Could You Not Watch With Me One Hour? Does this not stab you in right the heart? Here is Jesus facing the most difficult time in his life. Yes, he’s known all along this was to be his destiny; however, it’s now at hand. In his humanness, he is not looking forward to the pain and humiliation.  Most of all, he is dreading being abandoned by his Father. He has invested the last three years into developing the men who will carry forward the Gospel message when he goes back to his Father. He has taught them, he has shown them love. He has developed relationships with them stronger than any of their family ties. Or so he thought. Now he has taken them with him to pray over the events to come in the next few hours. He is agonizing so much that drops of blood are seeping out of his pores. And Peter, James, and John have fallen asleep. (Matthew 26:36-46)

How could they have let their friend and Savior down at his time of great need?

What I see as their greatest failure is the failure of the disciples to participate with Jesus in his time of preparation, and the failure of the disciples to pray for their own strength and courage to provide support during Jesus’ ordeal. Instead they slept; they kept a low profile in fear of what might happen to themselves; and most hurtful, Peter even denied knowing Christ.

What if we could say at the end of our lives that we had been constant prayer warriors for our loved ones, for our country, for our church, for our leaders and pastors, for our neighborhoods, for those in need? What if we could say at the end of our lives that we had earnestly walked and talked with Jesus, walked and talked with our brothers and sisters in Christ, during our time here on earth?  What if we could say that we had been mighty participants in the battle rather than merely spectators (or asleep)?

Jesus must be saddened by our weakness, but he is certainly not surprised. And if he is saddened, I think it is for the fact that he knows we will be ultimately disappointed in ourselves when we look back at our failures, our omissions. This is where the phrase occurs, graciously spoken by Jesus, and that we have all sheepishly used as an excuse at one time or another: “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” It is a true statement, but it need not define us. Let’s wake up; let’s pray for the desire, strength, and endurance to watch, walk, and work with Jesus in the hours and days to come.

In Christ,

Judy