Our Father, Who art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

on Earth, as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses, as we

forgive those Who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom,

and the power, and the Glory forever.

Amen.

“That deep pain that you feel in the morning after a hard workout? Odds are A) the workout you did the night before had lots of eccentric movements, and B) those eccentric actions, while painful in the short term, are the most efficient way to activate a key biological process that muscles rely on to enhance their ability to resist damage, and generate more force” (Carter Davis, “How Your Muscles Break Down to Build Up” [blog], Fitness Together Annapolis, January 29, 2017, https://fitnesstogether.com/annapolis/blog/how-your-muscles-break-down-tobuild-up). 

1. In our lives, we experience __________. 

2. Jesus understands __________ and __________. 

• “In Gethsemane he underwent a most unusual sense of being troubled that we must feel is connected not only with the fact that he would die, but that he would die the kind of death he faced, a death for sinners. … Rather, it was the kind of death that he would die that brought the anguish. Jesus would be one with sinners in his death, he would experience the death that is due to sinners, and it seems that it was this that brought about the tremendous disturbance of spirit that Matthew records” (Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992], 667).  
• “The word “cup” in the Old Testament refers to “suffering and the wrath of God, and we should observe the same kind of symbolism here (GNB reads ‘this cup of suffering’). Jesus’ death meant suffering, and because it was a death for sin, there are associations of the wrath of God connected to it. … The death he faced was a horrible death, and he experienced the natural human shrinking from undergoing such an ordeal. … But the final petition of the prayer rests in the will of God … and throughout his life he had steadfastly moved toward the accomplishment of the divine will. As he now faces the climax of it all, he insists that it is the will of the Father that is his chief concern” (Morris, Matthew, 668–69). 

3. Jesus was alone so you would ____________________. 

• Prayer recognizes the limitations of being human and seeks God’s help, strength, and presence in the moment. 
• “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Philippians 4:13) Paul writes.
• “O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, we pray, deeply aware of the shortness and uncertainty of human life… The mercy is presence not relief. Hope is a face, two hands, scarred feet” (Connor Gwin, “On the Shortness and Uncertainty of Life,” Mockingbird, January 28, 2020, https://mbird.com/2020/01/on-the-shortness-and-uncertainty-oflife/?fbclid=IwAR1cViVBGuA5AKxxTx0Xz59-ky_VidDw6MTX4Oll8wLQ7BADMkqw6trV7Q). 

4. So what do we do with this?

1. Do not try to go through your pain alone. Even Jesus turned to his friends when he was wrestling with his pain and hurt.
2. Turn your pain and hardship into honest prayers. Pray for God’s presence with you in your hurt, and pray for God’s will to be done.  
3. Remember that you are never alone.