The Lord Jesus had prayed in the garden of... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels?
Matthew 26:53.

The Lord Jesus had prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. When He left the garden a crowd came towards Him armed with swords and clubs to arrest Him. They were led by Judas, who had betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. As the crowd approached, Peter drew his sword and cut off a man's ear. While the Lord was praying, Peter was asleep; so his aggressive action was wrong. The Lord told him to sheathe his sword and added, "Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels?"

Of course that was possible. But the Lord had prayed that His Father's will should be done. Human defence was here totally out of place. A Roman legion consisted of 6,000 soldiers; so the Lord might have had 72,000 soldiers defending Him. In Old Testament times a single angel had killed 185,000 soldiers under a godless general in one night (2 Kings 19:35). The crowd seeking the Lord was much smaller, but He wanted no aid there. He had a work to accomplish at Calvary that to Himself and His Father was of paramount importance. And He had to undertake it alone.

When the children of God ask their heavenly Father to use His power on their behalf, He sometimes withholds it, because He has something else in mind for us. He knows the outcome beforehand; we do not. But we can be sure that the result will be for our blessing, not for our harm, even if it involves patience, or maybe temporal suffering.

What blessing for mankind resulted from Christ's death on the cross!

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 8:1-40 · Psalms 82:1-8