whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things.
Philippians 4:6-8
And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. Mark 14:32-42.Yes, we have the times of prayer when we are around other people. Those wonderful times of coming together to worship, and what splendid times of being in "one accord" with each other. But notice in our scripture text, Jesus took several of the disciples with him TO the garden, yet He prayed alone. Why? There are certain things each of us must face alone--certain decisions we must make in the loneliness within our own selves--things that others cannot decide for us. You see, it is directly because Jesus Christ was willing to face His time alone with God, to accept the Will of the Father, that we have a Loving Savior, Who is ALWAYS our PRESENT HELP IN TIME OF NEED. He is THE DOOR through which we enter the presence of our Heavenly Father. Yes, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, through whom we can go boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16.
Those who had gone TO the garden with Him were oh so weary. Jesus was tired, too, but He knew HE had to go on. Yet in His "going on", ahead there lay a cross. His humanness might not have understood, but His divineness, His utter and complete surrender to the Will of The Father, pointed His way to the cross. You know, in those times that things happen to us, things that we cannot understand, we can draw comfort from such knowledge as that of Jesus there in the Garden of Gethsemane. Just as Jesus did, each and every one of us must learn to say, "Heavenly Father, Thy Will be done."
Therein we see the absolute trust in God, the Father. "Abba", (Father, of Aramaic origin--the word jaha is still used in Arabic today) had not been used before to refer to God, the Father. "Abba" was the word used by a young child to its father, in the intimacy of total, everyday trust and complete faith.
When Jesus said, "Rise up, let us go," the time for prayer was past. It was then time for action. Also, pay attention to the fact that the PRAYER was BEFORE the ACTION (we get it backwards too many times). Yet it is for action that our times of prayer prepare us! Get it? It is when we bow before God in prayer that we can stand tallest among our fellow man, not for some selfish or self-absorbed reason, but through the revival and renewing of a "right spirit" within us. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, "I stand tallest when on my knees." It is in prayer that a person enters heaven to face the battles of earth. Understand this?
I want you to take note of something very important: there is a great deal of difference in what tone a person says, "Thy Will be done." Did you know that?
- There is the tone of helpless submission--the grip of a power against which it is hopeless to fight.
- There is the tone of complete defeat--when we are battered into submission.
- There is the tone of utter frustration--a dream forever lost to us.
- There is the tone of bleak regret or bitter anger.
The hardest things we ever have to do is to accept those things which we cannot understand--yet we can go on, even when it seems we cannot, if we are sure enough of the Love of God. And there is no better place to be sure of that Love, than through communion with God in our own garden of prayer. It is when we are truly "alone with God" that we can fully submit our will to His. For you see, when we are alone, we don't have the contest of pride, the concern of how we look to other people, the distraction of doubt. It is there, before Him, that we can truly be openly honest. Alone with God, as we literally SHUT OUT the busyness of our world--if only for a short time--to commune with our Heavenly Father, one to one.
There are those who preach and teach that we are "past the age" that God "talks" to us. Let me tell you, just because we no longer know how to listen doesn't mean God has left off communicating with His children! We need those times when we are willing to delete the distractions of this world, shut out the sounds of this world, and spend time in our own Garden of Prayer. The Word of God tells us, 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.
Yes, there are those in positions of leadership in our churches today who would have you believe they are the "only ones" to whom God communicates. Don't believe it for a second! Peter teaches us in Acts 10:34 that God is NO respecter of persons ! Through the Holy Spirit, God will speak to you.
It always strikes me as odd that those same folks who try to lead people to believe they are the only ones God "talks to", then try to tell us that we are supposed to pray. To Whom? If they are the "only ones" God communicates with, what's the point in one-way communication? How do we ever know that our communication has been received by the One to Whom we sent it, if it's only one way? How are we ever going to know our Heavenly Father is even listening if it's only "one way communication"? We are to pray to a god that we can never hear back from? Hello? Don't fall for their foolishness. Believe the Word of God--it is the TRUTH and God does NOT lie!
Did you pick up on that word "SECRET" in Matthew 6:6? Talk about a relationship of confidentiality! It is the ultimate confidentiality. God is not a gossiper, just waiting for the first opportunity to tattle tale on us. Look what a GOOD Father He is. We pray to him, in SECRET; He hears us and sees us in SECRET, yet He REWARDS us how? OPENLY.
Your garden of prayer doesn't have to be a physical collection of flora and fauna. It can be anywhere--anywhere we are willing to shut out everything else and spend time with He Who loves us most. It might be a room in your house or a pathway that leads to the back of your property. It might be your living room while the children are taking a nap or away at school, or your bedroom while your husband or wife is at work. It might be at 6:00 a.m. or 12 midnight.
Dare to turn off Maury or Montel, the stereo or the PC--any of the mind-numbing sounds that endlessly bombard our days. Don't let anyone or anything keep you from finding a while each day to spend in your garden of prayer. It's the way to "get things cleared up" between you and He! There is NO better way to keep ourselves renewed in Him than spending time alone, in our own garden of prayer, to commune with Him.
A period of prayer in our own "garden", wherever that may be. A time of quiet contemplation, of meditating on the things of God.
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. Psalm 63:1-7I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings...who is so great a God as our God? Psalm 77:11-13. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. Psalm 119:15,16. ...Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee... Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. I Timothy 4:12-15.
Our own garden of prayer, wherein we can meditate on the works of God, the GOOD THINGS: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:6-8.
Don't we bathe to clean and refresh our bodies? Just as the physical needs refreshing, so does the spiritual. Have you ever realized that? We ALL need times of refreshing before the Lord. Time to praise and worship Him, time to tell Him that we love Him, time to think on His goodness, time to read and study His written Word, and yes, time to "talk over" things with Him. Should we give MORE care to our physical bodies than we do our eternal souls? We do, and then wonder why we aren't growing "spiritually".
You know, it's quite difficult for some folks to realize that our Heavenly Father WANTS to spend time alone with us. Yet it is during times of being alone with Him that we can truly pour out our hearts to Him. No holding back, no concerns over what someone might think or say about our words--just openly pouring ourselves out to Him. Let me ASSURE you, our Heavenly Father is the ULTIMATE FATHER. He is perfect in ALL His ways! He knows how to love us, cherish us, correct us, lead, guide and direct us. He knows what is best for us, individually. He loves us beyond human understanding--He cares for us beyond our ability to comprehend. How much does He care for us? So much that He gave His ONLY Begotten Son to suffer and die on an old rugged cross, in our stead!
The Word of God tells us, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1. Let's face it, come on now, when things go wrong, we sure don't have any problem BLAMING God for it, do we? Oh my, we can really raise a ruckus then, can't we? "God seems so far away…" God hasn't gone anywhere--He's EVERYWHERE! Think about it! Where is there for Him to "go" He's not already at? He's already EVERYWHERE!
Could this be one of our problems? But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:2. Oh oh, we don't like that, do we? Here's the solution: ...Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.... Malachi 3:7.
There is NO better place or time to return to a right relationship with our Heavenly Father than in a garden of prayer, alone with Him. Let me tell you, the world has all kinds of things to occupy our time, Satan has seen to it! Let me ask you this: to whom are you the closest--those you spend time with on a regular basis or those you see/talk to only every "once in a while"? In and of ourselves, we have NOT the strength to overcome that which opposes the Will of God in our lives. It is ONLY through a right relationship with our Heavenly Father, that we can truly be overcomers. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. I John 4:4.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us needs to spend time in a garden of prayer. Wherever you find it to be, it is a time of renewal. A time of refreshing. A time of revival within ourselves. And yes, a time of utter stillness in the presence of our Heavenly Father, in the garden--a garden of prayer.
"Garden Of Prayer" Copyright © 2001 by Patricia Sikes.
All Rights Reserved.
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
And, He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there--none other has ever known.
He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing.
I'd stay in the garden with Him though the night all around me be falling;
But He bids me go--through the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.
(C. Austin Miles, 1868-1945)
© Copyright 1912, 1940 by Hall-Mack Co.
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