Seeds for 02/08/2024 - Matthew 26:42
Scripture: He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Observation: Jesus went a second time. Because the text is mostly a repetition of verse 39, slightly rephrased, we may read it too quickly, drawn forward by the back-and-forth of Jesus’ prayer and interactions with the sleepy disciples.
It is worth pausing, however, to reflect on this repetition.
Jesus went a second time to pray by Himself, apart from the disciples. Once was not enough for so weighty a matter as this calling. We have burdens that weigh on us too. Naming them once before the Lord is not enough. We may return again and again to bring them before the Father in prayer. A biblical image that I’m learning from on the subject of prayer is Jacob wrestling the angel all night, refusing to let go until the angel blessed him. When morning came, sure enough the angel did bless him. I notice that I can grow fatigued in prayer and fail to wrestle all the way to the blessing of the morning, bailing out or tiring out at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., metaphorically. Learning to persevere in prayer is challenging. In this scripture, we find Jesus going a second time to continue praying, which reinforces that prayer—especially contending prayer, is about continuing to approach the Lord and not give up. Jesus continued to contend in prayer; we can too.
Jesus prayed the same thing a second time. Jesus already prayed about surrender. He already prayed about His willingness for “this cup” to pass Him by. Yet He wasn’t done, so He prayed again about the same thing. Sometimes we think, “I’ve named this to God many times already, surely He’s tired of hearing about it again!” But Jesus wasn’t done praying on this topic so He kept going, even repeating Himself. That’s okay. Prayers simply stated are good. If we’re not yet done, we’re not yet done. Bring it to Him again. Jesus prayed earnestly, laid it down before God the Father, and got up from His place of prayer. But He wasn’t done speaking with God, so He came back a second time to bring the same petition as before.
Application:
What do you need to continue bringing before the Lord?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, grant me perseverance in my praying and an assurance that I may continue to bring what is on my heart to you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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