Matthew 26:36-46

Leslie Weatherhead tells the story of an old Scot who was quite ill, and the family called for the dominie or the minister. As he entered the sick room and sat down, he noticed another chair on the opposite side of the bed, a chair which had also been drawn close. The pastor said, “Well, Donald, I see I’m not your first visitor for the day.”

The old man looked up, was puzzled for a moment, then recognized from the nod of the head that the pastor had noticed the empty chair. “Well, Pastor, I’ll tell you about that chair. Many years ago, I found it quite difficult to pray, so one day I shared this problem with my pastor. He told me not to worry about kneeling or about placing myself in some pious posture. Instead, he said, ‘Just sit down, put a chair opposite you, and imagine Jesus sitting in it, then talk with Him as you would a friend.'” The aged Scot then added, “I’ve been doing that ever since.”

A short time later, the daughter of the Scot called the pastor. When he answered, she informed him that her father had died very suddenly and she was quite shaken, for she had no idea death was so near. Then she continued, “I had just gone down to lie down for an hour or two, for he seemed to be sleeping so comfortably. When I went back, he was dead.” Then she added thoughtfully, “Except now his hand was on the empty chair at the side of the bed. Isn’t that strange?”

The minister said, “No, it’s not so strange. I understand.”

Looking more deeply into one of Jesus’ nights of prayer will help us make our prayer experience more effective.

• The priority of prayer (Matthew 26:36-38)
  • The frequency
    • Jesus went as a custom (Luke 22:39)
  • The fraternity
    • Supportive – He took the eleven
    • Solitary – some things must be settled alone
• Personal matters in prayer (Matthew 26:39)
  • Should we bring our individual concerns to God?
    • To fail to do so is to misunderstand God
  • Jesus brought them to the Father
• The power of prayer (Matthew 26:39)
  • Submission
• Persistence in prayer (Matthew 26:42-44)
  • Jesus repeated His plea
• The product of prayer (Matthew 26:44)
  • Action

Having settled on a matter in prayer, we are free and can be bold in action. Jesus’ prayer experience is a powerful example for us concerning our prayer experience. We can be effective in prayer as we adopt the principles for prayer seen in Gethsemane.