Before You Go Forward…

During my grandpa’s memorial service, the pastor recounted a verse my Grandpa shared during one of his small group sessions. The talk (which was brief, because my Grandpa, a preacher, mind you, “hated long drawn-out sermons,”) highlighted a small, seemingly insignificant verse in Matthew, Chapter 26.

Now the overall story in Chapter 26 is one most are familiar with—The Last Supper, Peter’s denial of Jesus, Jesus arrested, etc.—but verse 36 is where my Grandpa honed in for the study.

“Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, ‘Stay here while I go over there and pray.’” (The Message)

So what nugget did my Grandpa pull from this verse?

Before Jesus went on—before He faced the giant He was facing, which that night, just so happened to be dying on the cross to save us all—He went away to pray. He took time to cry out, seek wisdom, gain strength, and surrender to God’s will faithfully before He did anything else.

As simple as it may sound, be sure to pray. Pray before you act. Pray before respond. Pray before you do something small. Pray before you face something big. Before you go forward…PRAY.