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The Garden Prayer
We've covered some different aspects of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before, and there have been a lot of questions in the comments section in various other posts that have referenced the "Not my will, but Yours" part of Jesus' prayer. The crucifixion and everything leading up to it is all about Jesus and I don't want to take away from that in the slightest, but it does also have practical implications for our lives in how we deal with suffering. As I've said before, we'll be dealing a lot more with this topic later. Here Jesus provides the perfect example for a Christian experiencing trials and suffering:
"This text both reveals something about Jesus’ character and provides an example for how we can face the great trials of life God sends our way. In these verses we see a man dependent on God and committed to doing his will. We see an individual who faces trial by turning to God. We see a person who reveals his intense emotions to God in prayer. In contrast, the disciples have only their exhaustion and emotional pain. Even as Jesus exhorts them to pray, all they can do is sleep. Everything about Jesus’ approach models how one should face the tension of trial.
Jesus is not spared the trial, but what is supplied is the strength to face it. Though he does not hesitate to ask if another way can be found, he affirms his resolve to go the way God wants. Heaven responds not by granting Jesus his request for another way, but by giving him the strength to face what God has called him to do. This union of submission to divine call and divine strength supplied is at the heart of the passage." [1] (emphasis mine)
The Garden Prayer
We've covered some different aspects of Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before, and there have been a lot of questions in the comments section in various other posts that have referenced the "Not my will, but Yours" part of Jesus' prayer. The crucifixion and everything leading up to it is all about Jesus and I don't want to take away from that in the slightest, but it does also have practical implications for our lives in how we deal with suffering. As I've said before, we'll be dealing a lot more with this topic later. Here Jesus provides the perfect example for a Christian experiencing trials and suffering:
"This text both reveals something about Jesus’ character and provides an example for how we can face the great trials of life God sends our way. In these verses we see a man dependent on God and committed to doing his will. We see an individual who faces trial by turning to God. We see a person who reveals his intense emotions to God in prayer. In contrast, the disciples have only their exhaustion and emotional pain. Even as Jesus exhorts them to pray, all they can do is sleep. Everything about Jesus’ approach models how one should face the tension of trial.
Jesus is not spared the trial, but what is supplied is the strength to face it. Though he does not hesitate to ask if another way can be found, he affirms his resolve to go the way God wants. Heaven responds not by granting Jesus his request for another way, but by giving him the strength to face what God has called him to do. This union of submission to divine call and divine strength supplied is at the heart of the passage." [1] (emphasis mine)
[1] Darrell L. Bock, The NIV Application Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 568.
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