The Questions Jesus Asked Part 16

This week in our Questions Jesus Asked series we are looking at a question Jesus asks in Matthew 26, “could you not keep watch with me for one hour?” and we will be talking about prayer. You may have heard me say this before, but I believe we are most like Jesus when we are praying.

Matthew 26:36-41 (NIV)
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

“Watch and pray.” Unfortunately, we are often easily distracted by any number of deceptions from the evil one and from our old nature. In order to keep watch (be on guard), we need to pray for endurance and freedom from distractions. We can really only remain faithful when we are grounded in and devoted to prayer.

We will be digging into the context of Matthew 26:36-42 this weekend at Keys Vineyard Church so be sure to come in-person or listen online. For right now, I want us to focus on prayer.

Prayer should be of the highest priority in our lives and yet it often becomes one of the lowest. Our busy lives and the constant noise and distractions of our lives often keep us from prayer. Prayer becomes something that we do quickly over a meal, or maybe remember just before we sleep and so we toss up a quick “Now I lay me down to sleep”. It seems as though there is just not enough time in our lives to allow for prayer.

I am constantly challenging you about reading the Bible every day. I have often asked you to consider if it was possible that the reason you didn’t read the Bible every day was that you were being deceived by the enemy who wants to steal life from you. In the same way that the evil one wants to keep you from the Word, he also wants to distract you from prayer. If he can keep you from reading the Word, you will be consumed by the fear of the culture, if he can keep you from prayer, you will be consumed by worry. Worry and fear have caused us to lose focus and perspective. They have caused us to stop trusting God. They have weakened our faith. They have caused us to lean on our own understanding and abilities to try and make everything somehow work.

Worry and fear are the opposite of prayer and faith. We need to be asking ourselves, will we allow ourselves to be consumed by our culture and become a people of worry and fear, or, will we remember what it means to be a child of God, a citizen of the Kingdom, and choose to be people of prayer and faith that live a naturally supernatural life.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Prayer needs to fill up the time that worry has managed to take hold of in our daily lives. We must learn to catch ourselves every time we give in to fear and worry and turn it over to God in prayer.

Colossians 4:2 (NIV)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Engage with God about what is happening in your life. Talk to Him about your hurts and hang-ups, your fears and concerns. Share with Him your hope and joys. Talk to Him as you would with anyone you are in relationship with. He is listening. He loves it when you talk to Him. He has the power to change things and even better, He has the power to change you.

“I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me.”

C.S. Lewis

Steve Lawes is a church encourager and the lead pastor of Keys Vineyard Church.