Jesus continues to pray as we follow Him step-by-step through the valley of the shadow of death toward the cross. We find Him in Gethsemane (“oil press”), where He takes the cup of agony, holds it with His hands, puts it to His lips, and swallows its contents: assimilating it into the entirety of His being. He takes evil into His soul and makes salvation out of it.
He will soon die a violent death as a free act of obedience. The disciples were not prepared for this as they would betray, deny, abandon, and flee from Him within the hour.
We continue to march to the cross where the last prayer-energized words of Christ will radically and comprehensively transform and re-define us.Prayer accomplishes deep within us what is later lived out in the conditions and circumstances which challenge our obedience. Eugene Peterson states that, “When we pray, we willingly participate in what God is doing, how He is doing it, or when we will know what is going on – if ever.” God’s name is hallowed; He brings His kingdom into being, and His will is being done.