Devotion: Giving It Up To God

Mark 14:32-42

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

When I was a child, I pictured Jesus as loving and caring for me. He was strong, yet gentle, and would always keep me safe. In this passage, he was fully human and showed that he was fearful, trembling and looking for a way out. He knew that he needed to go to the Father (Abba) for the strength he lacked.

He took with him his “inner circle,” Peter, James and John, and asked that they would sit with him while he prayed. He asked them to stay awake as he prayed to have the brutality of the cross and everything before him removed.

Jesus is not asking the disciples to pray for him. He is praying for himself. He prayed, “not what I want, but what you want.”

Three times he came to them and three times they had fallen asleep. Enough was enough and he went on his way accepting his fate and what God willed. Even when he was hanging on the cross and still pleading that God would remove the cup from him, he finally gave it up to God.

Do we pray for ourselves? As followers of Christ, we face the hardest question: do I trust God more than I trust myself? In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray…”Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” As followers of Christ we want to believe that we trust in God. And, if we are honest, most of us do not trust in God more than ourselves. When He says “No” to our prayers, we become disillusioned. For Jesus, submitting to the will of God was not easy. This insight frees us from the lie that trusting in God’s outcomes will be easy for mature Christians when He has a different answer for us.

Are you praying for yourself? As Jesus showed us here, walking with God through the most difficult parts of our lives is holy ground. Can you give it up to God?

Heavenly Father, encourage me to pray to you when I need help. Grant me strength to face whatever your answer is for a loving plan in my life. Amen.

Written by Janece Nelson