Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Mark 14:32-36
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 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, 6 Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
In Timothy Keller’s book, Galatians For You, he encourages us, as heirs with Christ, to “study the work of the son, asking the Spirit to illuminate us and make it real to us”. (Keller 2013, 101) As we sit with Jesus today, notice how Jesus doesn’t hesitate to take his concerns to God, to pray in honesty and distress to his Heavenly Father. It is the same for us. We are called into the presence of God to speak our mind and share our heart. We are invited to call out “Abba, Father” and to know God’s sweet love and compassion for us. On this day, whenever it comes to mind, take a moment and pray to God, sharing with him whatever is on your mind.