Introduction

Luke 22:39-46 ESV  And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.  (40)  And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”  (41)  And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,  (42)  saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”  (43)  And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.  (44)  And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  (45)  And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,  (46)  and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

You may be seated

• Last week we talked about preparing for the coming battle, a battle that would take spiritual preparation and physical preparation.
  • We spent a good deal of time talking about the spiritual preparation of putting on the full Armor of God.
    • And we spent a good deal of time talking about the physical preparation and how Jesus told His disciples they needed to bring physical swords for the coming battle.
  • This week we begin talking about exactly what battle was being prepared for…
    • the coming battle is about to begin, and the stage is set in a garden, with the disciples sleeping and the Savior crying out to God with such passion that He sweats blood!
• I want to spend two weeks covering this passage, because there is a lot to unpack, and I spent an hour and a half preaching last week and I don’t want to do that to you again!

• Praying like Jesus… that’s what we are going to be talking about for the next two weeks…
  • Because here in this passage we see one of the most powerful examples of what Jesus’ prayer life looked like…
    • And there could not be a more pressing, dire, righteous, loving, and passionate prayer to study then that of our Lord’s the night of His betrayal.

This message has Four Parts:

1. To Pray Like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom.
2. To Pray Like Jesus: Pray that You May Not Enter Into Temptation
3. To Pray Like Jesus: Pray the Fathers Will
4. To Pray Like Jesus: Pray with Passion

We are going to go over the first two points this morning, and then the next two points next week.

• Our first point this morning: to pray like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom

Part One – To Pray Like Jesus: Have a Prayer Custom

Luke 22:39 ESV  And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

• “As was His custom”… that means this was something that Jesus did a lot!
  • He did it so often that it was described as His custom, more than a habit, more than a plan with good intentions… more than an every once an a while… Not just when needed or when the situation was dire… no, this was a custom of Jesus!
• Jesus went down to the garden on the Mount of Olives to pray… something He had done many times before… it was His custom.
• So my first question to you church, as we are talking about praying like Jesus, my first question to you is this: Do you even have a prayer custom?
  • Or do you only pray when you feel like you need to?
  • Or do you only pray when you feel the occasion calls for it?
  • Or do you only pray when the mood to pray strikes you?
• DO YOU HAVE A PRAYER CUSTOM? Or better yet, do you have prayer customs?
• You know I have seen two kinds of people come and go through the church, not just CLC, but the global church, the church of Christ…
  • Two kinds of people who treat the church as a revolving door…
    • In one day, out another, in one day, out another, in one day, out another…
• And these kinds of people do not have prayer customs… Instead they pray situationally…
  • Y’all I am going to be straight up, most things you do situationally are going to be wrong…
    • Most things you do situationally, that is, if you allow the situation to dictate your response, your beliefs, your prayer… then you are probably missing the mark.
    • Why? Because God is not a God of situation…

Malachi 3:6a ESV  “For I the LORD do not change;

• You see God doesn’t change, therefore the situation doesn’t effect the way God responds. God is steadfast!
  • Yet these two kinds of people who treat the church as a revolving door, they change…
    • You see one type of revolving church Christian only prays when they are in need.
      • When their situation brought them to a point of desperation, then they show up to church.
      • Then they cry out.
      • Then they hit the altar.
        • Oh the passion comes out when they are in need!
      • But then the situation changes… their need diminishes, maybe even God answered their cry and miraculously brought them out of their horrible situation…
      • And the SECOND they stop being in need… boop, they are out that revolving door… and the Bride of Christ doesn’t see them again until their situation becomes dire again…
    • Then there is the second kind of revolving door Christian… one that’s talked about less but I see just as often…
      • The one who only prays, who only worships, who only fellowships with the Bride of Christ while things are good.
        • When God is blessing them, when God is treating them well…
          • Then they rejoice.
          • Then they pray.
          • Then they shout AMEN at the preacher and sing Hallelujah at the top of their lungs…
      • But the SECOND things get hard, the Second their situation changes… boop, they are out that revolving door… and the Bride of Christ doesn’t see them again until their situation changes for the better.
  • If you don’t want to be a wishy washy, revolving door Christian… and I know that some of you are that way because I have seen it in your lives…
    • If you don’t want to be a revolving door Christian then you need CUSTOMS!
      • For example, it is my Custom to be at church on Sunday morning, no matter what.
        • It snowed 15 inches on Saturday evening… I AM GOING TO BE AT CHURCH SUNDAY.
        • I go on vacation over the weekend… I AM GOING TO BE AT CHURCH SUNDAY… I will find a place to worship with other believers wherever I am.
        • Christmas or Easter falls on a Sunday… I AM GOING TO BE AT CHURCH ON SUNDAY.
          • But what if you family is having a family Christmas?
            • Then my family can come to church with me on Sunday, because they know where I will be, it is my Custom.
        • Y’all my best friend died Suddenly of Cancer on a Sunday morning at 2AM, I was up all night praying with the family, and then I spent the early morning hours crying out to God in my Car in the Hospital parking garage…
          • I was a wreck… I had no sleep… I was emotionally and spiritually struggling…
          • But you know what, I WENT TO CHURCH THAT MORNING… Because it was my Custom!
          • And there is no place that I needed to be more than worshiping my savior with my church family in that moment…
            • But if Church wasn’t my custom, I would have went home and slept… and I would have damaged my relationship with God unwittingly by doing so.
• You need customs in your life that do not change… that do not respond to the situation… and one of those customs for Jesus was prayer…
  • So if we want to be like Jesus we need prayer customs!

Hebrews 13:8 ESV  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

• When it came time for Jesus to be betrayed, tortured, and crucified… Jesus did not change.
• Jesus did not go up to the mount of olives in response to the coming betrayal… no, Jesus went up to the mount of olives to pray because it was HIS CUSTOM! And no situation was going to change that.
• Do you have prayer customs? Let me share some of mine in hopes to inspire you:
  • I read my Bible and pray EVERY MORNING. Regardless of how busy I am, regardless of how I feel, regardless of whatever is going on. I read my bible and pray, every morning.
    • And when I give into the flesh and miss that time of reading or prayer… because I tell myself I am to busy, or too tired, or too bored, or whatever…
    • I ALWAYS REGRET IT. Because I know that I failed at living up to my custom, and it is ALWAYS for fleshly reasons.
  • I pray with my wife Every single night. We have since we started dating 11 years ago… every night for 11 years, without fail, we have prayed… (Ok, I think we missed one night once)…
    • And you know what is wonderful about that custom…
    • Sometimes I don’t want to pray with my wife… occasionally, and I mean on very rare occasion, I don’t even want to TALK to my wife…
      • But it is in those times that we need to pray the MOST and because we have a custom of praying we humble ourselves, deal with our emotional hurt, get over it, and pray!
  • Here is another custom I have created in my life… I have set aside 15 minutes a week to do nothing but pray in the Spirit. I even put it in my calendar so I wouldn’t schedule things over this time.
  • Another custom I just started… twice a year I am going to go away and spend 24 hours in silence, saying nothing, hearing nothing but nature, and doing nothing by praying, reading scripture and sleeping…
    • Two days of solitude a year…
• “Man that seems awful ridged pastor, don’t you think you are limiting the Holy Spirit?”
  • Limiting the Holy Spirit? Let me show you what the Holy Spirit says about prayer…

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV  pray without ceasing,

Ephesians 6:18 ESV  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Romans 12:12 ESV  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

• Pray without ceasing… be constant in Prayer… pray at all times in the Spirt…
  • Now you tell me, are those things going to just happen? Of course not…
    • Because things happen that distract us… be it the world, or our flesh, or the enemy…
    • We get distracted… we are fickle beings sometimes…
  • So, we need to discipline ourselves in a way that goes beyond distractions… we need a custom of prayer…
• Paul talks about it like it’s a physical work out…

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  (25)  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  (26)  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  (27)  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

• What’s Paul saying… he is saying “look, athletes have to be disciplined if they want to win!”
  • They have to work out daily.
  • They have to consider what they eat.
  • They have to practice so many times a week.
  • They have to run drill after drill after drill…
  • THEY HAVE TO BE DISCIPLINED.
    • You ever meet someone who thought they could just be healthy by claiming it over their life…
      • Someone who is so happy to say “I am just a healthy person now, I just do healthy things”.
        • And you look at them and are like… uh… “When do you work out”
      • “Oh I don’t need to go to the gym, that’s for unhealthy people, I am just a healthy person”.
        • Ok, how many calories do you eat a day?
      • “Oh for shame! I don’t count calories, I am a healthy person, I just chose to be healthy!”
        • You just chose to be healthy but you don’t work out and you don’t consider what you eat… I mean those are the two main things it takes to be healthy…
      • “Well I am just a healthy person in general”
        • I mean it’s all well and good to say that… but bro we just walked up four stairs and you are out of breath…
    • Church, you are not going to be healthy and fit unless you discipline yourself to do things your flesh doesn’t want you to do!
• And, as Paul says, so it is in our faith. You have to daily discipline yourself!
  • Y’all I have meet Christians who have told me that they don’t need to go to church because they “Pray constantly” … because they “Take church with them wherever they go”.
    • What? You pray constantly? No you don’t bro, I just saw you yelling at your wife… you weren’t praying then…
    • I see you blowing people up on Facebook with rage that would make the Hulk blush!
    • You pray constantly but you sleep in until 11 o’clock on Sundays because “it’s your only day to sleep in”.
    • Give me a break, you don’t pray constantly you barely pray at all!
• Church this is why we need prayer customs… so that regardless of the situation, we are praying!
  • So that NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS we know we will be praying…
    • For me, no matter what happens I know I will be praying in the morning.
    • No matter what happens I will be praying at night with my wife.
    • No matter what happens I will be praying before every meal.
    • No matter what happens I am going to have a weekly time where I do nothing but pray in the Spirit.
    • No matter what happens I am going to find two days a year where I do nothing but pray and read Scripture for 24 hours.
    • No matter what happens I am going to be at a Bible believing and preaching church to pray and worship and fellowship and grow.
      • Because that is my Custom!
      • Do you have a prayer custom? Or is your prayer life al-a-carte?
      • Church, it’s time to start building those customs… write them out if you need to..
        • Build a prayer closet in your house if you need to.
        • Go watch the movie War-room to get pumped up… in fact, lets do this, Bethany Hall, can you set up a night in the next two weeks where we can watch war room here at the church?! Let’s do that!
      • Y’all don’t let today end without firming up a lifestyle of prayer with real, physical, tangible prayer customs…

Luke 22:39 ESV  And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

Conclusion

Here is a custom we have at the church, we share the gospel… (Tell them why).Gospel Call