Garden Prayers

                                                       
                                                         Garden Prayers
Dear Friends,
     This past week my garden has been vibrant with color and life. Gold Finches are feasting on the sun flower seeds from branches that are bending, bowing heads. The colors of the birds and flowers blend together disguising the birds until they fly together in a bright yellow cloud. The late summer flowers are opening up, giving hope for a beautiful autumn. 
     My thoughts and prayer meditations focus on garden prayers. In the gospels we read that Jesus would go to a garden to pray. He must have had a love for  gardens to choose that for his prayer closet. His friends knew that He loved gardens and they chose to bury Him in a tomb in a garden.  After He rose the third day, He was seen in this beautiful garden.
     An olive garden in  the ancient city of Jerusalem is a gorgeous sight, flowering, bursting with color,  and perfume in the air. The trees provide shelter and protection for wildlife, nectar for the bees, and fruit that will provide oil for cooking, for giving light, and for ceremonial anointing. Olives and their leaves are a symbol of peace and the oil a symbol of the Holy Spirit. I can understand why Jesus wanted to pray there.
     It was springtime when Jesus went to the garden and poured His heart out in  prayer. He was so full of sorrow that He said in Matthew 26 verse 38, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death", and in verse 39 it says that He "fell on His face and prayed". He knew that a monumental event was about to take place. His prayers were answered and He gained strength. When Judas came with the crowd of soldiers and betrayed Him with a kiss, Peter lashed out in anger with his sword. Jesus responded with compassion and healed the wounded man. Prayers, sorrow, betrayal, violence, compassionate healing and sacrificial love were all displayed in this beautiful olive garden in the springtime in Jerusalem.
   I'm feeling thankful for freedom to live and believe in a mighty, compassionate Savior. My prayers today are for Christians around the world who are suffering unimaginable persecution. I pray for their rescue, their freedom and for their healing. A garden can be a place for prayer, for healing and a place for Resurrection.
Ephesians 6:18
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."