^“ He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial. ”Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” [[Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]]When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Luke 22:39-46

“Worship and intercession must go together; the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray.” (Oswald Chambers)

These words come from my sermon a few weeks back:

Prayer – it can come so easily to us – it can be some of the most rewarding time that we spend each day of our lives, when we spend time in prayer with God – and it can be some of the most trying and difficult words that we seek.   But for many people, prayer is not the experience that they would hope that it could or would be…and they struggle with this aspect of their faith lives.   Pray – let the words stumble and mumble from your lips, praying in confidence that the One who came to bring repentance and forgiveness doesn’t care whether we are eloquent in our words, but simply seeks a relationship with us that begins with humble words, a  want and need to be in conversation, and a heart that understands that we are in need of a oneness that only the Father Son and Holy Spirit can give……thanks be to G-d.

Pastor Dave