Choose to Pray
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Much of Peter’s education as a disciple was derived by being near the Lord Jesus Christ and leaning from His words and actions. This is a prime example for believers today; If we want to learn and grow, we too need to spend time in the presence of the Lord. “That I may know Him.” we Paul’s greatest aspiration
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
In this lesson, we will study Peter, James, and John and their evening with Jesus in the garden. We will see the vital importance of prayer, and we will also see that prayer is a matter of obedience to the Lord and of overcoming the flesh. Therefore, we must actively choose to pray.
Jesus Sorrowed
Jesus Sorrowed
Matt26:36, Mark 14:34
It is important for the believer to realize that Christ was fully man as well as fully God, and as such, He was tempted like we are and sorrowed as we do. As we begin to look at this passage, we note that both Matthew and Mark mention that the Lord Jesus Christ was “exceedingly sorrowful”.
And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The Lord’s response to sorrow was to take His burden to His Heavenly Father. Even in His darkest hour, He served as an example to us, turning to the Heavenly Father with His burden. The song writer Charles Tindley gave the reminder to, “Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.”
A wall plaque that is often seen in gift shops asks the question, “Why pray when you can worry?” While this is intended to be amusing, it is sadly often a life-pattern for many Christians.
The Request to Watch
The Request to Watch
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
“Tarry ye here, and watch,” Jesus told Peter, James, and John. He needed to go off by Himself, and His simple request to them was to stay awake, and be alert. The Greek word here translated “watch” is the same as that is translated “vigilant” in 1 Peter 5:8.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
As God, Jesus knew Judas would arrive soon, leading the soldiers who would arrest him. He knew that all would follow as He headed toward His crucifixion, AS a man, He took time to prepare spiritually and emotionally for what was to come. A time of fervent prayer would give Him the strength He needed to go all the way to the Cross.
As He entered this quiet moment in Gethsemane, Jesus asked His disciples to enter into His ministry of prayer. Jesus still has a ministry of prayer. And we can have a part in what God is doing in the hearts and lives of people today.
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
In 1 Peter 4:7 we are commanded to be watchmen in prayer,
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
We know first-century Christians lived in wicked and stressful times, and it is just as needful today that we “watch and pray.”
One of the major jobs of a watchman is to keep eye out for danger and give warning when needed.
The Request to Pray
The Request to Pray
And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
The Lord is about to teach Peter, James and John that it was not enough just to watch, but that it was also necessary to pray. When we work, we work. When we pray, God works. Prayer should accompany everything we do.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything, we need the Lord. Prayer should be our first resort, not our last. And the Lord speaks much of the power of prayer.
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
The Disciple Slept
The Disciple Slept
Matthew 26:43-44; Luke 22:45
As is often the case, the flesh overcame the spirit. our flesh is weak, and by its very nature out flesh is unspiritual. Our flesh does not like hour-long prayer meetings, much less all-night prayer meetings.
The Willingness of the Spirit
The Willingness of the Spirit
Matthew 26:39
There is no doubt that the disciples found this to be a reasonable request. They undoubtedly planned to do exactly what Jesus asked them to do. They went with Jesus to the place of prayer. From there, Jesus went on a little further. Luke points out that He did not go far, merely a stone’s throw away.
So far, everything was going well. They listened to the Lord, they followed the Lord, and they were close to the Lord.
What excellent examples for us to learn from. We too ought to listen to the Lord, follow the Lord, and stay close to the Lord.
How strong is your willingness- to walk with the Lord, to obey Him in all things, to live a life that is pleasing to Him? God highly esteems a willing spirit.
And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Are we willing to do whatever we can, with whatever we have, whenever it’s needed, wherever we are?
The Weakness of the Flesh
The Weakness of the Flesh
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
The Spirit was willing, and that was good. But now, we see the weakness of the flesh. Despite their good intentions to do what Jesus had requested, “Watch and pray,” Peter and the others gave in to their weariness and fell asleep.
As long as we are in the world, we will have constant conflict between the Spirit and the flesh.
Paul understood what we are dealing with because he had the same struggle. He stated in Romans 7:15 “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I,” and then in verse 19, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” In other words, “I want to do whats right, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what’s wrong, but I do.” He wanted to please the Lord, but often failed. His flesh overcame his spirit, just as the three sleepy disciples in the garden.
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
It is imperative for believers to understand that out flesh will always lead us away from God and away from God’s will, and will always let us down spiritually. Jeremiah want so far to say,
Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
The author of “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus,” understood this when he said, “The arm of the flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.”
In Theory, golf is a very easy game. You take a club and hit a stationary ball to a particular spot, with the eventual goal of putting the ball into a hole in the ground and do that withe the fewest hits possible. In practice, it is quite a bit more challenging. Somehow we have difficulty doing what we know we should do. Our bodies seem to always stop us in our tracks.
Life is much the same. We know right from wrong. We know what we should do, and we know what we should not do. We think we should be able to do right and avoid wrong. But like Paul, what we find ourselves doing is often the very thing we know we should not be doing.
Thank the Lord that one day we will be delivered.
One statistic every baseball team wants to minimize is “LOB.” This stands for runners left on base, potential runners never scored, and were left stranded because the batters were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to drive them in before the inning was over and time was up. LOB is often the difference between winning and losing.
Luke finishes his account with Jesus saying, “why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
What was true for the disciples is equally true for us today. With temptation rampant in the world today, one of our greatest needs is our need to “rise and pray.”