STOP
SLEEPING AND TALKING; WATCH AND PRAY!
“...How
is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me even for one hour?
Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak” – Matthew 26:40-41 (GNB).
The episode of Jesus and His
disciples in Matthew 26:31-75 and Luke 22:31-60 is a succinct demonstration of
the effects of giving in to too much sleeping and talking while ignoring the
need to watch and pray. Jesus, probably through prayer, foresaw temptations
that were about befalling Him and His disciples. On one hand, Jesus, who was exceedingly
sorrowful in relation to going to the Cross, was being tempted to avoid the
Cross. On the other hand, Satan was seeking to tempt the disciples of Jesus
(especially Judas Iscariot and Peter) to betray and deny their Master. Jesus
forewarned Peter about the impending temptation but the latter responded by
reassuring Jesus of his commitment to follow Him even unto death! Jesus subsequently took Peter and other disciples
to a mountain to pray. Jesus prayed fervently, on three different occasions,
but His disciples slept at all time material despite a persistent call from
their Master to watch and pray. In the
end, Jesus received divine strength to overcome His temptation and accomplished
His assignment on earth while the disciples denied and forsook Him. Peter in
particular denied His Master three times, even before a girl!
What lessons can we draw from the
attitude of Jesus and that of His disciples from the above passages? Jesus made
watching (abiding in God’s word) and praying His daily custom. Thus Jesus did
not just pray to overcome temptation and attack from satanic forces; He rather
took delight in praying through His earthly mission. In addition, Jesus did not
allow Himself to be influenced by the negative attitudes of His sluggish
disciples. Perhaps Jesus, in the midst of His deep sorrow and fervent prayers, got
tired and wearied but He endured these inconveniences and gave Himself to passionate
prayer. Jesus by this example was reinforcing the truth that spending time with
God, in His word and prayers, helps a child of God to overcome human weaknesses
and weariness of life (Isaiah 40:28-31). Moreover, Jesus was also mindful of
His mission and Satan’s attempts to stop Him in his tracks. He therefore gave
Himself to watching and praying to draw divine strength to accomplish His
mission in its entirety.
The disciples of Jesus on the other
hand, were lackadaisical towards the demands of their mission and failed to
watch and pray. They might have thought merely being with Jesus was an immunity
to temptations. As earlier stated, they later paid a painful price for failing
to watch and pray. They tarnished their integrity, denied their Master and
forsook Him at the time He needed their allegiance. Like the disciples, we deny Jesus in our
relationships, place of work and schools by acting carnally and compromising on
our integrity and Christian values. We are usually politically correct because
we are afraid to offend our fellow human beings than offending God. Our
inability to affirm our Christian faith and virtues in pressing situations is
due to our failure to watch and pray daily. Just being a Christian and going to
church do not guarantee a victorious life; watching and praying daily does the
job! Watching and praying boost our confidence in God and strengthen us to do
all that God has called us to do (Philippians 4:13). Peter lost his confidence
and failed three times to confirm that he was a disciple of Jesus because he
failed to watch and pray.
Was Peter not the one who said, “...Lord,
I am ready to go prison with you and die with you!” (Luke 22:33 (GNB))? I
believe Peter was sincere and meant well when he pledged to follow Jesus even
unto death! However, neither his sincerity nor good intentions could deliver
him from the temptation that bedevilled and embarrassed him. He needed a godly
spiritual force to back his words. We receive divine backing and spiritual
strength any time we seek God’s face through watching and praying. Watching and
Praying are inevitable if we desire to live a victorious Christian life, on
daily basis, and fulfill our God-given assignments. Through daily watching and
praying, we partner with God to fulfill our missions (John 15:1-8). Praying and
watching also help us to overcome temptations which are meant to either
distract us from fulfilling our missions or destroy us. Prayer also helps us to
dominate our anxieties and experience the peace of God that transcends understanding
(Philippians 4:6-7). As was rightly noted by Joseph Scriven in his poem ‘Pray
Without Ceasing,’ we forfeit the peace of God and bear needless pain if we do
not carry our burdens and griefs to Him in prayer. Joseph’s poem has become one
of the best loved hymns: ‘What a friend we have in Jesus...What a privilege to
carry [E]verything to God in prayer...’ We can draw two inspirations or lessons
from the foregoing lines. Firstly, prayer deepens our friendship with God.
Secondly, prayer is our God-given privilege which guarantee our peace and dominance
over issues of life.
Jesus did not mean to give excuse for
spiritual slackness when he said, “The spirit is willing (to watch and pray),
but the body is weak” (Matthew 26:41 (GNB)). He was rather drawing our
attention to the fact that although our body is weak, our regenerated
(born-again) spirit is willing to watch and pray. Our regenerated spirit is
always willing to pray despite our weakness. The Holy Spirit, however, helps us
in our weakness (Romans 8:11, 26-27). He quickens our mortal bodies and helps
us to pray. We thus need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit by yielding our
bodies to Him (Galatians 5:16-18, 24-25). We yield our bodies to the Holy
Spirit by being sensitive to His promptings to pray, even when our bodies
desire sleep or rest. We also need to submit to God’s word in relation to abiding
in His word and prayers. Our Christian call is a call to watch and pray always
(John 15:1-8; 1Thessalonians 5:17). Watch and pray!
Richard
Obeng Mensah, author of Daily Wisdom
Blog:
www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com
Email:
richardobengmensah@gmail.com
