After eating the Passover Meal, Jesus and His disciples went together to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went to pray, and to lead the disciples to pray. He knew what was before Him and them; He knew the arrest, the trial, and the crucifixion would soon be a reality; He knew the disciples would face great scrutiny and intense temptation. He wanted them to be ready. Readiness would only come in submission to the Father, in the preparation of their hearts, and through the work of God’s Spirit. In the intensity of the moment, He went to a lone place in the Garden to call out to His Father in preparing His own heart to face the horror of the cross. Returning to His disciples, He found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, “So could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26. 40-41). Peter did not see the need; he did not realize the seriousness of the time; he did not understand the temptation soon to be upon him… and obedience and prayer were neglected.
May our ears be open to hear the call of the Savior for us to come vigilantly to the Throne Room of God’s Grace; may we recognize our tremendous need to be in submission to our Lord; may we be fully dependent upon the Spirit of God to prepare us for the looming trials in our paths. We do not know what will come; we have our expectations, but the reality may be very different. Though our resolve may be strong, our flesh is weak. We must be fully on guard for the unexpected and for the onslaught of the enemy, fully prepared to face the rigorous temptations to sin that will come, and fully ready to stand firm in the truth of God’s Word. Jesus was ready; He went to the cross to die in our place, freeing us from all sin’s bondage and the enemy’s deceitful schemes. May we stand firm, in absolute loyalty to our Lord, knowing He has redeemed us and secured our victory.
Prepared through prayer – we have much to be thankful for –
Terry Burlingame
My Morning Desk 