Scripture
Matthew 26:36-46 NLT
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.
So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!
Isaiah 53:5 NLT
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Devotion
It’s hard to imagine the pressure that Jesus was under when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. We witness Him grieve to the point of death and experience a condition known as Hematohidrosis. It occurs when an individual experiences such extreme stress that blood begins to ooze from their skin. Taking the sins of the whole world upon Himself was the most crushing of weights- both physically and emotionally, but He did it anyway so that we could be healed, set free and made whole!
Jesus defeated sickness. Jesus overcame sickness. Jesus is greater than sickness. So when we face sickness or a diagnosis of some sort— no matter how severe— we can come into agreement with the truth that Jesus is greater than sickness and because He has overcome it, we can overcome it too!
I was talking to a lady recently who had developed a medical condition after taking a vaccine. She was experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath, and was quite stressed by these symptoms. There was nothing that the medical profession could do for her so she was at a loss. While attending our women’s conference, she went forward to the altar for prayer but didn’t feel any immediate change. This disappointed her of course. While talking to God about the whole situation, she was reminded about Namaan in the Bible who had leprosy and was instructed by God to go down to a dirty river and dip 7 times in order to be healed.
She felt that the Lord was asking her to keep going back for prayer until she too was healed. In the very next session, the call was given for healing and this lady responded again by faith and was instantly healed. Her persistence caused her to experience the greatness of God and you too can experience His greatness right now!
If you are sick in your body or have an injury of any kind, why not reach out to Jesus and keep reaching out until you receive your healing. God really is greater than your sickness or injury.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
I agree that You are greater than sickness or physical ailment that I might experience and because of that, I reach out to You now for my healing. I ask that my entire body would be made whole and that I would experience the healing that You have already paid a price for with Your death on the cross and resurrection. I pray all this in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.
