A Friend That Prays

Woodrow Kroll here. When you train one pastor in Ecuador, some donor friends are standing by to train a second pastor. Call 833-443-5467 or go online at trainapaster.com. Every gift counts and now every gift is doubled.

trainapaster.com. Sit back, enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Easter is tomorrow, and yesterday was Good Friday, and today on Our Encouraging Prayer, we're going to start by looking at Jesus' question to his disciples that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, right before his arrest. James, you say there are two big takeaways from that question, so why don't you pick it up from there? All right, Robbie. Well, Matthew 26 describes the scene where Jesus is in real agony as he prays, because he knows what's coming, and he's taken Peter and James and John away with him, and he's there in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he says to them, Stay here and keep watch with me. Then he goes off a little farther on his own and he prays this amazing prayer, really. I mean, Abba Father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me, yet I want your will to be done, not mine. So, I mean, just think about that prayer.

He's actually asking, if there's another way, Lord, please let it happen. So you see, you know, how Jesus is just struggling there, but at the same time, he's all in for what the Father wants. Then he goes back and he sees Peter and James and John, and they're just clueless. As a matter of fact, they're asleep. So he wakes them up and he makes it clear, couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray so you won't give into temptation.

And that's the question I want to zero in on. Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Okay, so right after he asks, he goes away again. And when he comes back, they're asleep again. So he goes back to pray and it happens one more time. And after that, you know, then he's arrested and taken away to be crucified.

That's right. But the interesting thing to me in all of this is the way that Jesus just wanted their company. That's the big takeaway from that night.

Couldn't you watch with me one hour? And then he explains what he means by that when he says watch and pray. He needed them to pray with him.

It would have been a comfort and encouragement to him in the most difficult part of his life. So that's the really important thing to keep in mind here. You know, that's an interesting take on this, James. Often when people look at this, they emphasize the amount of time and, you know, how could we pray an hour or at least an hour? But you're saying that the real issue is that Jesus, you know, just wanted their company? Absolutely.

Think about it this way. If you've been through a difficult time, let's say that someone you love is having surgery. How good it is to just have someone else there with you. They don't have to say a word. Maybe they're in the waiting room with you at the hospital, you know. But you know they're there and you know they're praying.

That's a special friend. Yeah, but it kind of takes away from it if they're asleep. Exactly. That was Jesus' point. You see, what Jesus was really after here was their friendship and companionship in prayer. And when you have someone who's a friend and combine that with prayer, it's beautiful, especially if you're hurting. And he also wanted the disciples to pray for themselves because he knew they needed to.

He knew what was coming. So your first takeaway from this is really encouragement to be a praying friend, to be that person who loves others with their prayers. Well, that's part of it, Robbie. And the second, in fact, the main thing to look at is how much Jesus wants that. And that leads me to wanting to be that kind of friend to him. So, yes, being that friend to others, but especially being that kind of friend to him. That's the second takeaway, and it's just as big. Look, talk some more about that.

You know, often we think of prayer we should be praying for others or praising God or confessing sin or giving thanks. But you're talking about something different. That's right. And that's the concept of just being with Jesus. And I know we've talked about it before, but I can't get away from it because on that night especially, you see how much it meant to him.

And doesn't that make you wonder if it isn't something he values all of the time? Yeah, when we talked about this before, you mentioned Mark saying that Jesus appointed the 12 disciples that they might be with him. Exactly.

They might be with him. That's in Mark 3.14. And it's such a simple statement that it's easy to overlook, but just think about what that means.

Jesus wanted someone to hang out with. And think about what that can mean for prayer. So often we think of prayer as this continual expensive energy, if you will. We say things like, we have to pray hard or pray until something happens, push. And of course there's a time and a place for that, but what about just hanging out? Just being with him in your spirit, going through the day with him, being his friend. So you're saying that sometimes when we pray, we don't have to do much at all.

Well, isn't that the beautiful thing about friendship? We don't have to be trying to make something happen. We just love God and try to be with him more. That makes sense and especially helps if you realize he wants me to be with him and he wants to be with me.

That's it. And it's not irreverent to see it that way. It actually honors God more when we do. It's just part of being a friend.

Again, think about Abraham, for example, who was called a friend of God. That's a compliment. Yeah, and it also makes praying easier. You don't have to feel like you always have to be saying something.

Yes, and that's important too if you think about it. The best of friends don't have to talk all the time. Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is just being quiet with them. That's so true. And honestly, some of the sweetest times I've had in God's presence have been when I wasn't trying to get anything from him at all. I was just being there with him.

There's so much to this, Robbie, and that is the beauty of it. Even though it's such a simple concept, it really does mean so much. So I'd like to finish this time, if we could, by just asking God to help us simply be with him. I know I need to do that more.

Could I do that now? Please. Father, please help us to learn to just love you by being with you, not to ask sometimes, except that we can be with you more as we're doing right now. Lord, please help us to just hang out in your perfect love. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.