The battles that are won in the secret place behind the veil, are manifested in victory beyond the veil. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus broke through into victory in the presence of the Father when three different times,He affirmed that it wasn’t His will He wanted but the Father’s will, regardless of the pain. In Luke 22:39–40, as they approached the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told the disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Deep was calling unto deep, Jesus knew that victory had to be won before the Father’s face, before they would be able to manifest victory in the open testing they were about to face. In the Secret Place, God doesn’t just fill us, He transforms us and prepares us for coming conflict.
In John 18 when Jesus and disciples are confronted at Gethsemane by the soldiers who came to arrest Him, it is obvious that Jesus is in control of the situation and not Judas or the soldiers. Jesus’ will was so yielded to the Father’s will that He carried God’s presence in such a manifest way that the soldiers fell back onto the ground when Jesus acknowledged He was the one they were looking for. Peter, who slept at Gethsemane instead of praying, manifested anger, fear, and control instead of the presence of God that clings to a broken will. He cut the servants ear off, which of course Jesus immediately reattached. Peter was trying to get control of a situation that God was already in control of. In Jn.18:11 Jesus told Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” Two extremely different responses from Jesus and Peter in the midst of the same testing. One manifested the presence and power of God in victory, having been before His Father’s face with a broken will. He was able to overcome in the public place because He had been overcome in the secret place. Poor Peter was left winging it on his own, doing the best he could out of his own strong self-will.