What, could you not watch with me one hour…watch and pray that ye do not enter into temptation (Matthew 26:40-41).
When surveys are done among American Christians, it is generally discovered that they spend less than ten minutes a day in devotional exercises. It seems to be a sad fact that the Lord of the Heaven has a difficult time getting much of an audience with those on earth who openly profess to love and serve Him.
Jesus seemed to be astonished to discover that His inner-circle disciples, Peter, James and John, were sleeping when He was facing such a critical hour in the Garden of Gethsemane. Perhaps He was looking for some prayer support and encouragement. What He found were men who had willing spirits but were weak in the flesh, unable to watch and pray for one hour.
Could it be that Christ is dismayed to find many contemporary Christians in a state of spiritual stupor, when if they were spending time with Him, they would be both alive and alert? They would have a much greater sense of God’s abiding presence within them, while they would be a much greater source of blessing and encouragement to those around them.
While we find it so easy to engage in a host of activities, e.g.. eating, talking, reading, playing, that fill the space of one hour, why do we find it so difficult to spend an hour with the Lord? Is it that we have more important things to do? Is it that we lack love and passion for our Lord? Is it that we think time with the Lord is a misuse of time or that prayer doesn’t make a difference? Is it that we lack discipline to persevere? Is it that we have deceived ourselves into thinking that we can accomplish much even though we pray little?
We desperately need the connection to God that a consistent prolonged daily devotional time will give. When Henry Nouwen felt dissatisfaction with his low level of spiritual development, he asked Mother Teresa for her advice. She counseled him to “spend an hour a day in contemplative prayer and commit no conscious sins.”
That advice, if acted upon, has the power to elevate any Christian above the lowlands of spiritual defeat and to bring the enablement needed for “soaring above with the eagles”.
Thanks for the reminder of our desperate need.