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Matthew 26:36-46
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Additional Scripture References: Isaiah 51:17, Psalm 75:8, Luke 22:43, John 16:33
When you experience difficulty, what is your response? Do you call a friend, go for a walk, avoid the situation, get angry, cry? When crisis hits, we all react in different ways. Many of us find our minds running wild, anxious thoughts fighting to be the loudest in the room. For others of us, we aim to take control, finding some level of order in the chaos. It’s in our lowest moments that we find God is the only one who can truly calm us. As we study the response of Jesus in the garden, in the midst of his most difficult trial, we can learn practical patterns to persevere.
It’s not always the thing, more often or not it’s how we think about the thing.
In a moment of crisis, Jesus gives his disciples a command — watch & pray. Many of us are asleep to the tactics of the enemy. He’s waging war in our minds. Robbing us of peace. Causing us to mismanage our blessings. Stealing our everyday joy. We must protect the abundant life that Jesus promised us by guarding our hearts. Praying is offense. Watching is defense. Together, these two disciplines give us the strength to fight anxiety and pressure with both hands.
Matthew 26:40 -41
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
As believers, prayer is one of the strongest weapons we have in the midst of crisis. In the garden, we see Jesus’ response to pressure is prayer. If Jesus prayed, so can we! As we study his words to the Father we see that his prayers were both honest and obedient.
Matthew 26:39
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:42
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
In the garden we find a picture of persistence — Jesus prayed not once, but three times. He prayed for God’s will to be done. Jesus is the lamb of God who was slain since the foundations of the universe. He knew why he was coming to earth. Jesus knew what his mission was. Yet, in these final moments, he had a choice to make — fulfill the calling or quit. You and I have a choice to make, in our darkest hour, will we run to Jesus? He is with us, even in the crisis. When we face difficulty, we can find peace in knowing God goes before us, he paves a trail through our trials and gives us peace in the pressure.
Develop a prayer discipline. Set aside time this week to pray with God. Your preparation matters! Whether for 3 minutes or 30, prepare to pray and commit to following through.
We’re in week two of Pray First and there’s still time to join! Prayer is where intimacy with God begins—it aligns our hearts with His will and unlocks Heaven’s power in our lives.
Let’s grow closer to God together. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Join us for Pray First by texting "PRAY" to 30596.
Monday - Friday
Zoom Prayer @ 6:30AM
vouschurch.com/zoom
Monday - Saturday
IG Live @ 12:00PM
Wednesday - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Prayer Rooms - Miami Gardens
Wednesday, January 15 - Pray First Gathering
7:00PM Pre-Hang
7:30PM Service
SoMi, Miami Gardens, Design District
For all gatherings information and resources on Pray First, please click here!
We are having baptisms this Sunday, January 19th, across all of our locations, and on the beach.
To sign up for baptisms, please click here.
Heart & Soul will be taking place on Wednesday, January 22nd. This is a night for anyone who loves VOUS with worship, community, and a stakeholders message from Pastor Rich on where we're headed in 2025.
This SZN, we will be holding Heart & Soul at VOUS City!
RSVP here to let us know which location you will be joining us at. This is a night you do not want to miss!
This month's spotlight initiative is human trafficking awareness. We aim to bring light to this critical issue by partnering with organizations working to prevent trafficking and support survivors.
We will meet at our South Miami, Design District, and Miami Gardens locations on Saturday, January 25th at 10:30am to gather and serve at an outreach throughout the city.
To sign up for an outreach at one of our locations or an Off-Site outreach, please click here.
VOUS SoMi
8:45AM / 10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM
VOUS City
10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM
VOUS Miami Gardens
10:30AM / 12:30PM
VOUS Design District
10:30AM / 12:30PM
Church Online
10AM / 5PM Español
Growth Track
After every service or join online at vouschurch.com/growthtrack
