Get Up and Pray for Strength!
Passage to be read: Luke 22: 39 - 46
When he (Jesus) finished praying,
he went to his followers and found them asleep because of their sadness.
Jesus said to them, "Why are you sleeping?
Get up and pray for strength against temptation."
(Luke 22: 45,46)
Jesus went through an important moment with his disciples; and emotional one too. The last few hours that he got to spend with his followers were not pleasant as it would be generally. It was pain-filled. It was heart breaking. It was fearful too. In the passage we have read, we find Jesus going to the Mount of Olives, as he often did, and his followers went with him.
It was not another walk to the mountain to pray as they always did - this one was an important one. First of all, the inner suffering of Jesus just began to increase in him as he knew that these were the last few moments he would get to be with his beloved disciples. Second, he was physically and emotionally undergoing severe stress and anxiety about the forthcoming suffering he may have to endure. These were some of the last moments of thoughts where the human temptation brought him to the platform of trial. There were metabolisms that refused to take up the sufferings in the cross that was sure to be witnessed. There were inner fears in this Son of Man that broke his spirit, and his anxiety just kept climbing to the peak until later his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. It was not just another day!
Jesus knew very well the only way of overcoming temptation was to kneel down and pray, asking God to grant the strength to stand against temptation. He felt disturbed and saddened to see his own disciples not understanding this foundation of a holy life. When Jesus found them not to be attentive towards the conversations with God, he realized that their bodies' temptations and the sadness in their minds were overcoming their spirit's willingness. He knew they lacked the strength to stand against the temptations of their own selves. Thus, Jesus asks them to get up and pray for strength against temptation.
Today, my dear friend in Christ, if your struggle is to overcome temptation, the first thing you need to do is to get up from your idling sleep! Get up and pray. Ask God's help to stand against the temptations around you. These temptations are not accidental or coincidence. These are traps to make you move away from your closer walk with God. I can tell you from my own moments of experiences that the love and grace of God is so wonderful that when you ask God for the strength He helps you to overcome even the tiniest temptations in unbelievable ways. But the only thing you need to know and be assured is that, there is help in God's hands. When you feel that there is a gap between what your spirit is willing to do and what your body is leading you to do, run to God. Fall at His feet. Ask Him for help. Do not let the evil even for a slightest moment to invest on anything within you.
God wants to have a closer relationship with you. Jesus, who is THE way, THE truth and THE life wants you to have an intimate relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit is always with you to guide you. And this God of Trinity is calling you to come out of your ways of sins and to look unto Him, so that you would be closer to Him. Whenever your thoughts are on the verge of leading you into the pit of sin (which most of the time comes with an attractive covering) and when you know that you may fall, just run away. Don't be idling. Get up and pray. Isn't it wonderful to live this one and only life in a way that pleases God and to be so close to Him that His love and grace is filled in you. You will be a blessing to the people around you. What a blessed life it would be for you.
I pray that God will give everyone of us the strength to stand against temptation. Let us get up and ask God's help in prayer to stand against temptations. We know we cannot stand alone. We need God's strength.
May God bless you.
Jesus knew very well the only way of overcoming temptation was to kneel down and pray, asking God to grant the strength to stand against temptation. He felt disturbed and saddened to see his own disciples not understanding this foundation of a holy life. When Jesus found them not to be attentive towards the conversations with God, he realized that their bodies' temptations and the sadness in their minds were overcoming their spirit's willingness. He knew they lacked the strength to stand against the temptations of their own selves. Thus, Jesus asks them to get up and pray for strength against temptation.
Today, my dear friend in Christ, if your struggle is to overcome temptation, the first thing you need to do is to get up from your idling sleep! Get up and pray. Ask God's help to stand against the temptations around you. These temptations are not accidental or coincidence. These are traps to make you move away from your closer walk with God. I can tell you from my own moments of experiences that the love and grace of God is so wonderful that when you ask God for the strength He helps you to overcome even the tiniest temptations in unbelievable ways. But the only thing you need to know and be assured is that, there is help in God's hands. When you feel that there is a gap between what your spirit is willing to do and what your body is leading you to do, run to God. Fall at His feet. Ask Him for help. Do not let the evil even for a slightest moment to invest on anything within you.
God wants to have a closer relationship with you. Jesus, who is THE way, THE truth and THE life wants you to have an intimate relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit is always with you to guide you. And this God of Trinity is calling you to come out of your ways of sins and to look unto Him, so that you would be closer to Him. Whenever your thoughts are on the verge of leading you into the pit of sin (which most of the time comes with an attractive covering) and when you know that you may fall, just run away. Don't be idling. Get up and pray. Isn't it wonderful to live this one and only life in a way that pleases God and to be so close to Him that His love and grace is filled in you. You will be a blessing to the people around you. What a blessed life it would be for you.
I pray that God will give everyone of us the strength to stand against temptation. Let us get up and ask God's help in prayer to stand against temptations. We know we cannot stand alone. We need God's strength.
May God bless you.
