Luke 22:44-44 (NLT)
44He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
At one of the most challenging times of his life, our Lord and Savior wanted those closest to him to pray with him. There’s no doubt that part of his laboring in prayer to our Heavenly Father was for the disciples. He wanted the Word that he taught to them to be anchored in their hearts and minds, and to be so to such a degree that they would not fall for the tricks of the enemy and yield to temptation. He knew what he had been sent to do, and it’s not too much of a stretch to think that in his humanity, he wanted to see the disciples persevering with vigilance and prayer during that difficult time. It was not to be. His disciples fell asleep when he had asked them to stay awake and be watchful. They were asleep at the wheel, so to speak, and as children of God, this is the kind of behavior we should never want to mimic.
There’s no question that life comes with opportunities for both joy and pain. However, we are often surprised by just how challenging situations and circumstances on the painful side of life can be. It can be tough to face pain, disappointment, and a broken heart with the joy and faith of Christ. Sometimes, we feel like laying in the bed and crying for days, but our powerful Lord offers us another more meaningful way to handle the hiccups and dilemmas of our lives. His instruction and encouragement to us is to ‘get up and pray’.
Each of us may process emotional distress differently, but at some point, we have to ask ourselves if we are going to believe and trust God to do what He’s promised in His Word. We have nothing like the circumstances our precious Lord and Savior faced, but his example is the one we’re commanded to follow. He was not weak by any means. There has never been or will ever be any human as strong as he was when he carried out his ministry within the earth. Our Heavenly Father was the Source of his strength. So, if there was anyone who would have been exempt from prayer, it would have been Jesus Christ, but he prayed all the time because it is required to remain spiritually strong.
We must pray continually because this is what our Savior has taught us. Mark 1:35(NLT) says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Prayer was his habit pattern and praying early in the mornings meant that before he saw the face of anyone else, he sought the face of God. Again, a habit of earnest prayer is a standard that allows us to remain spiritually strong, so that the difficult seasons of life will not cause us to turn our backs on our faith in God.
1Peter 4:12-14(NLT) says, “12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you.” It’s a myth to assume that just because we are followers of the Lord Jesus, and filled with God’s Holy Spirit, that we will not face fiery ordeals. Sometimes, our weaknesses are attacked by the enemy. Other times, we might have to keep quiet when we really want to give people a piece of our minds. We have to make sacrifices and not do some of the things we enjoyed in the past. These sufferings are far from what our Master Jesus endured, but because we are lights living in a dark world, we do share in his sufferings on some level.
He tells us to keep on rejoicing because even though things are not comfortable, God has blessed us, and the Holy Spirit will comfort and help us to be victorious in Christ. We must not forget that we have the strength of God because our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple; he lives inside us. Our Heavenly Father knows that we’re going to go through some tough times, but through Christ, we have the strength to stay encouraged and never give up. So, whatever you’re facing, get up and pray. Pray often. Even though you might have tears and sadness, God is able to heal, deliver, rescue, and restore you, no matter the circumstance. He will show you His power and love if you have faith in Him and make turning to Him in prayer the most important practice of your life.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Get up and Pray”, written for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!
