We have been doing a special study in Sunday School on prayer with the adults and the youth. Prayer is powerful. It is a first line offensive move, not a last resort. When we seek His face before our trials, it is easier to pray in the struggle. When we gather in groups to pray, it is supercharged prayer.
We read today from Matthew. Three times Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asked the disciples to stay awake. Three times they failed to do so. He found them sleeping prior to the toughest human experience of his life. The cross was before him, and his closest disciples (Peter, James, and John) were asleep. He prayed in agony.
Luke records, "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44)
He felt deep loneliness. Jesus cried out to the Father for a another plan, but the answer was "no." The course of events was set. He could have refused and walked away, but His love was bigger than the fear. On that night, he prayed for us... for future believers. John was the one to record it in the gospels in John 17:9-10.
"I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them."
He loved us in our brokenness. He lived in our skin, but did not sin (this is still mind-boggling to me). Not even in thought. When the evil one tempted him in the desert, Jesus spoke scriptures with eloquence as his defensive shield... even when he was hungry, thirsty, tired, and profoundly weak. Jesus defended his position and defied the enemy of our souls.
It is the thirty-third day of Lent. This is my scripture for today:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." -Ephesians 6:10-11
Armor up! Evil is real, but so is the "Defender" and "Perfecter of our Faith." Jesus won, so we do not have to pay the price. It is a precious gift. Prayer is our powerful hotline , but we forget to use it. Jesus... our Yeshua... acts as our defender before the Father who is wholly holy.
Today, I am grateful for the power of prayer.
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