Towards the end of Jesus earthly ministry, Jesus took three of His disciples to pray with Him.
Matthew 26: 36 – 41
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
In the book of Mark the account of verse 40 says:
Mark 14: 37
37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
From this account, Jesus took three of His disciples along to pray with Him and one of them was Peter. Since there were three disciples, why was the question ‘ why are you sleeping can you not pray’ addressed to Peter only? And if you note it, the Lord called Peter by name. I think it is safe to say that, at that time Peter did need to pray because of the attack and temptation that was coming his way, but he slept.
The Lord is very specific and He deals with us as individuals. He knows what we might each face individually, and He knows the plans that He has for each individually. This is why we cannot afford to run and do like others. Yes they may be Christians, but we cannot afford to disobey what the Lord has specifically told us to do. Remember that He may not have instructed the others to do the same.
In this account, all three disciples i.e. Peter, James and John (Mark 14: 33) were supposed to be praying, but the Lord addressed the question to Peter because as earlier stated it is safe to say that he was the one who was going to face the more severe attack and temptation. He: i.e. Peter and not James and John denied the Lord. He should have prayed.
So what is the Lord saying to you? But others are not doing it, does it matter? Only Peter fell and not James and John because the attack was towards Peter. Whatever the Lord tells you to do, take it as a specific instruction for yourself and do it. What others are doing around you does not matter. The instruction is for you, and the Lord knows why. Just obey! Thank God for church services and home church meetings, however we must spend time with the Lord ourselves and know what He wants us as individuals to do. We must each know and hear His voice.
So my question is, what is the Lord saying to you!. Whatever it is, just do it!
Bisi Oladipupo
No comments:
Post a Comment