The Garden of Gethsemane Luke 22: 39-41
“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed.”
During a recent Lenten season, an opportunity to participate in the prayer vigil presented itself to our family. As we selected a time to participate, we felt the call of following Christ’s example of praying in a quiet place – the prayer room. We had visited the prayer room several times before to pray, but this Lenten experience reenergized our belief in the power of prayer. I knew prayer was powerful because as I had journeyed through breast cancer, my family and I were blessed by prayer warriors praying for us. We learned then that God could do almighty things through prayer.
As we entered the prayer room, we were immediately struck by the solitude. The soft lighting, plant life, and gurgling water in the fountain set an image in our minds of a beautiful garden. We each found a spot where we felt comfortable and silently began our prayer conversations with God.
Initially, we wondered where prayer would lead us. But soon the Holy Spirit began to guide us. The word cross on the prayer room wall gave us a focus for praising a God with so many names of his amazing attributes. We gave thanks for our own blessings. We prayed for family, friends, and neighbors we knew – and those we didn’t know. Soon our allotted time was up and we were surprised that we hadn’t noticed someone else had entered the prayer room to continue the vigil. The time we had spent was special and we left the prayer room with a sense of peace that only comes from God.
My family and I would like to encourage you to participate in this year’s vigil- come to the garden to pray!
- Sally Thomsen
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