This morning I write from Israel after a time of meditation in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The thick gnarled trunks of this ancient grove of olive trees resemble rugged hands firmly clasped together with finger-like branches curving loosely upwards as if to mirror those of supplicants throughout the centuries who have postured themselves in prayer beneath their welcoming shade.

It is not difficult to imagine why this garden spot was a customary place of prayer for Jesus. At the foot of the Mount of Olives, it provides a peaceful refuge for reflection outside the walls of Jerusalem. I'm told that some of these trees are more than 2400 years old. They were bearing fruit when Jesus communed with His father. They stand as witnesses, even as the olive trees in the visions of Zechariah and the Apostle John (Zechariah 4:3; Revelation 11:4) not only to the olives pressed here, but those seeking to press into the will of God through intercession.

Here in Gethsemane, the garden whose name means 'olive press', the pulpy thick skin of swollen olives would be broken and the fresh oil released. Here the Christ, the Anointed One, surrendered His will to that of the Father and with the fresh oil of the Spirit offered Himself up for us all. It is here we get a vivid picture of how to the anointing is expressed.

The Apostle John writes, "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth." (1John 2:20). Although believers who have trusted Christ and His saving work know the truth of the gospel and have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, that anointing will not be expressed if it is trapped in the thick skin of our self-will. Many are depressed because their inner life with God is never expressed.

Personal 'Gethsemanes', in which we learn to relinquish our own agendas and submit to the revealed will of God, are necessary if there is to be a release of the Holy Spirit ministry in our lives.

The anointing speaks of the enlightening and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. The olive oil provided light for the tabernacle and temple. It was also necessary for the wheat offering representing the power of a pure devotion to God and a willingness to lay down your life for others. Through the Holy Spirit we have an internal witness to the reality of God's presence and sufficiency of His life within us. Something is sensed within us that corresponds with the revelation of Christ Jesus in the Word.

Praying in the place where He prayed I am reminded that He prays in the place where I pray. "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Romans 8:27).

Jesus agonized in the garden so that you and I would not have to agonize alone in prayer. He has given us His promised Spirit and He wants us to join us in His prayer life as the one ever live to make intercession for us (See Hebrews 7:25).