The house has quieted after a busy day, and you’ve finally set aside time to pray. Suddenly, the phone rings, disrupting the quiet. You find yourself back in your car and out the door again. It seems every time you purpose to pray, a need arises. Duty calls.
Then He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." In this account, we see the humanity of Christ on full display. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to the Father in His hour of greatest need. He was deeply sorrowful—to the point of death, and rightfully so. He was preparing to bear the iniquity of us all.
Jesus asks His disciples to keep watch with Him. It seems like a relatively simple request, yet they could not. Upon returning, He discovers them fast asleep.
It’s stunning that Christ—the perfect Lamb of God without sin to confess—would sense His need for communion with the Father. If there were anyone who might be able to discharge His duty without prayer, surely it would have been Jesus. Yet He prayed.
Our own lives are often overtaken with other matters. Prayer is neglected because we’re prone to fill our days with lesser things—neglecting the one thing our Lord emphasized the most: our need to commune with the Father. The reasons for our neglect are often legitimate. Our days are rife with activity from sunrise to sundown.
But we need to give careful consideration to Jesus’ words. God hasn’t changed. He is still looking for those who will watch and pray. Christ instructed us to ask, seek, and knock. Not to watch us perform some exercise in futility but because He fully intends to answer.
Quiet yourself and carve out time to pray. When you do, you’ll experience oneness with the Father.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Nydia DiCarali resides in New York with her husband of twenty-two years and is the mother of two teenagers. A Christian for more than twenty-four years, Nydia teaches women’s Bible studies and has coordinated retreats and conferences to further encourage others to continue to walk by faith. She believes that when we allow ourselves to be governed by God’s Word we can live as more than conquerors.