Prepatory Prayer

Mark 14:35-36 He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that if, it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him be. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet, I want your will, not mine."

Jesus knew exactly what He was about to face. He knew the awful price He had to pay physically, emotionally, mentally, and most importantly, spiritually, in order for Him to obey God. He knew that He was not up to the task alone. As godly as He was, He knew that this was too much. He had to have God's help if He was going to face the task before Him and not waver in doing it. He knew that not only could God help Him, He knew that He would. How did He know that God wouldn't let Him down? Jesus lived close to God all the time.

Over and over again we find Jesus alone with God talking. We aren't told what they often talked about but we do know that often they talked about His disciples. He often prayed for their strength and growing understanding of His ways and words. And, I suspect, as the time drew closer and closer to His death, the Lord would draw upon God for His strength and resolve to face what lied before Him. Jesus knew from personal experience that His prayers would not go unanswered. He knew that God would enable Him to do what He came to do.

I wonder how often we plunge headlong into a task without first praying it through. I wonder if we spend sufficient amount of time talking things over with the Lord so that when it comes crunch time we have the confidence to know that God will not leave us hanging. I wonder what might be different in our lives if we were to spend sufficient amount of time with the Lord. I wonder what we might do differently in our lives. I wonder.