Yesterday I talked about prayer. More specifically, the significance of prayer in turning away from temptation. As I read Matthew 26 again today, I did my best to observe Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. I’ll get back to that in a minute.

Not once but twice within the past few hours I heard different hosts on different television show describe how to be successful in cooking or baking. They both said the same thing, that you have to start out with the best ingredients you can afford, and you have to follow a recipe.

It made me think also of my current knitting project. I’m enjoying this one mostly because I like the “ingredients” that I started with. This yarn just seems to suit this pattern and it’s knitting up nicely. But the same rules would apply to cooking or baking as to knitting. Start with the best ingredients (in this case I have yarn and knitting needles.) And patiently follow the pattern. I have a pattern that is not too complicated, but I do have to pay attention and do my best to follow it IF I want to end up with the finished product that I wanted.

The same principles can be drawn from Jesus’ words and actions in the garden. He knew that He was facing something too difficult. He could have even been fighting the temptation to walk away, or it were me I would have run as fast and far away as possible. But instead of running He did a few things that I know I can learn a lesson from. In other words, this was His recipe for success. First start with the best ingredients: trusted friends, a quiet place, and a really good relationship with the Father. Then you follow the instructions, patiently.

1. He asked trusted friends to pray. Not only did He ask them to pray with Him, He led them to a place where they could go to pray.
2. He went further into a quiet setting where He was away from distractions. A place where He and His Dad talked. Where He could speak and He could listen.
3. He asked God if there was any way out of this anguish and trouble He was facing. He did actually ask, and not just once, He asked at least 3 times. It just shows His humanity. He was not “superman”. He was fully man who was hurting deeply and heavy with burden.
4. He was fully committed to God and His will. Period. It was His priority and His blueprint for making decisions. Obedience to the Father was His “first language”.
5. He knew that the giant that He faced was spiritual, not physical. Thus the reason to pray. Yes, Judas betrayed Him. Yes, the Sanhedrin was after Him. Yes, He was about to face earthly trials, and an earthly crucifixion. But no, this was not a temporal thing He was really dealing with. This was very much an eternal thing, that needed to have earthly players to carry out the spiritual/eternal plan right at that time in history, in that geographical place.

All of this tells me that my temptations are more significant than I can at first see with my human eyes. That I need to pray and I need to pray more than once. That I need to have partners in my prayer. That I need to be sold out completely and unequivocally certain that God is my number ONE and that my obedience to Him comes before anything else.