In the text above, Jesus finds the disciples sleeping and
says to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get
up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation”. I have come across
this verse many times before and more or less glossed over it with “surface
level” thought or the simplistic idea of “we should pray”. But this time it
stopped me in my tracks, leading me to dig deeper, beyond the usual surface
level understanding. When Jesus tells the disciples to pray so they will not
fall, it seems to bring prayer “alive”. It expands prayer beyond something that
we simply do to “follow customs” or feel good about ourselves. It reveals that
prayer is a real, alive, active tool in our lives to actually communicate with
the Father. And it has real, tangible results in our lives. My mind operates on
“doing” things…If I have a problem, then I must DO something to resolve it…and
usually revolves around my own wits and abilities. So if I wanted to avoid falling
into temptation, I need to start “doing”…I would avoid sinful content, stay
away from tempting environments, keep my hands busy with righteous tasks…all
things that I can “DO”. But Christ simply instructs them to pray…stop
what they are doing (or not doing) and simply pray. Prayer comes first. Bring
God into the equation first…channel the strength of the Lord first…welcome his
mighty hand first, as the resistance to the temptation that lurks in the
shadows. It’s a great reminder to us that we need to go to God first and keep
Him deeply involved in our lives…especially when we are amidst times of
temptation. We are infinitely better-off
with Him than without Him. Without Him, we will fall…with Him, we will rise
above. To God be the glory!
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