Wrestling in Prayer: Luke 22:40-42
“40) When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41) And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42) saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43) Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.” Luke 22:40-43
This is a somewhat unusual text. One would think Jesus would have beckoned them to pray for Him. It was His hour of need. Instead He admonished them to pray for themselves.
I have met many over the years with the mistaken idea that prayer should never be self directed. That was not the counsel of Jesus. He encouraged the disciples to pray for themselves.
The specific admonition was “pray that you do not enter into temptation.” A better translation might be “pray that you do not fall when you are tempted.” The Tempter will entice us, but we need not give way to the temptation. We have free will to say “no”.
We resist Satan firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:8), but flee from our temptation. (See 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22) We stop making provisions for the flesh (Romans 13:14) and quickly embrace God’s way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Much of our sanctification is worked out in the prayer closet. That’s where we draw near to God! The rest is simple obedience to a biblical action plan when temptation comes.
Matthew added a crucial footnote: “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) No matter how long you walk with Jesus, your flesh can never be trusted. It is a magnet for sin. It is to be crucified.
I pity every Christian who is ignorant about walking in the spirit. They are abandoned to live in the flesh and wrestle with sinful bondage. Galatians chapter five exposes this irrational notion and calls us to live in freedom by walking in the Spirit. The spirit is the place of communion with God.
It is noteworthy that as Jesus prayed, an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. He did not ask for angelic intervention, but it was granted Him as He was praying.
We are warned against seeking angelic interaction as part of our worship (Colossians 2:18), but God can and does send His unseen agents to strengthen us in the heat of the battle. (Hebrews 1:14)
Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), therefore we are not seek interaction with angels. Many have fallen prey to channeling demonic spirits thinking they were communicating with angels. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, while unseen guardian angels protect us from danger.
There is more packed into this prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane, but that will have to wait for the next session. Let me close by saying the first Adam gave way to temptation in the Garden of Eden because he neglected to talk to God. Jesus pursued a radically different approach in the Garden of Gethsemane. He chose to wrestle in prayer.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“40) When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41) And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42) saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43) Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.” Luke 22:40-43
This is a somewhat unusual text. One would think Jesus would have beckoned them to pray for Him. It was His hour of need. Instead He admonished them to pray for themselves.
I have met many over the years with the mistaken idea that prayer should never be self directed. That was not the counsel of Jesus. He encouraged the disciples to pray for themselves.
The specific admonition was “pray that you do not enter into temptation.” A better translation might be “pray that you do not fall when you are tempted.” The Tempter will entice us, but we need not give way to the temptation. We have free will to say “no”.
We resist Satan firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:8), but flee from our temptation. (See 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22) We stop making provisions for the flesh (Romans 13:14) and quickly embrace God’s way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Much of our sanctification is worked out in the prayer closet. That’s where we draw near to God! The rest is simple obedience to a biblical action plan when temptation comes.
Matthew added a crucial footnote: “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) No matter how long you walk with Jesus, your flesh can never be trusted. It is a magnet for sin. It is to be crucified.
I pity every Christian who is ignorant about walking in the spirit. They are abandoned to live in the flesh and wrestle with sinful bondage. Galatians chapter five exposes this irrational notion and calls us to live in freedom by walking in the Spirit. The spirit is the place of communion with God.
It is noteworthy that as Jesus prayed, an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. He did not ask for angelic intervention, but it was granted Him as He was praying.
We are warned against seeking angelic interaction as part of our worship (Colossians 2:18), but God can and does send His unseen agents to strengthen us in the heat of the battle. (Hebrews 1:14)
Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), therefore we are not seek interaction with angels. Many have fallen prey to channeling demonic spirits thinking they were communicating with angels. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, while unseen guardian angels protect us from danger.
There is more packed into this prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane, but that will have to wait for the next session. Let me close by saying the first Adam gave way to temptation in the Garden of Eden because he neglected to talk to God. Jesus pursued a radically different approach in the Garden of Gethsemane. He chose to wrestle in prayer.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
