Last Tuesday, in Lessons Before the Cross, Part 4, we saw that when God allows us to go through trials, He advises us to take with us any resources that we may have. But there is only one thing that He commands that we take: A Sword — The living, active, Word of God, our best defense in any situation.
But Jesus has another nugget of powerful information designed to help us go through trials. Our story now takes us to the gates of the Garden of Gethsemane: “When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.'” (Luke 22:39-40, NKJV)
Let’s remember that just a little while before this, Jesus told Peter that He had prayed for Peter that Peter’s faith would not fail (see vs. 32). Shouldn’t that be enough? When we have Jesus Himself praying for us, should we need anything else? Why, then, is Jesus admonishing His disciples to “Pray that you may not enter into temptation”?
And Jesus doesn’t just say this one time. After going off to pray on His own, He returns to find them asleep, and once again He admonishes them: “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:41-46, NKJV)
What Jesus is telling us here, friends, is that although He stands before us, although He fights for us, we, also, have a responsibility in the battle! We must continually pray that we will be strong, that we will “not enter into temptation”!
But Jesus didn’t just tell us to pray. He then proceeded to be our best example: “He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed…” (Luke 22:41). Just as He is about to enter into the worst suffering that any human has ever undergone, Jesus, Himself chooses to arm Himself with prayer! Not only is prayer it the best thing to do, it is also our responsibility!
What happened when Jesus prayed? “Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.” (vs 43). And this is what prayer does for us as well: It unleashes the angels of Heaven to strengthen us!
During my journey through the valley of cancer in the Fall of 2012, there were many times when I felt like I couldn’t go on. The hours leading up to my surgery are prime examples of those times. Yet when I finally remembered to pray, I was immediately comforted, each and every time! Prayer didn’t make the trial go away. I still had a cancerous tumor that God chose to use the medical system to remove. I had to undergo surgery and the aftermath of cancer treatment. But as soon as I prayed, I was comforted and strengthened. That is the power of prayer! It gives us the resources we need to go through the trials that God allows us to suffer! When God gives the devil permission to torment us, He also provides us with everything we need to get through victoriously!
Still not convinced? Let’s look at the advice of the Apostle Paul. He tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…” (Eph 6:11). Then after telling us what the armor of God is (see Eph 6:14-17), He tells us this: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.“ (Eph 6:11-18, NKJV)
Prayer isn’t just some nice thing we can do that makes us feel better! It isn’t a “last resort”, or something we “fall back on” when there is nothing else we can do! Prayer is our power and our responsibility. So instead of throwing up our hands in defeat and saying, “All we can do now is pray!”, let’s kneel down in victory!
Prayer. Our power. Our responsibility.
Don’t believe it? Just look back to Jesus’ example in the garden!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two teens, Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries; Author of “Aboard God’s Train: A Journey with God Through the Valley of Cancer.” Follow me on Twitter: @lynchaffart
(To access the entire “Lessons Before the Cross” series, please click here.)