Well, we all know that prayer is essential
and we all equally know that prayer is tough.
Now, I'm not talking this morning about prayers
that are the prayers of God bless this person
or the prayers of quick, I need, you know, sort of a car park
or the prayers of please let it be fine
because I have a very important picnic tomorrow.
I'm not talking about those sorts of prayers
because I know that we've all prayed those prayers.
I'm talking about the prayers that we persist in praying,
the prayers that are heartfelt prayers
that keep us looking towards God and looking for an answer.
Now, surely it should be easy for each of us
to share our hearts with the God of love
who wants to hear from his children.
After all, isn't he interested in all things about us?
He even knows the number of hairs on our heads.
Surely, if we are able to chatter to our friends,
some of us, without taking breath,
surely we would find it easy to talk to God.
Surely, if God is the one who we are most devoted to,
wouldn't that mean we would turn to him first
in times of need, in confusion,
in sadness, in disappointment, in joy?
Surely, if we believe that our great God
is the God of the impossible,
the God who can make the barren fall pregnant,
the God who can split the Red Sea
for the Israelites to walk across,
the God who made it possible for a virgin to give birth,
the God who saw our brokenness
and made a way for us to be in relationship with him,
the God who gave his son to death
so that we might live.
Surely, our heart's desire
would be to take that gift of prayer
seriously, daily,
with earnestness
and with confidence.
And yet we don't.
Is it because we are distracted
to know what are the correct words to say in prayer?
So we say nothing.
Well, maybe.
Many would argue over time
that set prayers are the only acceptable prayers to pray.
And Steve mentioned last week
that there are many repetitive prayers
that some feel are necessary to pray.
Or is it because we don't know
how we should be or act
when we are praying?
So we say nothing.
There have been many
who have argued over the years
that we should stand
with our eyes upward to heaven
and pray to this great God.
Others feel that we should
bend our heads in reverence.
Some might feel
that they need to lie prostrate on the floor
to show a sense of humility
and respect.
Well, it's simply foolishness
if we get caught up
with the issue of posture
or set words
to think that prayer then would be effective.
The point is,
correct and acceptable prayer
isn't about posture or set words.
that would wrongly make it
that for God to be pleased to hear our prayers
and to answer our prayers
has something to do with who we are
and what we have done
or what we have said
instead of it being about this great God
that we are praying to.
So why don't we pray?
Well, basically,
there's a number of reasons.
I'm sure you will think of some more.
But I think that we can,
but we believe that we can fix things.
We can fix most things by ourselves.
And so if something is broken,
we try to fix it.
And there's a sense of satisfaction
when we can fix things.
And there may even well be
a greater sense of satisfaction
if we perceive that others
can't fix the things that we can fix.
We generally are self-centred,
self-reliant, proud individuals.
Of course, some of us might show
a little more finesse
when sharing our pride,
so that isn't seen as the sin
that it truly is.
And while others,
while others' pride oozes out of them,
and it's very easily seen.
But proud, we all are to some extent.
And it causes us to trust
our own capabilities
rather than trusting God first.
We also need to ask ourselves,
what do I spend the bulk of my time
thinking about when no one is looking?
When nothing is forcing us
to think about anything in particular?
At these moments,
do your thoughts,
or do my thoughts,
turn toward God?
Archbishop William Temple,
back in 1942,
in a message said,
your religion is what you do
with your solitude.
That is a really challenging quote.
Steve last week mentioned
that prayer is shaped
by the being to whom we pray.
What we pray is dependent
on what we believe we are praying,
on what we believe the being
we pray to is capable of fulfilling.
And if we do not have a correct picture
of who God is
and what Jesus has achieved on our behalf,
then our prayers will either be
totally absent
or they will be shallow at best.
I loved our commitment series
that we did at the end of last year.
For me to look at our core values
gave me a new and fresh revelation
of how our core values
fit like hand and glove together,
especially being a Christ-centered,
Bible-saturated church
that is devoted to prayer
and who love treasuring Jesus together.
How can one truly be devoted to prayer
if they do not know the one
that they pray to?
How do you know the one to pray to?
By being in the word of God
is the answer.
Becoming a Christ-centered,
Bible-saturated follower of Jesus Christ
and meeting together
for instruction and fellowship
in treasuring Jesus together.
You cannot have one without the other
if you want to be an effective,
have an effective relationship with God.
Prayer is essential
and knowing Jesus the Saviour
is as essential.
So why don't we pray?
We need to ask ourselves,
do we truly know Jesus
and the His gospel deeply?
Well, I'd encourage you to open up the passage
that we've just had read to us in Mark 14
and we'll see if that might teach us something.
The passage where we're up to,
if we're in the Garden of Gethsemane,
it's an olive grove.
It's still an olive grove to this day.
And even some of the original trees,
even though they were chopped down
for the Roman siege in 70 AD,
after carbon testing of the roots,
some of them still date back
2,300 years back.
Now, I have been in this Garden of Gethsemane.
It is not huge.
It is tranquil
and it is conducive to prayer.
Now, it's a short time before Jesus is arrested
and He'll be taken to His death the following day.
Jesus has celebrated the Passover with His disciples
and He has once again told them
of His impending death and His resurrection.
And He goes with His disciples
and He leaves all bar three of His disciples
at most probably is the entrance to the Garden.
And then He moves on a little forward
with three disciples,
Peter, James and John,
His closest disciples,
closest friends,
a little further on.
Look at verse 34 with me.
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
to the point of death,
He said to them.
Stay here and keep watch.
He's saying this to the three.
Remarkably,
Jesus shows that it is okay
to share your deepest burdens
with those that you trust.
And apart from the Father,
who we see He is going to pray earnestly to,
Peter, James and John
were His closest disciples and friends.
Jesus shares His heart with the three.
Jesus knows what is lying ahead of Him.
He could have been stoic,
shown that even in His complete humanness,
He was in control.
Not let those close to Him
know that He was burdened and struggling.
Isn't that what most of us would like to do
when we're faced with something tough?
No.
Jesus is truly human
and He is showing truly human,
honest struggles
and with good reason,
for He knows better
and more fully
than the disciples
of what the next day is going to bring.
And what does this sorrow do for Jesus?
It drives Him to prayer.
Then He moves a little way away from them
and He shows His dependence
on His heavenly Father.
Verse 35,
Going a little farther,
He fell to the ground
and prayed that if possible,
the Lord might pass...
The Lord might pass...
Sorry.
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 my will,
but your will.
Jesus understands
that this cup
is no ordinary cup,
but it is the wrathful judgment,
the awful consequences
of God's judgment
on sinful humanity.
There's a number of references
to the cup of wrath in the Bible.
Isaiah 51 says,
Awake, awake,
rise up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk
from the hand of the Lord
the cup of His wrath,
you who have drained its dregs,
the goblet that makes men stagger.
Revelation 14,
a third angel followed them
and said in a loud voice,
If anyone worships the beast
and his image
and receives his mark
on the forehead
or on the hand,
he too will drink
the wine of God's fury,
which has been poured
full strength
into the cup of His wrath.
He will be tormented
with burning sulfur
in the presence
of the holy angels
and the Lamb.
Revelation 16, 19,
God remembered Babylon the great
and gave her the cup
filled with the wine
of the fury of His wrath.
This cup is God's wrath
that would be poured out
on you and me
if we were not followers
of Jesus Christ.
It is Jesus' perfect death,
a perfect life,
perfect death
in taking the wrath we deserve
and His perfect resurrection
that we can have confidence
in this gospel that saves us.
Without this,
we are all lost
for all eternity.
We see the intimacy
with the Father
as well as His confidence
in His nearness
and loving care.
We see it by
the simple address
of calling God the Father
Abba,
which is similar
to us saying
Daddy.
It shows Jesus
trusts God
completely
as His Father
and is completely
obedient.
His prayer
isn't trying to run
counter
to God's purposes,
but explores
is there another way here?
Can He escape
the horrifying cup?
It isn't insubordination,
but complete trust
that God listens
and grants
prayer requests
that are aligned
with God's
overall providence.
The answer we know
is no.
There is no other way.
Jesus will in fact
die the horrendous death,
taking the wrath of God
that you and I
deserve
so that we
can live,
so that we don't
have to take
the wrath of God,
so that we can have
our prayers answered,
so that we
can be assured
of God's love,
His mercy,
His sovereignty
in all things.
If you do not believe
in the wrath of God
that has been
poured out
on Jesus
on our behalf,
then you will
not appreciate
how valuable
you are
to God.
You have no idea
of your value
if you don't know
the wrath of God
and believe in it.
You see,
we can be confident
that God will hear
and answer our prayers
because in the garden,
God chose
to not
answer
Jesus' prayer
of taking
the cup
from Him.
It was essential
that the wrath of God
is taken
by someone
so that we
would be free
to have a relationship
with God the Father.
That someone
was Jesus
and it was for you
and it was for me.
Turn to verse 37
with me
and a little
further on.
We know
that Jesus
has said
to His disciples,
stay here a while
and keep watch.
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 He 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.
Three times,
Jesus discovers
them sleeping
after bidding them
to keep watch.
Interestingly,
you will recall
that there was a time
when they were
in crisis,
the disciples,
and Jesus was
the one sleeping
in the back of the boat
when there was a storm.
But here,
they are the ones sleeping
when Jesus
is the one
in real crisis.
And their drowsiness
reflects
their failure
to realise
how crucial
this moment
really is.
But is Jesus
stern,
judgemental,
accusatory?
I'm not so sure.
Some of the commentators
say yes.
But there is
a sense of
understanding
from Jesus.
His comment
that the spirit
is willing
but the body
is weak
sounds more
like a comment
that he
understands.
But he's firm
and he alone
knows what
lies ahead.
Jesus has prepared
himself in prayer
for what is
ahead of him.
He has cried out
to God
to change the plan
if possible
but once he knows
that he will be
delivered into
the hands
of the enemy,
he freely
has accepted
God's will
for himself
and through
prayer
has steeled
himself
for what lies
ahead
and he goes
in obedience.
By contrast,
the disciples
have squandered
the opportunity
for prayer
by sleeping.
Consequently,
they fold
under the pressure.
we see this
in six
very sad
verses
in verse 50.
Just after
Jesus is
arrested
and we read,
then everyone
deserted him
and fled.
So how
often
do we
squander
the opportunity
to pray?
Do we
come to
God
and acknowledge
God
for his
majesty
and his
awe
and we
hallow him
as Steve
preached last
week?
Do we
ask God
to examine
our hearts
as the
psalmist
prays in
Psalm 139?
He says,
search me,
O God,
know my
heart,
test
me,
know my
anxious
thoughts,
see if
there is
any
offensive
way in
me and
lead me
in the
way
everlasting.
How
often do
you pray
that
prayer?
How
often do
you pray
and repent
of your
sins?
How
often do
I do
that?
How
often do
we hand
all of our
concerns over
to the
Lord,
the things
that are
making us
anxious?
Tim
Keller
has a
sermon
online
and he
refers to
on prayer
and he
refers to
Eugene
Peterson
and his
thoughts
on prayer.
Eugene
Peterson
says that
prayer needs
to have a
rhythm,
a spiritual
discipline,
if you want
a different
word.
prayer.
Peterson
says that
Psalm
4 is
an evening
prayer and
Psalm 5
is a
morning
prayer.
It's
worth
either
listening to
Tim Keller's
sermon
online or
maybe buying
his new
book on
prayer if
you want
to actually
understand
this more.
But simply
put in
brief,
from
Psalm 4
the
psalmist
speaks,
God
speaks,
the
psalmist
speaks.
So the
psalmist
says,
answer me
when I
call to
you,
O my
righteous
God,
give me
relief
from my
distress,
be merciful
to me
and hear
my prayer.
Then God
speaks,
in your
anger
do not
sin,
when you
are on
your beds
search your
hearts
and be
silent.
Then the
psalmist
speaks again,
let the
light of
your face
shine upon
us,
O Lord,
you have
filled my
heart with
greater joy
than when
the grain
and the
new wine
abound.
I will
lie down
and sleep
in peace
for you
alone,
O Lord,
make me
dwell in
safety.
Meaning,
hand every
anxious thought
over to
God at
night and
sleep well.
It's about
praying to
put your
soul at
rest by
giving over
to God.
Peterson
says that
if you're
still anxious,
you haven't
trusted God
fully with
all your
concerns or
you haven't
truly handed
them all
over to
God and
you need
to continue
praying.
God
but the
idea is
that you
hand at
night those
things that
are making
you anxious
over to
the Lord
so that
you can
rest.
Different
with Psalm
5,
in the
morning,
you are
awake and
you're ready
to tackle
all that
the Lord
gives you
in the
new day
and you
do it
in prayer.
Give
ear to
my words,
O Lord,
consider my
sighing,
listen to
my cry
for help,
my King
and my
God,
for to
you I
pray.
In the
morning,
O Lord,
you hear
my voice.
In the
morning,
I lay
my requests
before you
and I
wait in
expectation.
This is
the time
to cry
out to
God,
acknowledging
who he
is and
trusting
him with
all those
prayers for
his world
and his
creation.
Note there's
a sense
of expectation
that God
is going
to act.
So you
look for
the answers
and you
give God
thanks when
you see
them.
If you
don't see
them,
you continue
to cry
out to
God and
you keep
looking because
it is a
very active
thing that
we are
doing.
This has
been
tremendously
helpful to
me,
to understand
that prayer
is a gift
gift, but
that so
is rest.
And God
has given
us both.
To hand
over my
concerns and
my worries
at night
time when
I am
tired, I'm
not at my
best, but
I am needing
rest, that
is a great
discipline.
To then
actively pray
in the morning
when I am
fresh and I'm
focused, it
works for me.
And I
encourage you
to try it
yourself because
it very well
may work for
you.
Now we
started by
acknowledging that
prayer is
essential, but
it's also
tough.
We've seen in
the garden that
Jesus prayed for
the cup to be
taken from
him, but
that it
wasn't and
he still
surrendered to
God's will.
and we
know that
because of
that prayer
of Jesus
was not
answered in
the way that
he may have
wanted, because
of his death
and his
resurrection, we
now can be
confident that
God answers
our prayers.
For Jesus
made it
possible for
us to be in
a relationship
with the
Father.
How privileged
we are and
how often we
all forget
this.
Let me
leave you
with three
points that
come from a
sermon that
Jonathan Edwards
when he was
18 years of
age gave that
might help us
with our
prayers.
It certainly
helps with
living the
Christian life
as well, but
if we focus
it on the
prayers for
this morning.
First thing,
our bad
things will
always turn
out for
good.
Romans 8
28.
Our good
things can
never be
taken away
from us.
Psalm 4.
Things like
the light of
his countenance,
the insurance
of grace,
forgiveness,
heaven, love,
adoption, none
of them can be
taken away from
us despite
whatever is
going on in
our day-to-day
living.
And the
third thing,
the best is
yet to come.
1 Corinthians
2.9,
no eye has
seen, no
ear has
heard, no
mind has
conceived what
God has
prepared for
those who
love him.
Our bad
things will
turn out for
good, our
good things will
never be taken
away and the
best is yet
to come.
Let's pray.
O great and
glorious God,
we are in
awe of you
and your
unfailing love
for sinners
such as
ourselves.
We thank you
from the bottom
of our hearts
that you hear
us and
delight in
us.
Thank you
that Jesus'
cry for the
cup of your
wrath to be
taken was
answered with
no.
Transform us
into your
servants who
long to be in
your presence
for all
eternity.
In Jesus'
name we pray.
Amen.