Praying for an Hour
Before Jesus went to the Cross to die for us, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with His disciples. He took Peter, James, and John into a separate group from the others, and He asked them to watch and pray with Him. They were too sleepy, so they could not pray. He returned to them from His time with the Father 3 times, and each time they were asleep. The second time, He told Peter something we need to hear.(Matthew 26:40,41) Before going to the garden, He told Peter that he would deny Him 3 times before the rooster crowed. Of course, Peter said that he would not deny Christ, but he ended up doing just that a little later. How could that not have happened? Jesus told Peter in these verses.
Jesus was dismayed that His inner circle of disciples could not pray for one hour at such a crucial time. He told Peter to watch and pray "lest you enter temptation." The clear implication here is that prayer if the key to resisting temptations like Peter was about to have. He did not pray. He was tempted, and he gave in to the temptation. He denied Jesus 3 times.
Why didn't Peter pray for one hour? "The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." The more we discipline the flesh to do what the Spirit wants us to do, the stronger we become spiritually. Peter failed, because he did not have the self-control and perseverance to overcome the weakness of his flesh. Therefore, he ended up being afraid of admitting he knew Jesus to a servant girl and some people standing around a fire.
How could Peter's life have been different, if he had disciplined himself to be able to pray for an hour? He would have saved himself from great anguish over denying His Lord and Savior. How could your life be different if you disciplined yourself to be able to pray for an hour, even an hour a day? I will tell you. Your life could be full of power to resist temptations and overcome the weaknesses of the flesh, so that your life could be one of victory, instead of defeat. Take Jesus at His Word and see what happens.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 27-28 and Mark 1.
Jesus was dismayed that His inner circle of disciples could not pray for one hour at such a crucial time. He told Peter to watch and pray "lest you enter temptation." The clear implication here is that prayer if the key to resisting temptations like Peter was about to have. He did not pray. He was tempted, and he gave in to the temptation. He denied Jesus 3 times.
Why didn't Peter pray for one hour? "The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." The more we discipline the flesh to do what the Spirit wants us to do, the stronger we become spiritually. Peter failed, because he did not have the self-control and perseverance to overcome the weakness of his flesh. Therefore, he ended up being afraid of admitting he knew Jesus to a servant girl and some people standing around a fire.
How could Peter's life have been different, if he had disciplined himself to be able to pray for an hour? He would have saved himself from great anguish over denying His Lord and Savior. How could your life be different if you disciplined yourself to be able to pray for an hour, even an hour a day? I will tell you. Your life could be full of power to resist temptations and overcome the weaknesses of the flesh, so that your life could be one of victory, instead of defeat. Take Jesus at His Word and see what happens.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 27-28 and Mark 1.