Will Bender and the Prayers

Prayer has a designed tendency to merge our will to that of our perfect and all-knowing God.  Because the act of praying helps to keep us in a spirit of consolidation with God, our earthly worries (those that are not of God) begin to overtake us when we drift away from him - when we are less intentional about our prayer life.

Communion with God is seemingly a simple matter of pushing the world aside and dedicating our attention onto the Creator of our universe.  Especially when we are weighed down by troubles or misfortune, our prayers often begin with a purging of all our concerns followed by our requests for God to fix all that ails us.  Both long-time followers of Christ and those that have been newly found have a tendency to pray in this manner.  We do this all the while knowing that God is omniscient - or all knowing; he already knows all that troubles us.

If we are patient enough, we may enter a more solemn time of communion with God during our prayer.  Perhaps we start thanking God for the many blessings he has already bestowed upon us or praising him for who he is (wouldn't it be nice if we always started with this one?).  Maybe we enter into a state of confession and repentance.  At times, we merely listen...sitting quietly while contemplating the presence of the Holy One - listening.  As we continue in earnest loving prayer, our will begins to bend toward him.

Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46) in a fashion that may seem somewhat familiar to us.  The Father had revealed what laid ahead in Jesus' crucifixion.  He showed him that, in those moments of agony and death, Jesus would be made into sin and would bear the weight of the entire world.  Jesus would experience separation from his Father.  The mere thought of this happening troubled Jesus to the point of death. At first, he asked to be spared of the torment that he was facing.  After reaching out for his disciples three consecutive times, he still returned to pray.  Each time he prayed, his prayer turn to the will of the Father.

Jesus ended his prayer by expressing his sole desire: that the Father's will be done.  He desired this regardless of the torment that was about to occur.  Jesus' complete unity with the Father is seen in this prayer.  The Father and Son were united in their will to see that Jesus' crucifixion (and resurrection) would be carried out as was destined from the beginning of time.  As in Jesus' prayer, the Father wants our will to be adjoined to his.

I used to envision God looking at his watch while waiting for me to finish my list of complaints, worries, and requests.  Now I understand that my prayers turn when I remember the pattern of Jesus' prayer in the garden.  Our prayer continues in this same manner if we enter the exchange with a patient, listening, and faith-filled heart.  A heart that is willing to receive its direction from a faithful Holy Spirit.  The bible says that God wants us to come to him with our concerns and so we should.  We also understand that this is just the beginning to a completely fulfilled unity that exists in a heart that is willing to bend.  

My Pilgrimage to Israel (2013) - Part Seven

Our group overlooking Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (picture by James Stewart - again)

If Galilee is steeped in New Testament history, Jerusalem is where the Old Testament and New Testament converge.  The ancient Hebrew nation centered life and worship in the location (Mount Moriah) that Abraham warily took his son Issac with the intent of sacrificing him.  That act was merely foreshadowing the act of God sacrificing his own son.  Abraham told Isaac: "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (Genesis 22:8).  Abraham's lamb represented the Lamb of God that would be sacrificed thousands of years later.  We would retrace that Lamb's steps as he inched his way from the Mount of Olives...to the temple...to Golgotha or Calvary.

Bethphage Church (photo by James Stewart) - click to enlarge

Bethphage sits on the Mount of Olives and was an ancient village overlooking Jerusalem.  Jesus mounted the colt of a donkey and rode into Jerusalem on what is now celebrated as Palm Sunday.  It was to Bethphage that Jesus sent his disciples to find the donkey.  While standing here, you can almost imagine the crowds in the city awaiting his arrival while they celebrated Passover "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!".  Even though Jesus told them, little did anyone know that his triumphal entry included scourging and crucifixion.  Again, he confounded man's earthly intellect with a story that could only be written by God.

David Hayes and me from where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem

We left Bethphage's Franciscan church by descending an ancient route quite undoubtedly used during Jesus' entry into the city.  This was a quiet and sunny Sunday morning perfect for this memorable part of our journey.  After a short time, we descended to a point where we could overlook the city of Jerusalem.  As Jesus descended into the city, he paused to mourn over Jerusalem and foretold the fall of the temple.  

Dominus Flevit Church commemorates where Jesus wept over Jerusalem (note the reflection of Jerusalem - photo by James Stewart)

Garden of Gethsemane

One of the most spiritually moving parts of our trip was our Sunday morning worship service in the Garden of Gethsemane.  So, we are walking along the trail of Jesus' descent and stopped in the garden where he prayed on the night of his arrest...incredible.  I could hardly believe that we were here.  But, to spend the Lord's day morning in worship here was absolutely amazing.  Jesus prayed here while James, John, and Peter slept (even though he kept asking them to stay awake).  He first prayed that the father would protect him from what was about to occur.  Jesus was afraid and wanted to be spared.  But, as his prayer continued, he understood and accepted the father's will.  I am deeply encouraged by a God who knows how it feels to be fearful and discouraged - who is comforted by the company of others during times of trial.  I am also encouraged that he forgave those slumbering disciples.    

Crown of Thorns Tree - Dominus Flevit

Our accompanying pastors led the worship service.  David offered a most appreciated opportunity for each of us to worship in quiet solitude.  As mentioned in an earlier blog post, our regular Sunday worship meetings include lengthy segments of silent prayer.  I have grown to greatly appreciate and rely upon this manner of worship.  So, I was heartened when David asked us to retreat into the garden for silent reflection.  We were to return to the group when we heard singing.  But, I decided to stay quietly next to that old olive tree and pray in silent thanksgiving.

Next stop:  Jerusalem