Facing Your Purpose
³²        Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”³³ And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.³⁴ Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”

³⁵   He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.³⁶ And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.“

³⁷   Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?³⁸ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹   Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.⁴⁰ And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

⁴¹   Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.⁴² Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

Mark14:32-42

Facts

1. Jesus knew the time for facing His cross was at hand.

2. He knew the importance of prayer at such time.
3. He disciplined Himself and took time out to pray.
4. He took a few of His disciples with Him to the place: Gethsemane.
5. When they got there He left them and went further where He fell down and prayed.
6. He found the purpose and focus of His prayer, overwhelming, challenging, depressing, distressing but He surrendered to the will of His Father.
7. He prayed a pray of surrender, “Your will be done.”
8. His disciples who were there were not able to join or persevere or pray for an hour.
9. He repeated the prayer till He had release.

10. He prevailed in His prayer as He regained His confidence faith and repose to face the hour.

Truths/lessons
1. You have a purpose too. And whereas some aspects of your purpose will be enjoyable and inviting or even glamorous, there are other aspects that will be daunting, challenging, mournful and tearful, and yet inescapable.

2. You have to embrace the whole package.

 

 3. Know that you can do all things through Christ Who strengthens you. Know that He had trod that road for you. He has made provision for that hour or those dark moments. And when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear no evil, because He is with you.

4. At such times, whilst it is good to have close friends around you who can encourage you and pray with you, you cannot rely on friends to do your praying for you, especially at such crucial times. You must learn to hold your own-no matter what.

5. He went further to pray, showing us that some people can only come thus far. They cannot and should not be expected or coerced to go the whole hog.

 

There are places they cannot come with us in regard to our purpose. We all have our cross, that is personal, to carry.

6. We must persevere despite disappointments from people and not resort to blaming them.

 

7. We must recognise distractions, avoid them and maintain our focus and persistence, patience and passion in prayer.

8. Learn to make your possession, the ‘power hour with God.’ It was His habit to rise up very early before dawn to prayer. He expected them to wait for an hour with Him. It means they were capable of it. Later we see the disciples going for “the hour of prayer.”Acts3:1, Phil4:13, Mark1:35

Your power hour could be married with studying and meditating on the word and    planning to maximise your day.

9. When you have knelt before God, you can stand before man. When you have quaked before God, you can be bold before man. When you have prayed in the secret place, you can come out in the open and begin to decree and get unusual results like Jesus did.

 

10. You too can bounce back  and prevail in prayer regarding your purpose.

So, what next?

Take these lessons on board. Ask yourself what you will you do from now on, early in the morning.

What will you do when you face challenging moments especially in regard to your cross, purpose or assignment?

What part can other people play in your purpose?

What are their limitations?

How do you handle their weaknesses and limitations without frustration without playing a “blame game?”