PRAYER

Matthew 26: 36 - Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

We see from this abrupt change of location that the conflict between Jesus and Peter regarding what Peter will or will not do is unresolved. However, Jesus now has an inkling, and maybe more than an inkling, that his disciples are unaware of the true nature of his situation. As such, they will be less supportive and that shows itself in this next pericope. (A pericope is a section of text with some sort of cohesion.) Fortunately, Jesus has more than just his disciples for support.

God.

The way to God is prayer. It is said there are no atheists in foxholes (or trenches). Insulting as that phrase is to atheists, it means that in times of extreme stress, everybody looks for help; everybody prays. What presumably they are asking for is help, get me out of this, or don’t let me die. Jesus will do this too, he will ask God to “remove the cup” from him, because he is human being and doesn’t want to feel the pain and humiliation of crucifixion. Who would? Yet, prayer for those who are not atheists is more than an occasional asking for help. It’s an essential part of spiritual practice. I would go so far to say it becomes part of our identity.

Kathleen Norris, in her excellent book, Amazing Grace, tells a story about how this spiritual practice can transform us and become part of our identity. A bus driver whose bus was taken hostage responded calmly and, in the process, saved herself and all the children on the bus. Afterward, “when asked by reporters how she had managed to talk the man out of using the gun he was waving in the air, she said, ‘I pray a lot.’” Not prayed, but she habitually prays and that gave her the strength and calmness to deal with the situation.

Daily prayer can also give us strength to go on when we think we cannot. When I was first showing symptoms of lupus, my leg swelled up so I couldn’t bend it. Every morning, I woke up and just said, “God I need your help to get through this day. I can’t do it on my own.” And God would somehow give me enough strength to get through the day. I can’t explain it; I only know it’s true for me.

Prayer gives us strength, and it steadies our minds and hearts if we let it. If we pray daily for such steadying, we, or at least I, come to find that our outlook is not fear-based. With the ongoing insurrection, that is so important right now. Acting or speaking from fear only increases our fear. If we are able to give our fear to God, a tall order(!), we can act through love instead. Prayer is a spiritual practice that is easy to talk about, but hard to do.

Finally, prayer is a way to help us let go of what we cannot change. There is so much in the world that we cannot control and that still affects our daily lives. Focusing or obsessing on these things only keeps us fearful and gets in the way of what we are trying to do each day. Working on letting go of what we cannot change gives us time and energy to do something positive or enjoyable. Prayer is a way of helping to focus our minds on what we can do, on what God is calling us to do.

Jesus will do all these things in this story. He is continuing his habitual practice of prayer, he will soon be asking for strength of body and steadiness of mind, he’ll soon be asking God to spare him and, if not, to be with him in the trial he is about to face, and finally he will let go of what he cannot change by saying God’s will be done. It is from his experience of daily prayer and meditation that he knows that God is trustworthy and will get him through.

And that is a practice we can emulate. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.” In other words, it should be part of who we are. We are those who pray. “Even if our prayer is only “help,” or “thanks,” or “wow!” as Anne Lamott would say, we are given grace in that moment.

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