To succeed where the disciples failed…
I am struck by the absolute servitude our Lord demonstrated in His 33 years as He walked as a man.
One only has to recount His washing the disciples feet the night He was about to be betrayed!
The Apostle Paul wrote so beautifully about this in the Book of Philippians – 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
So often we as Christians do really want to please the Lord and we ask in prayer how many times over. We sincerely desire to please Him in our love and devotion for what He has done for us.
In the whole time Jesus spent with His disciples He only ever asked for their help once! He was in great pain praying in the Garden of Gethsemane as He was beginning to bear the weight of the world’s sin upon Him.
He asked the disciples to do one thing for Him at that His most difficult hour. He asked them if they could please watch and pray with Him. One can only imagine the countless hours He had prayed alone for each one of them!
But we know the story, in His only time of need, in His only time of asking for help – the disciples slept instead!
As you and I live our lives for Him today may we not follow the disciple’s example in this task? For I believe now that God desires us to watch and pray and seek His face even more now in the time we now live. In fact the Bible tells us so clearly to do this over and over.
May we change the previous response that was given to Jesus there in the Garden by the disciples and may you and I today heed Jesus request to each one of us – let us each watch and pray…..!
Mat 26:40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?
Mat 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Let us serve Him today in this way!