When He rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” He asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” –Luke 22:45-46
I have probably read these verses a hundred times, but as I read it again today, the Lord shed new light on it. During the Last Supper, Jesus reminded His disciples that He was going to suffer and be crucified, and I am sure they were all heartbroken from this. After the supper, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray as He always did, but His disciples followed Him this time. While there, He said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” Then we are told that Jesus withdrew from them and went to do the same.
Why was it so important that they prayed that they would not fall into temptation? I believe that when we are faced with difficult situations or seemingly overwhelming trials, we can very easily become weak and exhausted from worry, fear, and sorrow. It is during these moments of weakness that the enemy creeps in and attempts to tempt us. If you think back to the story of Job, Satan wanted him to curse God and to accomplish this, he inflicted all sorts of things on him to bring him to an exhausted state of sorrow in hopes that he would turn away from God, but Job didn’t. Instead, he cried out for God even more.
The verses above tell us that Jesus found His disciples asleep, exhausted from sorrow. How many of us react to our problems this way? How many of us worry ourselves to sleep when we should be praying? How many of us get so exhausted from sorrow that we do not even have the energy to pray? The Lord is asking you today, “Why are you sleeping?” “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” When Jesus Christ was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, He went to the garden to pray; He prayed so earnestly that His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Let us learn from His example dear friends.
Sorrow should lead us to prayer. Fear should bring us to our knees in prayer. Anxiety should make us cry out to God in prayer. I can go on for days, but it is important that we learn to get up and pray so that we do not fall into temptation. If you looked through the book of Psalms, you would find a prayer for just about everything. Overwhelming situations drew the psalmists to the Lord, not away from Him. The enemy loves to take advantage of us when we are weak, lonely, worried, or tired, so it is imperative that we learn to get up and pray at these times. And just like He did with Jesus in Luke 22:43 and Daniel in Daniel 10:16-18, when we cry out to the Lord in prayer, He sends His angels to us to strengthen us.
What are you dealing with today dear friend? I challenge you to get up and pray!
Grace and peace be with you.
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GET UP AND PRAY