Numbers 11:24-13:33
Mark 14:22-52
Psalm 52:1-9
Proverbs 11:1-3
Mark 14:35 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?
Jesus had been praying for an hour. All that the disciples heard were “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” They must have fallen asleep pretty quickly. Jesus made a habit of spending extended times in prayer but this time was different. He asked for his closest friends to be there with Him and also be in prayer. Now maybe they only heard this part because they really did start praying intently for Him when they heard what He had prayed but at some point they fell asleep while praying. We have all done it. We have also all been asked to pray for our friends when they were in special need and slacked off. I can't even imagine Jesus' prayers that they didn't record.
Mark 14:39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
Matthew 26:42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
In Matthew it says when He went back the second time and they heard the additional part "Your will be done" of what He prayed before falling asleep. Matthew as one of the 12 was not present in the garden. It was Peter, James, and John but he would have gotten his information directly from them and would have gotten information from all of them. Mark recorded memories and observations from Peter so maybe Peter didn't hear that part, or he went quickly into focused prayer before falling asleep. Or maybe he was so regretful of falling asleep he didn't get too explicit in his account to Mark. John who was there and did write the Gospel of John did not include any of these details because he wrote his book after everyone else, so his book includes things that the others left out or did not cover in detail. But either way there was a lot of time that Jesus was praying that we don't know what He said.
Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke interviewed many eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus including Peter, James and John. He was a doctor and he "carefully investigated everything from the beginning", and "decided to write an orderly account". So, he would have asked a lot of questions and asked for detailed descriptions. I am grateful for his account because even if we don't know all the words that Jesus prayed, we know that after an extended time in prayer that His anguish had a physical effect on Him. We also know that even though the disciples fell asleep while praying the Father sill heard His prayer and responded by sending and angel to strengthen Him.
Mark 14:41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.
I am grateful to know that even when my heart is to pray for those who ask for my prayer support but my flesh is weak in doing so for any extended period of time that your will is still going to be done. Thank you for the realization today that there is so very much that Jesus said and did that we don't know the details of. Thank you for all the different accounts of the life of Jesus that show us His nature and purpose from different perspectives so that we can know Him, His love, and His grace as we remember all that He endured for us.
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