Watching with Christ

Rev. P. Van Ruitenburg, Chilliwack, BC

The disciples were not allowed to be with Christ when He went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Saviour desired to be alone, alone with His Father. He could not use the disciples and did not desire their presence. Three times He left His disciples and bowed His blessed head to the ground in secret. This prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was so intimate, so secret, that He wanted to be there by Himself. His disciples could only serve as a distraction to Him. Do we pray by ourselves, as well?

Of course, we pray at the table, and we pray in church; that is biblical and good to do; however, do we have an inner chamber like Christ had? Do we take some time to be alone with God, to storm the throne of grace, to sigh unto our Maker, to pour out our heart unto Him? Or are we satisfied with a few public prayers and a quick prayer before we go to bed? Are we afraid, perhaps, to approach God personally, or is prayer not a familiar exercise for us? Christ prayed by Himself, and the Lord invites us to do the same. We need not speak eloquently; rather, without beautiful words we may beseech Him to forgive our sins, to ask for patience, and to share our crosses. Do we have fellowship with God? Do we even know what that is like? Even God’s children can stray far and slowly leave the first love.

Let me state clearly—the Lord calls us to seek our inner chamber and to frequently and personally call upon His name like Hannah who poured out her heart before the Lord. We have permission to open our mouth wide like little birds in the nest. Daniel prayed three times a day in private. Of course, we are not limited to three or four times a day, but we may pray as frequently as is needed. The Lord Jesus also prayed frequently. He prayed personally and fervently. Do we need Him to sanctify our prayers?

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).

With Christ

The Saviour did not sleep; on the contrary, He was fully awake and conscious of what was coming. To express it even more strongly, here in the Garden of Gethsemane He already suffered the entire wrath of God against the sin of mankind (Lord’s Day 15). No, Christ did not ask for help, and He did not ask anyone else to carry part of this heavy burden. Any human creature would immediately succumb. What did Christ mean, then, when He rebuked the disciples for not being awake with Him? Christ’s soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death; He was “sore amazed” and “very heavy.” He rebuked them for not being awake with Him . Did He desire pity or empathy from His disciples? Why did they need to pray with Him?. Of course, He did not need them to assist Him or to add something to His prayers. If anyone did not need help, it was Christ. Why, then?

The Savior had requested that the disciples pray simultaneously with Him while He was praying. He expected them to pray, as well, not for Him, but for themselves; no, not to earn a part of their salvation thereby, but in order not to come into temptation. The reason why they were encouraged to pray was so that they would not be offended by Him. The disciples should have prayed with Him because they were vulnerable; their faith was weak and Satan strong. Their spirit was willing, but their flesh was weak. They needed to pray that they would not suffer shipwreck in the faith. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, they should have sighed. And we? We must pray that we will not be offended by the gospel and not get angry when we, ourselves, must suffer.

“And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40).

Fervent prayer

We read that Christ prayed three times and that the second time He prayed even more earnestly. More earnestly? How is that possible? Yes, all His prayers were perfect, all were intense and genuine, but apparently some were even more powerful. What a comfort to see the Savior wrestling before His Father with His blessed head on the ground! He prayed in order to save sinners from their sins. He prayed to save His beloved Bride. They all needed to be drawn and redeemed. His prayer was a prayer of love; it was reverent, filled with hope and expectation, and God the Father was pleased with such a perfect prayer. Christ prayed powerfully and effectually and never prayed in vain. Have we already been at the feet of this Intercessor? Have we seen Him, and has room been made in our heart for such a Saviour? He was without sin; yet, He humbled Himself so deeply.

How different His prayer is from our prayers. Our prayers are often thoughtless, so lukewarm, so faint, and not persistent or fervent at all. We need the Holy Spirit in order to pray, and without the Spirit of prayer and supplication, our prayers resemble the whining of little children. Do we need the Spirit? Do we pray for a prayer? It is only when the Lord grants prayer that our prayers begin to resemble the prayers of Christ. Yet, there are times when Gods children pray fervently and persistently, and such a prayer will be heard, for it “availeth much.” In answer to Elijah’s prayer, it started to rain. The Lord heard the prayer of Hezekiah. The prayer for the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman was answered. Therefore, pray for yourself, and seek a praying Saviour for your soul. Lay the needs of your children at the feet of Him who wrestled in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And yet, even our prayers when worked by the Spirit pale when compared to the prayers of Christ. Only the prayers of Christ deserve to be heard, and keep in mind: “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand” (Isaiah 53:11a&10c).

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b).

“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months” (James 5:17).

“And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit” (James 5:18).

“And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

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