80. The Abba Prayer
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“Abba,Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup
from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Mark 14:36T
WOyears ago in Israel we climbed the Mount of Olives. I was
surprised to see what a small “mountain” it really is, yet I found
myself on a spiritual high. Here was the place Jesus had spent his last
night of freedom before his crucifixion.
Here he had told the twelve, “You will all fall away” (Matt. 26:31).
Here Peter had said, “Lord, no matter what the others do, I’ll
never desert you” (Matt. 26:33, author’s paraphrase).
And here Jesus had sadly informed Peter, “This very night, before the
rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times” (Mark 14:30 NLT).
Then he took Peter, James, and John with him to Gethsemane.
“Don’t leave me,” he told them. “Stay here and keep watch” (Mark
14:34, author’s paraphrase).
Not far from there, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed, “Abba,Fa-
ther, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not
what I will, but what you will.”