READ: 1 Samuel 29 -31; Psalm 131; Luke 22:35-71
SCRIPTURE: Luke 22: 39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed… 45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
OBSERVATION: After his triumphal entry to Jerusalem, each evening (Sunday - Thursday) Jesus went to Mount Olive and spent the nights in prayer. After the Last Supper, “as usual” Jesus went to pray. This time, his disciples also went after him. Once Jesus reached his regular place of prayer (Gethsemane), he told his disciples “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” You may remember that when his disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray”, in his model prayer Jesus instructed them to pray that “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt.6:13, Lk.11:4). During the Last Supper time, Jesus clearly warned them of the temptations they would face at the time of his sufferings. He wanted them to be prepared to face such trials. So he asked them to pray to stand against the temptation.
Matthew 22:36-46 and Mark 14:32-42 also narrate about Jesus’ last prayer at the Mount Olives. It seems Jesus prayed for about three hours. Jesus asked his three close companions and disciples to pray with him. But “they were sleeping” and “their eyes were heavy.” When Jesus reminded and rebuked them to pray, “they did not know what to say to him.” Luke gives the reason for their sleepiness - they were “exhausted from sorrow.”
Let us see some of Jesus’ words that he used to remind his disciples to pray: “Get up and pray”, “Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?”, “watch and pray”, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”, “Are you still sleeping and resting?.” Jesus received the strength to endure the agony of his crucifixion, when he prayed. We may go through or face different temptations and sufferings in our life. We should not allow our worries to become our sorrows. When we pray instead of thinking about the approaching doom, we will get God’s help and strength to deal with our situation.
APPLICATION: I would rather pray than worrying about my life situation or fears about my future. When I pray, I receive God’s power to face or to win the temptations of my life.
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