Jesus and his apostles left the upper room and went to a place called Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed his prayer of commitment to his heavenly Father. Read Mark 14:32-42.

When Jesus entered the garden He told the apostles to wait there while He prayed. Then He took with Him Peter, James and John and went deeper into the garden. He told them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch” (verse 34). Jesus was facing his final physical moments on this earth and the mortal part of Him was overwhelmed by what He knew must transpire in the next few hours. He prayed with a heavy heart. “And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (verses 35-36).

Jesus prayed the same prayer three times. He didn’t need to keep saying the same thing over and over. The purpose of the repetition is to impress on our minds the importance of his words. Jesus’ body and spirit were in extreme conflict. His physical being pleaded with God to be released from his fate. But his spirit was one hundred percent committed to fulfill his Father’s plan of salvation, the whole purpose of his coming to earth as a mortal man.

Peter, James and John were unaware of the significance of the moment, and they kept falling asleep. Finally Jesus came back to them for a third time and said, “Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand” (verses 41b-42). The final sequence of events was about to begin.

Jesus faced his torture and death on the cross calmly and with dignity. If we pray like He did, for God’s will to be done rather than our own, and surrender ourselves to God’s plan, we then, like Jesus, can face any fate.