Jesus takes his disciples to Gethsemane and tells them "sit here while I go over there and pray." He takes with him Peter, James and John and begins to be grieved and agitated. He tells them "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here and stay awake with me."

Jesus takes us with him to pray.  Some souls he invites more deeply into the garden, to witness his suffering.  To those souls he tells how terribly he is suffering, and it is plainly visible to them. "Do not leave me, though it is hard for you to see me suffer. Stay here and keep awake."

"Remain in prayer.  Persevere in prayer.  See, I am here praying with you.  Do not be frightened by the depth of my suffering, for it is for you and all your brothers and sisters that I suffer.  Will you view them differently after this night, since you see the price I am willing to pay for them?"

"Remain and persevere in prayer.  Be like the five wise bridesmaids I told you about. (Matthew 25.1-14)  I told you then also to stay awake for you know neither the day nor the hour.  Though all ten bridesmaids fell asleep, (for when the Son of Man comes will he find any faith on the earth?) five of them had flasks of oil with them.  Now is the time for prayer.  Now is the time to accumulate your oil.  Or is it too much to watch my suffering?  Will you leave me in this hour, using your natural human needs as your excuse, or will you watch me and come to know how evil sin is?  Do not be afraid. I am here with you. This is the Way of the Cross and we will walk it together."

Jesus goes about a stones throw away, throws himself on the ground and prays "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want."

For suffering to be authentic and worthy to be united to Christ's sufferings there must be a natural aversion to it which is overcome through prayer.  The flesh does not want to suffer. Nor do we choose our own trials and sufferings, they are sent by the Father.

Jesus returns to the disciples and finds them sleeping. He says to Peter, "Could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial, into temptation; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

Jesus, always the teacher, tells Peter what he himself is experiencing. His human flesh naturally resists suffering but his soul is perfectly united to the Father in a union of wills. He tells us to keep awake, that is, alert, and pray to avoid trials. It is not wrong to pray to be delivered from the time of trial, but not all of them can be avoided in this life. "Many trials has the just man but from them all the Lord will deliver them." (Psalm 34.19)

Three times Jesus removed himself from Peter, James and John and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."

Jesus, you show us perseverance in prayer.  You taught us through the parable of the widow before the unjust judge to be persistent in our requests before the Father.  Here you are, being persistent.  Yet your prayer is not answered.  Or is it?  The prayer of your heart is that the Father's will be done, just as you taught us to pray.  This is not a contest of wills between you and the Father, "for the Father and I are one."   Rather you showed us how truly human you are, because the body resists pain.  You showed us this before when you hungered during your fast in the desert and were tempted to turn stone into bread but did not.  "Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4.4)  You showed us how the spirit can overcome the flesh when you were working with the disciples and they urged you to eat, for apparently you had not in some time, and you told them "I have food to eat which you do not know: doing the will of him who sent me."  It is this food, the Father's will, which sustains you now.

May we always turn to the Word and God's will as our spiritual food, to overcome the trials we will have in life.

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