Stay and Pray Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Stay and Pray Keywords: "Gethsemane” “prayer" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Mark 14:32-42* 32. And they came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." 33. And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34. And He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." 35. And He went a little beyond [them,] and fell to the ground, and [began] to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36. And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt." 37. And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38. "Keep watching and praying, that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39. And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. 41. And He came the third time, and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42. "Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!" Questions 1. How is your prayer life?   2. Have you found a relationship between your daily devotionals and your strength (or lack thereof) to resist temptations?   Practical help Jesus did not lightly go to the cross. He would have preferred another way, yet understanding His temptation in the moment, He chose to trust His Heavenly Father. How about you? Do you feel at times that you have been dealt a raw deal? Are your temptations painful to live with? Do you wonder where God is when it comes to your situation? How could He be love, if you are suffering like this? As strange as this truth may be to accept, it is not necessary to understand God’s actions to receive comfort and strength in the midst of trials. Take Job for example. He was selected to suffer for God. He didn’t understand why at the time, yet now his story is an example of the blessing of submitting to God’s will, even when it doesn’t make sense. The same with this passage about Jesus’ extreme suffering in the garden. With the crushing weight of knowing what He must submit Himself to go through in the next few remaining hours of His life on earth, Jesus prays for relief. Gethsemane is proof that Jesus willingly went to the cross. If He had not wanted to, He certainly could have run away at that this moment in the garden. Instead, He chose to stay and pray. In the midst of your trials, I recommend you do the same. Pray to God for relief, but stay in your trail until the prayer is answered. It might be that you go to a cross and find victory on the other side, or it might be that you are spared. Either way, yield and know that your victory is certain in the end. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2004 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." ---