Matthew 26:39 NKJV “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
That was the prayer Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and it was a crucial hour. An hour that was tough for Jesus to push on in the will of the father or to accomplish the will of the father. In the midst of that hour of difficulty, Jesus was still making a request.
Mark 14:34-36
Pastor explained that Jesus introduced the concept of Abba Father to us and apostle Paul also picked it up from where Jesus stopped. When Jesus came out of the grave, he said ” I go to my father and your father, my God and your God.” That was the premise that Paul picked it up from, he understood that clearly and went further to let us understand that the spirit of adoption has been sent into our heart and so we cry “Abba father”.
Jesus showed us a template in the midst of his challenge, his hour of difficulty, the moment when he was going through a tough decision and situation, he didn’t lose that sense of God being his father. He said “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
In the midst of that difficulty, the concept of God being his father was still much more intact. It is a place where we get to regardless of what you are going through, we understand that we have this one on one relationship with the father, not losing that focus.
It is called a sense of personal relationship that will not be tempered with regardless of what we are going through. It is possible that because we found ourselves in the midst of trouble, we might not be sure of the fatherhood of God or God as our father.
Sometimes when we go through difficulties, the things we claim we know or understand, the things we think we have actually gotten a grasp of can be very challenging that if we are not careful we may not walk in the reality of what we claim to have come to know.
The worst moment in Jesus’s life was that moment in the garden of Gethsemane. The toughest season, the greatest challenge Jesus dealt with was the hour he needed to make up his mind to go all the way in fulfilling the will of the father, in carrying the cross
In the middle of that he was still conscious of the fact that God is his father.
Regardless of that, Jesus knew that his father had all it takes to deal with the situation, he was still willing to submit to the will of the father. He said he knows that all things are possible and it was an understanding that we need to also have.
Jesus knew the capacity of his father, he knew what his father could do. The cross or trouble did not make Jesus forget the ability of his father. That was why he said Abba father, all things are possible for you. It was a dark season in Jesus’s life yet he wants to do the will of his father.
In the middle of that tough and dark hour, Jesus did not forget or lose that sense of the ability of God his father. There are revelations that we claim to have that troubles can erode.
It was a dark hour for Jesus yet the understanding of God as a father did not leave him. He was still carrying that understanding. Jesus was still conscious of that understanding that God is his father and if care was not taken, little trouble can make us forget everything we think we know.
Jesus was a man that had a relationship with his father. He has a deep understanding that regardless of what he went through, God is still his father. Whether on the cross or not on the cross, God was his father.
We must have a deep or personal relationship with the father to a point that no trouble will delete that revelation in our mind. We must have that understanding so that we will not get into a situation and be acting like an Orphan. How we talk in trouble is more important than the trouble we find ourselves in.
Our response to issues of life is more important than what we are going through.
Sometimes, the way we talk is an indication that we are not sure that God is our father or God is involved in our life. Jesus can still cry Abba father while the cross was confronting him.
The Abba’s Prayer is the prayer that is rooted in the understanding that God is our father. The tune of such prayer is embedded in some level of assurance or confidence. This understanding should not be like a memory verse, it should become flesh, we should work with it. It is a working knowledge. It is a functional revelation, in season and out of season.
The cross was not sufficient or powerful enough to remove the consciousness and understanding that God is Jesus’s father. That is a deep seated revelation. It is revelational and functional.
It’s a level of audacity and consciousness that God is your father. In the midst of the crisis you can shout Abba Father. The proof of knowledge is by what you do, response to life, your attitude in the midst of challenges, not what you say.
Regardless of your situation, he is still your father. Even in pain, stay conscious of the fact that you have a father. It must be a personal revelation. If you don’t have it, when you come to the place of prayer, you will be sounding beggarly, like an orphan. What informs this is the strength of your understanding and knowledge of who your father is.
There is a need for a personal relationship with God to the point that you have assurance of the fatherhood of God over your life.
In the affairs of your life, he is a constant factor. If this knowledge of God is not rooted in you, you will come to a point where it seems like God is not enough. All things are possible with God. A moment on the cross shouldn’t erode all the revelation you have about God as your Father.
Sometimes when you experience delay, it’s not because God cannot do it, but the situation is meant to mature you.
You have to come to a place of understanding that God can do all things, so nothing should tamper with the revelation of this truth. Mockery shouldn’t tamper with your knowledge of this truth. You come into this by your personal relationship with God.
God does not lose in battle, all things are available in God, he has the ability to save and deliver.
In Luke 11:11-13 we see the trust of a child in his Father. The father can fluctuate because he is limited in resources and capacity. If our earthly fathers have limitations, how much more our heavenly father has no limitations.
We have been told to ask. We do not receive till this moment because we have not asked.
John 16:24
It is required that we dare to ask. Our Father knows the things we need even before we ask.
The act of trust and dependence makes us ask. When we ask it shows the level of intimacy we have with our father.
1 John 5:14
There is no need to ask when we don’t believe he hears us. If we have confidence that he hears us when we ask according to his will, we have great boldness to ask.
Jesus understood this and he had confidence in his father, so he surrendered himself to the cross.
John 11:41-44
Jesus said, father I thank you because you have heard me. This is the kind of confidence he portrayed before the prayer was made, not even after the prayer. The issue here wasn’t about if Jesus was in doubt. It was for those with him to believe.
It is not out of place to say when Jesus thanked God for answering his prayer, Lazarus was already standing up. Jesus knew the matter was concluded. He also knew that it would give them new grounds for believing.
Hebrews 4:16
We are charged to come with confidence as we come to meet our Father. He is ready to give. We shouldn’t be in doubt if he will respond or not. We should approach the throne boldly on any matter. We should only ensure that what we are asking for is in alignment with his will and time.
Our Father is so ready to give and make it available. He is the almighty God, he doesn’t run out of stock. Our trouble cannot diminish him. This is Abba’s prayer. That is how to pray. It comes with full persuasion in him. Our Father is big enough. He is the all breasted one. The everlasting God. Abba’s prayer comes with confidence, assurance and full persuasion in the ability of God. It comes with an unshaking understanding and revelation of who our father is.
Our trouble cannot diminish him but if we focus on our trouble we magnify it that way and God diminishes. With a focus on the almightiness of God, he is magnified. You confuse the devil when you start to thank God for answered prayers.