Mark 13-16
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“Watch and pray
so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Mark 14:38)
Jesus would often
go off by himself to pray, and He and the disciples went to the garden of
Gethsemane many times. This night
when He went to pray He knew the time was coming for Him to suffer and
die. Jesus asked Peter, James, and
John to come with him and to watch and pray.
Now this had been
a long day with the Passover celebration and everything, not to mention a heavy
day with a lot for the disciples to take in. Jesus had given them bread and wine saying it was his body
broken and blood shed for them. He
had told them that they would betray him.
They were probably overwhelmed with thoughts and questions. They were mentally and physically
exhausted. Three different times
Jesus asked them to stay awake and to pray, but they fell asleep. I don’t think they meant to, but they
were weak. Jesus said to them,
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is
weak.”
We know their
spirits were willing – they had told Jesus they would follow Him anywhere no
matter what, but we also know they fled when trouble came. Jesus gives us two things that are so
important to keeping us strong and able to stay standing: watch – stay alert
and aware of the situation; and pray – stay in constant communication with the
Father. If Jesus who was God in
the flesh needed time in prayer with the Father, how much more do we?
Our good
intentions are not enough for us to follow through. As the apostle Paul said, “For I have the desire to do what
is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to
do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18b-19) I am also reminded that when Jesus taught
on prayer He prayed, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil
one.”
This is not
something I hear many Christians pray and it is not something I often pray – to
not be tempted, but Jesus said we should.
He knows that when we are tempted we can’t carry out our good intentions
on our own – we need God’s strength.
Watch – be aware of what temptations you fall into; and pray – ask God
for strength.
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