By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
March 16, 2025 -Mark 14:32-42
This is the second Sunday of Lent. During this Lent season, we are journeying with Jesus to the cross. Last week, we joined him in the Garden of Gethsemane. We saw that, although he was deeply disturbed, he stayed in the Garden for our sake. We are, again, going to join him in the Garden. This morning, I want to talk to you about praying, when prayer is hard.
Have you ever fallen asleep while you are praying? I have. It is normal to have that happen at night when you are in bed, and you are praying. But have you ever been focusing in prayer, maybe for a loved one or maybe for yourself, and you have fallen asleep? You know you need to pray. You know you should pray. But prayer is hard. You are tired. You find it hard to focus. You fall asleep.
If you have ever been there, then you can relate to the disciples. Listen again to the scripture.
Mark 14:33–38 (NIV)
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. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He found them sleeping. Jesus had just predicted that Peter was going to deny him three times before morning. They were to watch and pray. Temptation was at the door. Not only that but their Lord and master was facing the worst time of his life. But they couldn’t watch. They couldn’t pray; they fell asleep.
Look at how gracious Jesus is with them. He gets it. He knows they want to pray. The spirit is willing. But he also knows that the flesh is weak.
I understand the disciples. That evening, they had just had a big meal. It was the Passover meal. Unleavened bread, lamb, wine. They had just heard a long sermon. If you read the Gospel of John, you will see that the sermon starts in chapter 13 and it goes right through John 17.
This wasn’t a comfortable sermon either. It starts out with Jesus washing their feet. They were fed communion. They hear that Jesus is going to die, and they understand that one of them is going to betray Jesus. Emotions were high.
So, after a big meal, a long sermon, and an emotional night, they go out into a warm Garden and sit on the soft grass, and Jesus says watch and pray. No wonder their eyes were heavy. I’ve been there. You know that prayer is good; you want to pray, but sleep seems so much more reasonable.
***
Here is the thing. Jesus was human, too. He ate the same meal. He had not only heard the sermon, he preached the sermon. From experience, I can tell you that it takes much more energy to preach a sermon than listening to one. Yet he goes to the Garden, sweats drops of blood, and the disciples sleep.
What is the difference? If the disciples had seen what was coming, like Jesus saw what was coming, I believe their adrenaline would have been pumping. Their hearts would have been pounding. Sweat would have been beading on their foreheads.
If they had seen the armed temple guards forming in the temple, ready to march into the grove of olives, they would have been praying. If they could have seen the peril that they were in, they would have been storming the throne room of God. If they could have seen the next 24 hours, the betrayal, the denials, the beatings, the crucifixion, they would have been on their knees crying out to God. They would not have fallen asleep.
Jesus saw it coming, but they didn’t. Jesus prayed; they slept.
Have you ever been in a place where life is hard? I mean, really head. Maybe it is a relationship that broke up. Maybe it is the death of someone close to you. You feel the monumental battle in your soul. But, when you are around people, they seem indifferent to your plight. You feel unsupported. You feel overwhelmed, and nobody seems to care. You hear other people’s complaints, and they seem so trite. You want to yell, “Why can’t you see what I am going through? Why don’t you support me?”
I’ve been there, and I have found it good to look at Jesus. His concern stemmed not from the fact that the disciples weren’t supportive but for the disciples themselves. He didn’t take it as a personal insult that his disciples fell asleep. His concern was for them.
Mark 14:38 (NIV)
38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
His concern was for them.
*****
There are a lot of similarities between the disciples and us. We hear the call to watch and pray. In fact, our spirit is willing. We want to watch and pray. But our flesh is weak.
We live in a busy world, with busy lives, and we get caught up in the busyness. Our flesh is weak.
When the busyness catches up with us, we get so tired. We want to pray, but our flesh is weak.
We live in a world that is full of distractions. When I sit down to pray, my phone dings at me. The thoughts of the past and the list of what I need to do in the future press in on me. I know I need to pray, but I get distracted. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. There are a lot of similarities between the disciples and us.
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God does not call us to pray because it is just a nice thing to do. He calls us to pray because we need it. When you hear God’s call to pray – listen to him.
It could be that he sees the danger you don’t. He may see you making a number of small decisions that are making a pattern that is forming your character. If you could see where these decisions were taking you, you would be praying.
It could be that he sees the spiritual warfare that you are in. Some of which you perceive, much of which you don’t. He calls you to pray. If you could see the horrible hordes of hell trying to get at you, you’d pray.
It could be that he sees the challenges that you will face in the future. Some of which could change the world around you for the better. Some of which could destroy you. If you could see what you will face in the next couple of years, you would pray.
When you sense the prompting of Jesus to pray, pray. He isn’t asking for his own sake. He is asking for you.
There are so many things around us that we are oblivious to. Our spiritual senses are dull. But when the Spirit starts to move you, heed the call. Pray!
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I want to take you back to the passage because Jesus gives us a wonderful roadmap to prayer.
Mark 14:32 (NIV)
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
The first thing I want you to notice is that when Jesus was going through the greatest trial of his life, he did not isolate himself from his friends.
If I were in Jesus’ place, I would have said to the disciples. “Hey guys, you stay here in the upper room. I am going for a walk. I need to be alone.”
When we go through hard things, some of us tend to isolate ourselves. In the end, Jesus prayed alone. But his disciples were not that far from him. Jesus did not isolate himself. He kept his friends close.
Did Jesus get the support he was hoping for from his friends? No! They fell asleep. But he took them where they were and kept them close.
What do you do when your friends don’t give you the support you were hoping for. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. You don’t isolate yourself. Even if you are not getting everything you hoped for, you don’t isolate yourself.
I have seen too many strained relationships over this matter of support. I have seen people highly offended because they weren’t supported enough. But that is not Jesus’ way. He didn’t isolate himself. He didn’t make their lack of support about him. He stayed near them when he was going through some of the hardest moments of his life.
People, that is what spiritual maturity looks like. Be like Jesus.
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The next thing that is obvious, but we sometimes miss it, is that in his hour of greatest need, he prayed.
In July of this year, I will have been a pastor for 40 years. There are times when I love being a pastor. You get to see people at their best. There are also times when you see people at their worst.
Over the years I have seen people, in the hour of their greatest need, go out drinking. I have seen people in the hour of their greatest need, turn to drugs. I have seen people in the hour of their greatest need, harm themselves. I have seen people in the hour of their greatest need do a lot of stupid things.
In the hour of Jesus’ greatest need, he prayed. He had cultivated the habit of prayer. When the Spirit led him to pray, he prayed. So, when he needed to rely on prayer, he was able to. In the hour of his greatest need, he prayed. Be like Jesus.
I hope your life does not bring you to many of those moments that could be defined as “In the hour of your greatest need.” But I have found that life has a way of bringing us to places of need. Sometimes, it is a need for wisdom or peace. Sometimes it is a need for comfort or resources. Sometimes, it is a need in a relationship or at work. Life has a way of bringing us to places of need.
All those places give us opportunities to practice turning to God in prayer. Here is what I have found. If I haven’t learned how to turn to God in the small things, I will find it difficult to turn to him in the big things. Take your needs, your decisions, and your worries to the Lord in prayer.
*****
Mark 14:36 (NIV)
36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
When Jesus does start to pray, he grounds his prayer in the love of God. “Abba, Father.” Abba is the Aramaic word for Father. It is the language that would be used in everyday life. I rarely called my father “father.” I called him Dad. This is kind of that equivalent. It indicates a warm relationship.
When Jesus starts to pray, he grounds everything in his loving relationship with his father. How do you start to pray? Ground your prayers in the love that God has for you.
I don’t know where you are on your spiritual journey, but if you don’t know that you know that God loves you – take it from me – he does. Some of you may wonder if you are good enough. What about that thing in my past? What about last week? As I have come to know Jesus over the years, one of the things that startles me most is his love for us. He could not love you any more than he does now.
1 John 4:16 (NIV)
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love.
When Jesus started to pray in the hour of his greatest need, he grounded those prayers in the love that God had for him. You can do the same thing. You can rely on God’s love. When you go to pray, be like Jesus.
Jesus goes on to say,
Mark 14:36 (NIV)
36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Jesus also grounded this prayer in the power of God. “Everything is possible for you.” When we are in need we are prone to question the power of God.
I often feel like the father who brought his son to Jesus. His son couldn’t speak. He had dangerous convulsions. The disciples couldn’t help his son. So, this man goes to Jesus and says,
Mark 9:22b–24 (NIV)
If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
“I do believe; he me overcome my unbelief. Have you ever felt like that? I have. But when Jesus prayed, he said,
Mark 14:36 (NIV)
36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
He started from a place of faith in the power of God. If you can’t do that, start in the place of the father in the story. Jesus leaned into the love of God and the power of God. Be like Jesus.
But then he says something startling. He says, “Take this cup from me.” Jesus knew the prophecies. The Messiah had to die. Jesus had predicted his own death. But now he is praying, “Take this cup from me.” Peter Grieg calls it an unbiblical prayer. When you think about it, it was. But it was a radically honest prayer. Jesus was profoundly and completely honest before his heavenly Father. When you pray, be like Jesus.
Don’t pray about what you should be feeling. Don’t pray about what you should want. Be radically honest with God. Pray what is your heart. It is not as if God doesn’t know it anyway.
But don’t leave it there. Jesus didn’t leave it there. He goes on to pray, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Some people pray what is in their heart and end the prayer there. They stew in their anger, or lack of resources, or in what they have lost or don’t have. But don’t stop there. Go on to pray, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
This takes us back to the beginning of the prayer. This is an expression of trust in the love of God. It is an expression of trust in the power of God to conform things to his will. It is an expression of submission to God. It is saying, “Lord, ultimately, I want what you want in and for my life.” That is how Jesus prayed. Be like Jesus.
In the end, Jesus’ prayer for this cup to be taken from him was not answered. You have the best prayers with the best faith and the answer come back, no! But the prayer for God’s will to be done was answered. Because God’s will was done, our sins can be forgiven. We can have a personal relationship with the God of the universe. We can see God at work in our lives – all because Jesus went to the cross.
*****
We live in a world where prayer is hard. It is hard because we are busy. It is hard because we are tired. It is hard because we are distracted. It is hard because we are not in the habit of praying. We are often like the disciples where the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
But if the disciples could have seen what was coming, they would have prayed. I know the world is chaotic now. We don’t know what is coming. So, when the Spirit moves you to pray, pray. Develop a habit of prayer. When you are faced with needs, great and small, learn to pray. Learn to turn to God in your hour of need. Be like Jesus.
When you are in need, don’t isolate yourself. Let your friends walk with you as far as they can. Be like Jesus that way. Ground your prayers in the love that God has for you. “Abba, Father.” Ground your prayers in the power of God. “Everything is possible for you.” Be radically honest with God about what is going on in your heart. In all of that, be like Jesus. But finally, turn yourself over to God by praying, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”