Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
Mark 14:32 NKJV
There are times in our Christian Walk when we face a major dilemma. It is a time when there is tension and conflict between what we want to do and what God wants us to do. At this moment, God’s will and our will do not align. It could be that we want to do the will of God but not in the way God want us to go about it. When this happens, you find yourself in a Gethsemane moment. Let us carefully unravel this season of life.
A Gethsemane moment is when you are tempted to avoid doing what God wants you to do because you know that doing it will cost you dearly and hurt you deeply. You are not going to want to do it, but you know God wants you to do it. You know it’s the right thing to do and the right way to do it, but it will come at great sacrifice on your part. Your Gethsemane involves a battle between your willing spirit to do what is right and your weaknesses to do what is easy.
Jesus, in Mark 14, faced this same challenge. He took His disciples to a place called Gethsemane. Most of His disciples were told to wait at the entrance. However, Jesus took three of them (Peter, James, and John) deeper into the grove. Jesus becomes deeply troubled and distressed and says, “Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Then Jesus walked a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. After some time, Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:32-38).
Jesus had His own Gethsemane. If you follow Jesus, you will experience your own too. However, we can learn some things from Jesus’ experience. Firstly, He experienced denial. At that moment, Jesus did not want to go through with the process for our redemption, but the Father said no.
Praying in faith is not about getting what you want but wanting what God wants. When you pray in faith, obey in faith. The prayer of faith will sometimes be answered with a “no.” As you pray in your Gethsemane season, remember that God’s will must prevail. Let go of your feelings and walk in alignment with His will.