Day 4 - The Prayer

READ: Luke 22: 39-44

Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. ⁴⁰ There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

⁴¹ He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” ⁴³ Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

REFLECT:

• Have you ever asked for something that you didn’t get? If so, how did you act?
• What did Jesus ask God to do for him? What was his response if it didn’t happen?
• Why do you think Jesus was in such agony as he prayed?

While Jesus was certainly mindful of the physical pain that lay ahead, what had to hurt most was the thought of bearing the ugliness of our sin, guilt, and shame.

• Have you ever considered that Jesus thought of your sin when he prayed that prayer?
• Knowing the pain that it would cause Jesus, why was God’s will that he die on a cross?

RESPOND: Jesus was willing to endure the most painful thing in the whole world because He loved us and wanted to save us. What are you willing to endure in order to love other people well? Who can you make an extra effort to love sacrificially today?