32 ¶ And they came to a place which was named
Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. 33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and
John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; 34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
Many
times you also will be alone in your service to Christ.
35
And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that,
if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
He
prays by Himself and there is no answer from heaven. When was there a time when
you prayed and felt that heaven was “so far away” as in the pop song? He asked,
if it were possible, that He might not have to endure this in His humanity.
It’s
not just death for He is about to take on the sins of the whole world. However,
death for His human body was a factor.
Hebrews 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered;
36
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away
this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
The
essence of successful and correct prayer is to submit to God’s perfect will, no
matter how painful it is to us.
37
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon,
sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Be
spiritually alert to keep from falling into temptation. We need to pray before
we sin in order to keep from falling into sin.
Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then
should I think upon a maid?
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him. 13 ¶ Let
no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted
with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed. 15 Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death. 16 Do not err, my beloved
brethren.
1Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.
I
have failed miserably in all of this. That doesn’t make it not true.
39
And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. 40 And when he returned, he found them asleep
again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. 41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto
them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold,
the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me
is at hand.
Christians
are often spiritually asleep when evil comes their way. They are easily lulled into
slumber about the dangers of popular
media if music or a movie has something good to say about Christ or God. They
are easily lulled into a deep sleep if the government talks about things like
patriotism and duty. They are easily lulled into a comatose condition about the
dangers of heresies like Mormonism if a demagogue on the radio complains loudly
about some political figure they dislike all the while slowly drawing them into
his heresy. Line upon line, precept upon precept, Satan teaches sleepy Christians
how to turn from Christ. Eventually they will let him close enough to devour
them.
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