Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 26:36-46.
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Matthew
26:41a).
In Matthew 26:36-46, the Evangelist records Christ’s wrestling in
prayer in the garden of Gethsemane before he is arrested and taken to the cross.
Spurgeon wrote of this passage, “Here we come to the Holy of Holies of our
Lord’s life on earth.” He added, “No man can rightly expound such a passage as
this; it is a subject for prayerful, heart-broken meditation, more than for
human language” (Commentary on Matthew, 405).
At Gethsemane the Lord Jesus was speaking with the Father,
expressing his complete resolution to the Father’s will, declaring, “thy will
be done” (v. 42).
He also speaks to his disciples on that terrible night. After
commanding Peter, James, and John to watch with him (v. 38), he returns three
times to find them sleeping. Sleeping
here is, no doubt, not just a sign of physical tiredness but also of spiritual
sluggishness.
On
Christ’s first return to find the disciples sleeping, he exhorted them, “Watch
and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (v. 41).
The first
command to “watch” is the same verb as in the Olivet Discourse, when he told
his disciples, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doeth come”
(24:42). This is a call to be spiritually alert, to be vigilant, to be active
in the faith, as we live in “this present evil world,” between Christ first
advent and his second coming.
The
second command is to pray. Christ assumes that his disciples will be committed
to prayer. In the Sermon on the Mount, he said, “And when thou prayest, thou
shalt not be like the hypocrites…” (6:5).
The
sense we get is that the two things are related. The spiritual discipline of
prayer feeds and nourishes spiritual watchfulness over our souls. Give up
prayer and you fall into spiritual slumber.
Every
homeowner knows that having a house in decent working order means you have to
do the basic maintenance that is required. This includes everything from basic
cleaning and changing lightbulbs and filters to replacing shingles or siding,
and all manner of other things.
To
maintain our spiritual house, we must engage in basic maintenance. We need
worship. We need intake of the Word. We need the ordinances. We need prayer,
both private and corporate.
So,
let us watch and pray, attending to the spiritual disciplines, including
prayer, to keep us alert and active in the faith till Christ returns with power
and great glory.
Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
Amen!
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