The night Jesus was betrayed, He first went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. He took along three of his disciples with him. The Bible tells us that Jesus was greatly distressed and sorrowful.
He was in anguish, and He instructed His disciples to stay and keep watch with Him. Jesus went farther along to pray to the Father.
When Jesus returned, He warned the disciples and said, “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.” Even with His soul crushed with grief to the point of death, Jesus was looking out for them. He gave them a key to overcoming temptation—prayer!
We don’t know exactly why Jesus asked them to accompany Him on that night.
What we do know about the disciples in the garden that night is that they fell asleep. They didn’t rise and pace with agitation or discomfort. They didn’t offer assistance, empathy or even keep company with Jesus, and they certainly didn’t pray.
They fell asleep.
Even when Jesus returned several times to find them asleep, they repeatedly gave in to laziness and did nothing to ward off—or even give a signal of—the coming danger. Just staying awake, alert and prayerful was not possible for them.
What You Can Learn From Jesus’ Disciples
Every Christian today needs to ask himself if he is asleep in any area of his faith. Every Christ-follower must make a conscious decision to be alert, to identify evil, to be prayerful and to defend godliness.
The disciples walked closely with Jesus, yet they were oblivious to the darkness coming. They were in His presence day after day, and somehow they did not know what He required of them when the darkest time was at hand. How easily could we succumb to the same mistakes and be lulled to sleep by not keeping close company with Jesus?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 6, it reads, “For you know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. … Therefore let us not sleep as others do. But let us be alert and sober.” {eoa}
For more information about Bill Wiese and Soul Choice Ministries, please visit us at soulchoiceministries.org. You can find more of Bill’s teachings on YouTube.
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