The prayer of our Lord Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane was for the purpose of knowing God's will. Gethsemane means the place where oil is pressed. Our Lord knew that He ought to press out the oil there, so He knelt down and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39). The Bible tells us that He prayed the same way for a second time and that the words He used in His third prayer were the same. He did not just pray once and then foolishly let it go; He prayed three times. When He finished the third prayer the Bible says, "He rose up from prayer" (Luke 22:45). He left when the prayer was done, and "He came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour has drawn near, and the Son of Man is being delivered up into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going" (Matt. 26:45-46). When He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, "All things are possible to You; remove this cup from Me" (Mark 14:36). But when Peter cut off the ear of the slave of the high priest with a sword, Jesus said, "The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11). When He was praying at Gethsemane, He was unsure of the cup; but when He was walking on His way, He had no doubt about this cup. He was willing to drink it. Through the three prayers, He came to know God. He never assumed anything; He wanted to deal with God and know God through His prayers. He dealt with God and was also dealt with by God.
There was a thorn in the flesh of the apostle Paul. We will not consider what this thorn was, but since it was a thorn, it must have been something that made him uncomfortable, something that stung him all the time. He also said that a messenger of Satan often buffeted him. Therefore, this thorn must have caused him constant discomfort. He could not overcome this thorn without the power of Christ tabernacling over him. He prayed three times to ask the Lord that it might depart from him. But the Lord said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul was clear. Did he pray the fourth time? No. While he was praying the third time, God spoke to him, and he was clear. Paul was another person who did not want to make decisions according to his own knowledge. He desired to deal with God through prayer so that he could know God and know His will concerning certain matters.
From the experiences of the Lord and the apostle Paul we can see one principle: if a man desires to know God, he must learn how to deal with God. In other words, we have to deal with God and be dealt with by God. When many Christians encounter difficulties or problems, they let them slip by and are never dealt with by God. They do not know why God gives them such difficulties. When someone else encounters the same problem, they also do not know the reason. This kind of person may read the Bible every day, they may have knowledge and light, but they do not know God's will. This is grossly inadequate. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, we must deal with God and be dealt with by God. Only then will we truly know Him.
Extracted from “The Way to Know God” (3), a message given by Brother Watchman Nee, published by Living Stream Ministry.
