While you can pray anywhere, anytime, about anything, having a designated space has its benefits

2 min read

Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. -Luke 22:39

Some places are more condusive than others to moments of meaningful communion with God. Depending on personal preference, it could be a chair by a window, a seat at the back of a chapel, or maybe a bench in the park. Who knows, it might even be looking through the windshield of your car.

For Jesus, it was the Garden of Gethsemane. Located at the base of the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane was a short walk from all the hustle and bustle going on inside the walls of Jerusalem. Gethsemane was where Jesus “customarily” went to be alone with the Father.

Why Gethsemane? What was the attraction?

Gethsemane, which means olive press, was (and still is) an olive tree orchard. It features dozens of gnarly, well-aged olive trees that – if they could talk – could tell some stories. In a simple way, Gethsemane is beautiful. It is quiet. It is out-of-the-way. The olive trees provide a hedge of sorts, a covering from the chaos outside.

But maybe the olive orchard, which would have been in its spring budding during Holy Week, helped Jesus while he was praying to think about the good that was going to come from his impending trial. Like olives, he was about to be pressed to the extreme, to the point of death. But just like the pressing of olives produces a life-giving oil, so his pressing would provide a life-giving, soul-reviving sacrifice on our behalf. As the prophet said,

“…he was crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well” -Isaiah 53:5, NET

Jesus chose Gethsemane. It was his special place to be alone with the Father.

He wouldn’t stay there, of course. Gethsemane was just a brief pit-stop on the way to the Cross. The solitude of the moment would soon be interrupted by the glare of torches and the sound of angry feet approaching. Judas and his conspirators were coming.

But it was enough. Jesus had been to his special place, if only for a few moments. The visit to Gethsemane prepared him and empowered him for what was next.

I wonder, where’s your Gethsemane? Where’s that place that you go to prepare for the things that are ahead of you, both known and unknown? Have you been there recently? If not, may you take opportunity to visit soon.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.