Lent Guide: In the Shadow of GethsemaneUzorak

Share everything with Him

Prayer is relationship. It’s an encounter. Jesus shares his distress and grief with His disciples and the Father (Mt 26:38). He becomes vulnerable. He admits what is really happening within Him. It might look inappropriate for a Messiah to be so weak, but that’s the only way in which a real encounter can take place. It can only happen when I can connect with what is truly happening within me and then have the courage to share it. However inappropriate.

I was on a prayer journey with someone who guided me for nearly a year. Daily, I spent an hour (Matt 26:40) in prayer, and I met with my counselor weekly. When we met, he would ask me what was happening in my life, and I would tell him. Weekly, he would ask me if I had shared it with Jesus. My answer was always a quick ‘yes,’ and I couldn’t understand why he thought I hadn’t been praying. I’d been praying for years! But one day, he added a phrase while asking me that question –did you share it with Jesus like you share it with me? Like a friend? And suddenly, it hit me square between the eyes. I am very formal, don’t elaborate, and don’t really share my feelings because He knows already, after all. So, I realised I have a formal relationship. I’m not really open and honest. I realised that it’s not God who needs my honesty but that it’s me who needs to be honest. By doing that, I give Him access to my heart, like I would listen to my own child. I encourage it and don’t give too much advice (most of the time) because that’s how I get to his heart. He feels that I understand and wants to share everything with me, and we become good friends.

Exercise

• You are invited to write a letter (Psalm) to Him and share your feelings honestly, as well as you can.

Prayer: I ask for a deep consciousness of Your love and work in my life.