Faithfulness – Mark 14:37

And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?”

Jesus, grieved and distressed to the point of death, turned to his closest friends for comfort.  His agony was so deep that His sweat became like drops of blood falling upon the ground.[1]  If ever He, who served the masses as well as His disciples without concern for His own comfort, had a time of need, that agonizing hour in the garden was it.  Peter, James, and John had the opportunity to minister to Him, but they did not.  Weariness and sorrow overtook them, and they fell asleep.[2]

Jesus’ foretelling of the impending violence against Him aggrieved their hearts, but they could not stir themselves to stay awake.  They knew the agonies that lay ahead for their Lord, yet did not give Jesus the one hour of prayer He asked of them.[3]  Giving into fatigue, they slept as if they did not care about the torment of their friend or the spiritual battle raging around them.  Neither Jesus’ needs nor their own spiritual peril was sufficient to rally them to prayer. 

As He did with Peter, James, and John, Jesus calls us to stay alert and sober.[4]  When the battle grows intense and another’s or our own situation grows desperate, He calls us to come apart with Him to watch and pray.[5]  However, as with His disciples in the garden, we often will not sacrifice our comfort to get down on our knees and pray; we will not muster enough concern to devote even one hour to prayer.  Though Jesus tells us to stand as watchmen over the city,[6] we climb into our beds unalarmed while the enemy’s trumpets blow and he successfully carries out his war strategies all around us.  Although Jesus teaches us to devote ourselves to prayer, being ready to serve with thankful hearts,[7] our willing spirits give way to the weakness of our flesh.[8]  For not having gained power through faithful and diligent spiritual conditioning, we find ourselves too tired and weak to fight when the battle arises in earnest. 

Watch and pray, allowing the Holy Spirit to strengthen you and prepare you for the battle, and when Jesus invites you into the garden, go with Him.  Kneel and pray.  Though your eyes grow heavy, pray on, for He desires to use you as a warrior in His kingdom.  Rather than giving into your flesh, hide yourself in Him,[9] and through the power He will give you, perform a holy ministry of prayer. 

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[1] Luke 22:44

[2] Luke 22:45

[3] Mark 14:32-41

[4] 1 Thessalonians 5:6

[5] Amos 6:1, 6

[6] Ezekiel 33:7

[7] Colossians 4:2-3

[8] Matthew 26:41

[9] Colossians 3:3