Luke 22:39-46
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Read Luke 22:39-46 noting any words or phrases that stand out to you.
Luke’s account of Jesus’ impassioned prayer on the Mount of Olives is obviously derived from eye-witness interviews. The disciples were there, and though they dozed off at times, they were aware enough to hear Jesus interacting with God in a way they had never experienced.
Even if they didn’t fully grasp what lay before them, Jesus’ agonized prayer was sufficient to cause them deep grief. They watched and listened as best they could as their leader, their Messiah, struggled to accept the inevitable. But the full meaning of what they observed was beyond their understanding. This was Jesus as they had never seen him before, and finally, exhausted by the intensity of the experience, they collapsed into sleep.
Take a moment to remember a time in your life when you were completely undone by some circumstance. Try to imagine that feeling. Now think about the fact that the agony Jesus felt was beyond anything any human will ever experience.
Talk to Jesus about this.
Read Luke 22:39-46 again.
Though he will never leave us or forsake us, there are places we cannot go with Jesus. He fully understands everything that we feel and experience, but then he was fully human and he is fully God. There are times when we simply will not be able to understand what he is thinking, where he is leading, or what he is doing.
Rather than attempting to distract ourselves or numb out and “fall asleep”, Jesus calls us to be alert in our dependence on him.
Meditate on Jesus’ words to the disciples for a while:
“Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
What might Jesus want you to remember or do today?
How will you respond?
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The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide ebook can help you learn how to recognize God's voice, how to read and understand the Bible, how to develop deep spiritual friendships, and how to become the person you were meant to be. Use it alone, with a friend or in a small group.
