”They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
Mark 14:32New International Version (NIV)
Mark 14:32 Devotional
Prayer
Mark 14:32 gives us a glimpse into Jesus’ prayer life just a few hours before His crucifixion. In this verse, set in the Garden of Gethsemane, an olive tree plantation to be exact, Jesus commanded his disciples to remain behind while He went to pray.
Of course, Jesus did this in preparation for laying down His life for us, which was a herculean undertaking. Therefore, He needed all the help he could get – again, of course, I am referring to Jesus in His humanity.
But before Jesus went away to pray, He drew out Peter, James, and John for a special assignment – among the twelve, this trio constituted His “inner circle”. He wanted them to watch while He went off to pray.
Gethsemane
Moreover, Gethsemane was a place that Jesus and His disciples frequented together. It was therefore a place where Judas (the Betrayer) knew that the Lord would go.
Therefore, “Sit here while I pray”, was Jesus’ way of being intentional about His prayer life. And many recorded instances in the Gospels reveal that Jesus always took out time to be alone, away from the crowds where he could pray (spend time in prayer) and recharge.
Consequently, Jesus did not allow those close to Him or His heavy ministry schedule to take away His time for prayer (and even worship). He was very intentional about His prayer life.
Jesus was in deep anguish
But this time, things were different. Jesus was in deep anguish. He knew that He was about to be handed over to be crucified. And that’s why He wanted to spend some quality time in prayer.
Preparation through prayer precedes the task of ministry
Before any battle, soldiers need to get prepared because preparation precedes any battle. Therefore, they spend months training and putting their armor and weapons together.
Similarly, athletes also spend months training and getting ready before the game they have to participate in. And all this is because failing to prepare is actually preparing to fail.
Therefore, just as Jesus diligently prepared for His crucifixion through prayer, we too need diligent preparation before we face any battles in life and ministry assignments. And prayer is the means to our enablement or empowerment before the battle or assignment.
Additionally, if you are a follower, especially in your leader’s inner circle, then you need to support your leader through prayers. This is how you will enable your leader to succeed in his battles or assignments.
Attacks from the enemy
Finally, prayer is also important because we face attacks from the enemy daily. So we always have to be prepared and definitely stay charged (you need to get charged because spiritual activity uses up energy; for if you do not get charged, you will crash).
Prayer
Lord God, first I pray that You teach me how to pray. Second, I pray that You help me to develop and sustain a consistent prayer life. And I pray all these in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Blessing/Exhortation
Therefore, purpose to make your prayer life highly intentional!
Daily Bible Reading
Matthew 25-26 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
