Thought of the Day !!

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

                   Luke 22:44 (ESV)

This all happens right before Jesus is betrayed and turned over to the Jewish leaders and then to Pilate.  It takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

As Jesus prayed, he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.  What was Jesus agonizing over so much?  Was it his impending torture and death?  Was it that his closest friends still didn’t understand?  Was it how the religious elite had become so corrupted and misused their services to his Father in Heaven?  Was it the lostness of world?

Maybe he was agonizing over all of this.  And the agony of it all led to him pray his heart out.  I can just imagine him pouring his heart out to the Father.

How many of us have prayed till we sweated drops like blood?  How often are our prayers so intent that we get lost in ourselves and absorbed in the presence of God?  It’s then that we really connect and often times are strengthened, given understanding or given peace.

In the love of Christ,

greg