Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray (Matt 26:46)
Heavy burdens must be accompanied by unique and intensified prayers. The depth of your prayer, the seriousness and the consistency determines whether the session of your prayer will bring your flesh and spirit into subjection of the Spirit of God to where you will develop a “broken and contrite heart” with a deep and a genuine sorrow of wanting God’s rather than your will to be done. Deep and intensified prayers reveal our spiritual emptiness regarding the situation, opens our eyes to our rebellion against God and propel us to press for God’s power and will to overcome. As the days approached for Jesus to fulfill that which he had been sent to accomplish, he found it necessary to he retire to his usual place of prayer. Throughout the Gospels, this place is referred to as “Gethsemane“, which in Hebrew means gat, press, semen, and oil. Detailed study of this place reveals that it was a place with many trees, but especially with olive trees. The Greek version ofGethsemanealso confirms it as a place with many olive trees. We find in the writings of Mark, Mathew and Luke that this was an actual place and there must have been a residence, and not just a garden.
The name of this place caught my attention, especially the terms ‘press’ and ‘oil’. This sounds like a place where all of us should be frequenting. I am not suggesting that you travel toIsrael, but you and I must find this place, our own “Gethsemane” where we get personal with the Lord in prayer. I believe that this is a place where only those who know their purpose find their strength. It is a place where though you might be surrounded by many intercessors, they might not feel the pain and the magnitude of the burden that the Lord has given you. Jesus was nearing his crucifixion. He took with him the men who he had poured his teachings and life into, those who he would count on to press through with him and for him in prayer. On the contrary, he found them sleeping perhaps because they didn’t understand the needs of their Master; only him knew the urgency of the hour.
As you read this article maybe you are in this place calledGethsemane. Perhaps you wonder why no one sees what you see in the Spirit; you wonder why no one is praying with the intensity of the burden the Lord has given you; you wonder why you spend sleepless nights praying while everyone else is deep asleep. You wonder why everyone is singing victory songs when they should be singing mournful, repentance and war songs.
You wonder why no one sees the urgency of the hour. It is getting late, Jesus is coming soon and many are perishing. You feel an urgency to snatch many from the fire, and for the body of Christ to not only dress in battle clothes /uniform, but also get involved in the battles. The urgency to stop talking about what the devil and his agents are doing or about how strong Goliath is and go on head-on collisions with the Goliaths in our lives by the seeking a Gethsemane experience in prayer. It is because you have found your purpose and know your destiny and calling.
Jesus’ prayer was intense as the Bible says he did not just pray, but he was in agony. My version of his agony would be Jesus saying, “Father, it is going to be embarrassing for me, it is painful for me, Father I did not know this is what I signed for”. He might momentarily become a Jonah in the beginning of his prayer, trying to persuade God to take away the cup of suffering from him, but his prayer session intensified when he found that his disciples were sleeping. There is a modern day equivalent to what the disciples were doing. If the disciple were living in our times, they would be saying to Jesus by their actions, “You are on your own “Dude”. On the third time it dawned on him that it is just him and God. Discouraged by the disciples’ actions and seeing this was not really about the disciples, but him and his Father, he withdraws about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him (Luke 22:43). Every time we allow God to strengthen us, we move into our calling not in own power but in his power. If you read the Gospels there is nowhere we see Jesus so shaken and emotionally distraught. The Jesus we are used to up to this point is the one who faced a raging storm on theSea of Galilee; the storm did not scare him, he was totally composed and unruffled. When he came across demonic opposition, satanic temptation, and the grilling ofJerusalem’s religious leaders, he was completely confident and authoritative. In the Garden, he is exhibiting what his disciples have not seen; this must have distressed them. Here, Jesus cast himself to the ground, agonizing in prayer. Something terrible was going to happen. Jesus knew it, and the disciples were beginning to comprehend it as well.
To me this incident speaks volumes. I do not know about you, but how many times have we been discouraged in our calling and retreated back, just because those we depended on left us, talked negative things about us or stopped believing in us? How many times have we given up just because what we have been called to is not fashionable, does not sound, smell or appear fancy? However, if we only looked at the discouragement and ran back toGethsemanethe first, the second and the third time, God would have sent an angel to encourage us. Friend, let us get back toGethsemane. It is in this place that encouragement and strength for your God-given call comes from. Jesus got strengthened and got bold to face the cross. Friend, I urge you to seek this experience in your own life. Every time Jesus prayed something happened; this can be true for you and me too. Jesus told his disciples to pray so that they would not fall into temptation. However, they did not pray so they failed. Jesus on the other hand prayed and persevered. Jesus spent what appears to be at least three agonizing hours in prayer. The pattern we see in the events of Jesus in Luke is that his prayers were often accompanied by very important events. For example, just before the Holy Spirit descended upon him at the outset of His public ministry, he was in the midst of prayer (Luke 3:21, 22). Jesus was in prayer when He was transfigured before the three disciples (Luke 9:29). Jesus is likewise in prayer here in theGardenofGethsemane. We should look forward to an encounter with God from ourGethsemane’s experiences. Friend, I am inviting you to this experience because it will change your life.
If you live in San José, California, please join us for our mid-week revival meetings at 5370 Snell Avenue. For more on this meeting and other ministry information visit us at www.vesselforhonor.org or call us at 650-224-5152.
A “Gethsemane” experience is a must for you and me
