The readings for days 66 to 70, starting on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May, are:
Mark 1:29-39 Luke 10:1-24 Luke 11:1-13 John 17 Mark 14:32-42
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Anonymous
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These are the first few verses of today's reading from Mark 14:32 onwards, Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane:
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
The language here gives us a picture of Jesus in his darkest hour so far: 'overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death' is hard to imagine unless you've had a very hard experience indeed.
What challenged me again here was not just that Jesus often prayed, or that he prayed here in this situation, or his honesty and desperation in prayer (that's ok for us too!), but that he took his friends along for company.
It reminded me of the power of praying together, even if we are not physically in the same place. To have the encouragement of another person, or many people, praying for a particular situation brings new strength, hope, joy and peace. It encourages me to keep praying. It draws us closer to God and each other.
This sounds really obvious, but I thought it was helpful to think about again! Jesus shows his humanity again in wanting friends alongside him, and we can support others simply by being there, and even more in praying.
1 comment:
These are the first few verses of today's reading from Mark 14:32 onwards, Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane:
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
The language here gives us a picture of Jesus in his darkest hour so far: 'overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death' is hard to imagine unless you've had a very hard experience indeed.
What challenged me again here was not just that Jesus often prayed, or that he prayed here in this situation, or his honesty and desperation in prayer (that's ok for us too!), but that he took his friends along for company.
It reminded me of the power of praying together, even if we are not physically in the same place. To have the encouragement of another person, or many people, praying for a particular situation brings new strength, hope, joy and peace. It encourages me to keep praying. It draws us closer to God and each other.
This sounds really obvious, but I thought it was helpful to think about again! Jesus shows his humanity again in wanting friends alongside him, and we can support others simply by being there, and even more in praying.
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