Interactive Prayer Guide

StationS of the CroSS Prayer Guide

Welcome to Frazer’s Stations of the Cross Prayer Experience which is designed to help you contemplate and reflect on the Passion of Jesus Christ during

the last hours of His life. We have chosen eight meditation and prayer stations that focus on the journey of Jesus from His time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane to His death on the cross. These devotions will take you down the “Via Dolorosa” or “Way of Sorrow” traveling with Jesus as he made his way to Golgotha. Each station has a passage of scripture to read. Have your Bible handy to read the scriptures or follow the links to biblegateway.com.

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit

is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

The Eight Stations

1 Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane

2 Jesus Is Condemned to Death

3 Jesus Takes Up His Cross

4 Simon of Cyrene Carries Jesus’ Cross

5 Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

6 Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

7 Jesus’ Clothes Are Divided

8 Jesus Dies

1. Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane Read Matthew 26:36-50, 55-56

Read the words of Matthew aloud and try to imagine being with Jesus in the

Garden of Gethsemane. Listen to Jesus as He prays and struggles there leading up to His arrest. Here we see Jesus’ humanity at its deepest level. There was a great struggle happening within Him as He willed to submit to the Father. He asked three times that “the cup” might pass from Him. What was in the “cup” that He desired to avoid?

Sin was in that cup. Not just some sin, 1. but the sin of the entire world, from Adam to the very last sinner on the earth. (Your sin was in the cup.)

Suffering was in that cup. Even though 2. Jesus had known the time would come for Him to be beaten, flogged, and crucified, His struggle was great as He anticipated the horror of the next few hours.

Sacrifice was in that cup. Beyond the 3. sin and suffering, Jesus recognized His role as the final sacrifice. He knew how bloody and brutal the “Day of Atonement” sacrifices were and knew that as the last sacrificial lamb, His death would be equally bloody and brutal.

Separation was in that cup. Never 4. before had He experienced separation from His Father. He knew that was

part of the plan but could not begin to imagine how that would feel.

Salvation was in that cup. As Jesus 5. looked into the cup He knew it was to provide salvation to all people. That knowledge gave Him the courage, strength and will to go on – to drink the cup – to offer a way for every sinner to know the Father.

Spend some time meditating on His love for you. Kneel if you are able, as you bow in praise. Thank God for Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die for you. Never forget that your life was bought with a very high price.

Father, Your love for me and for the world is

infinitely beyond human understanding. How You could plan so far ahead of time to give Your only Son as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world, is overwhelming. As inadequate as it is, “Thank you!” Thank you for loving me enough to send Your Son to DIE. I thank you that Jesus was obedient. Thank you that He, too, loved infinitely and was willing to endure great suffering and death to save mankind from eternity without You! Amen.

2. Jesus Is Condemned to DeathRead Matthew 27: 11-31

Who is to blame for Jesus’ mock trial and condemnation to death? Was it

the Jews? They accused Him of blasphemy for which the penalty was death, but the Romans had taken away their authority to impose the death penalty. Was it the Romans? Yes, the Roman soldiers flogged Jesus and carried out the crucifixion, but they were indifferent to Jesus’ guilt or innocence. They were just following orders and enjoying the cruelty they were allowed to inflict on crucifixion victims. Or was it the combined sins of the world? In one sense, yes, the sin of every person condemned and then nailed Jesus to that cross.

Read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Pay close attention to the frenzied crowd present that day. Jesus was willing to die for everyone in that multitude of humanity – the Jewish leaders who despised and feared him, the Jewish people who just went along with their leaders, the Romans who held him in custody and every person who would ever live on planet Earth.

But it was God the Father who determined long ago that Jesus would die this horrible death for our sins. Any controversy about who crucified Jesus is marginal at best. His Father ordained it and Jesus chose to embrace His Father’s will. The prophet

Isaiah says in 53:10 –“ it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.” Clearly this was God’s plan from the very beginning.

Can you begin to grasp God’s great love for you? Spend some time thanking and praising God for His unparalleled love for you. Confess that your sin makes you a participant with the angry crowd. Everyone participates.

Merciful God,You are good beyond all understanding.

I am wretched, miserable and sinful. I acknowledge that it was my sin that caused Jesus to have to suffer and die. My lips are ready to confess while my heart is slow to feel and my ways are reluctant to mend. I bring myself to you – break me, bend me, mold me. Reveal my sin nature that I may hate it and flee from it. Help me to know that the way of evil is hard and evil paths are wretched paths. Work in me profound and abiding repentance and give to me godly grief that leads to righteousness through Jesus’ sacrifice. Amen.

3. Jesus Carries the Cross Read John 19:15-17

Close your eyes for a moment and picture Jesus, broken and bleeding,

struggling to carry His cross. Imagine walking the “Via Dolorosa” or “Way of Suffering” with Jesus. Ponder His agony and excruciating pain as He labored with the heavy cross. Even in His agony He seems to have embraced His cross as well as His mission as seen in this picture. Jesus not only carried the heavy cross, but carried the weight of our sin as well.

Consider Romans 5:19: For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. Jesus was obedient to the Father so that we might share in His righteousness. Thank Him for loving you so much that obedience was not an option but that He made a conscious decision to suffer and die so that you might live now and forever through faith in Him. As you ponder Jesus’ obedience ask God to help you live a life of complete obedience to His will.

God of all righteousness,Destroy in me every lofty thought; break

pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds. Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness. Implant in me true lowliness of spirit and the knowledge that Jesus’ righteousness rescues me. Give to me an obedient heart where You are present and evil cannot live. May I always be surrendered to You and dependent upon You in every area of my life. I plead nothing in myself in regard of any worthiness and grace, but only Your good pleasure. Help me to honor You through an abiding life that brings pleasure and glory to Your holy name. Amen.

4. Simon of Cyrene Carries Jesus’ Cross Read Luke 23:26 and Mark 15:21-22

Simon was forced to carry Jesus’ cross and as he did, he experienced the heavy

burden physically. In this picture, is Simon taking the cross from Jesus. Can you imagine the weight Simon felt as he carried Jesus’ cross. How much greater was the spiritual and emotional weight that Jesus felt as he bore the sins of the whole world?

As Jesus’ disciples we are not forced as Simon was but are instructed to be willing to daily take up our cross for the cause of Christ. The cross is God’s tool of redemption, instrument of salvation and proof of his love. To take up the cross, then, is to take up Christ’s burden for the people of the world. Though our crosses are similar, none are identical. Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” We each have our own cross to carry—our individual calling. Your God-designed task fits you, it matches your passions and enlists your gifts and talents.

Are you willing to take up your cross daily and follow Him wherever He may lead? Talk to Him about it.

God of All Grace, You have given me a Savior; fill me with

Your Spirit, produce in me a faith to live through Him, to make Him all my desire, all my hope, and all my glory. May I seek Him as my refuge, build on Him as my foundation, walk in Him as my way, follow Him as my guide, conform to Him as my example, receive His instructions as my prophet, rely on His intercession as my high priest, and obey Him as my king. I accept and embrace my unique cross that you have ordained for my life. Use me to help reach the lost and hurting world. Amen.

5. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem Read Luke 23:27-30

Imagine the pain these women felt who were following Jesus that day. They

had come to comfort him. They had seen his compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. They wanted to support him, yet Jesus in His great love and compassion told them to focus on the hurting world around them. He knew that there would be terrible suffering when the Romans would besiege and destroy Jerusalem in about forty years.

Through the ages, humanity has suffered greatly at the hands of men and through many natural disasters. Jesus would likely say to us today, “weep for your world.” Do you mourn for the hurting people of today? Are you willing to move your reflection into action and your good intentions into reality? Ask God how you can work to help those in need. Pray for Christ-like compassion for hurting people whether across town or around the globe.

Watch a slide show reminding us of the hurts of this world.

God of all compassion,Help me to walk as Jesus walked, my

savior and perfect model. Let my joyful place be among the poor in spirit, my delight the gentle ranks of the meek. Send me forth to have compassion on the hurting and the miserable. Teach me the art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal. Let me always esteem others better than myself and walk in true humility as I offer compassion and sympathy in the name and power of my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

6. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross Read Luke 23:32-38

As you read Luke’s account of Jesus being nailed to His cross, consider

the extravagant price He paid for your sins. Imagine you are one of those people “looking on.” What is it like watching Jesus take the punishment for your sins? Take a piece of paper and write any sin(s) you need to confess to the Lord. Know that your sin was nailed to the cross with Jesus. Now, shred or tear up those sins and throw them away. Thank God that he no longer remembers those confessed sins.

As you pray the prayer below insert any specific sins you need to confess. Rest assured that God completely forgives. (1 John 1:9—”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”)

Merciful God,I thank You that You have forgiven all

my sins of this day, week, year, and life; sins of omission and commission, of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride, of unfaithfulness to the souls of men and deficiency in outspoken zeal for Your glory, of bringing dishonor upon Your great name, of deception, injustice, untruthfulness in my dealings with others, of impurity in thought, word and deed. Forgive me of sins in my family, in the study of Your word and in the neglect of it, in prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld, in time misspent, in yielding to Satan’s trickery, in opening myself to his temptations and in quenching the Holy Spirit. Pardon all my sins, known and unknown, confessed and not confessed, remembered or forgotten. Lord, hear; and hearing forgive. Amen.

7. Jesus’ Clothes Are DividedRead John 19:23-24

When Jesus walked through Israel during his three year ministry,

the crowds sought him because of what He could do for them. He gave sight and hearing, healing of disease, fed the multitudes, cast out demons and even raised the dead. Now, even while hanging on the cross the soldiers were looking for what they could take from him. Look at the picture of His blood stained robe before you with the many hands reaching out for “a piece of Jesus.” In Mark 6 below we see how the crowds frantically ran to where Jesus was so that they could receive from Him. Do you seek Jesus for what you can get from Him or out of love and adoration for Him?

Mark 6: 53-56 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

Holy God,I have no merit, let the merit of Jesus stand

for me. I am undeserving, but I look to Your tender mercy. I confess my frequent, willful and selfish sin. Help me to desire You in my inmost being and not just those things that You so willingly supply. Save me from the love of the world and the pride of life, from everything that is natural to fallen man and let Christ’s nature be seen in me day by day. Move me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength as my blessed God and savior. Amen.

8. Jesus Dies on the CrossRead Matthew 27:45-50 and Luke 23:44-49

Reflect on the depth of the despair as Jesus hung on the cross for hours on

that fateful day. Hear His cries of anguish as He takes His last breath. Remember His sacrifice! It is finished!

Even the Roman centurion recognized that Jesus was the son of God (Matthew 27:54). He reacted out of terror but you have the privilege of responding with praise and thanksgiving. As you bow in thankful and heartfelt prayer reflect on what Jesus’ death provides for you as a believer in Him. He gives us access to the Father in this life and an eternity with Him in heaven. Remember that neither being a “good person” nor your “good works” will get you into heaven, only God’s amazing grace through a relationship with Jesus guarantees heaven.

If you do not know Jesus as your savior, you can today. Pray right now, asking God to accept you on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice. Pray this prayer of repentance and surrender:

O God,I know that I am a sinner and need your

forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and I turn away from my sin. I invite you into my heart and my life. From this moment I want to trust and follow Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. Thank you Jesus, for loving me enough to die to cleanse me from my sin. Amen.

If you have just prayed that prayer, please share that with a Christian you know today. We would love to hear from you as well, so we can rejoice with you and help you learn more about how to grow as a Christian. You can send us a note at prayer@frazerumc.org.

Closing PrayerBefore Your cross I kneel and see the wickedness of my sin that caused You to be “made a curse. ” Show me the enormity of my guilt by the crown of thorns, the pierced hands and feet, the bruised body, and the dying cries. Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light, the air supply breath, or the earth bear my feet? Yet Your compassions yearn over me, Your love endured my curse, and Your mercy bore my deserved stripes. I offer a heart of praise and thanksgiving acknowledging Your love and mercy beyond any human comprehension. Amen.

Frazer United Methodist Church

Remember that the Cross is not the end. On the third day, the first Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead, defeating evil and death once and for all. Because he lives, we can have the hope of eternal life. All creation waits in eager anticipation for the resurrection of the children of God through the power of Jesus, when all things will be made right and every tear will be wiped away.

We encourage you to find a local church where you can celebrate Easter in worship, or watch one of our services live at frazerumc.org/live (9:30 or 11:00 a.m. Central Time every Sunday).