless people with your prayers, for you are bringing them before the ALMIGHTY, ETERNAL ONE.  You can pray,  "Oh Lord, let your will be done in their lives today."  I often pray for people and relatives I hardly know.  I pray for God's will in their lives.  Yes, Peter, James, and John were asleep that day when Jesus needed them.  Let us not be asleep when people need us.  Let us, as the scriptures encourage us to do: pray always, pray in season and out of season, when we feel like it and when we don't feel like it.  Brothers and sisters, pray while it is yet day.