Sleep On

Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:36–46
“Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners,” Matthew 26:45.

Sleep On

Father God, we thank you for you are the glory and lifter of our heads. King of kings we thank you for your redemption plan. We thank you for the power that is in the name and the blood of Jesus, that sets us free from sin and sorrow.

The Bible says, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further, 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,” Matthew 26:36–39. But when he returned, he found them asleep and said to Peter, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak,” verses 40–41. “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done,” verse 42. Again, He found them asleep, so He went away a third time and prayed the same words.

When he found them asleep again he said, “Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me,” verse 45.

This is the cry of someone in a difficult situation. Our Lord Jesus did not hide anything about Himself. He made it clear that He was sorrowful and His heart was very heavy. He asked the apostles to sit nearby and then He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee aside and opened his heart to them, telling them His soul was sorrowful even unto death. He asked them to wait and watch with Him, in other words, to pray with Him. But when He came back to this inner circle, they were sleeping. He woke them and asked, “could ye not watch with me one hour?” He had hoped that they could help intercede and deliver Him from this challenge. His next prayer was one of surrender to God because He knew only God could help. In your sorrow and heaviness have you looked around instead of up? Jesus discovered that that even His closest aides could not go through the trauma with Him. Their spirit was willing, but their flesh was weak, because the flesh will fail. The third time He found them asleep He told them to sleep on. It must have been painful for Him to select just three out of a larger group expecting that they would be His prayer warriors, only to discover they could not watch with Him for one hour.

You and I are the select three. God has called us out of the multitude into His inner chamber and opened up to us in His Word, sharing His love for the world and His heaviness of heart because the world is perishing. He has called us to rescue the perishing but we have not followed through. Often the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. May God strengthen us to watch with Him one hour.

When you have sorrow and a heavy heart do not look around, look above. David said, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help,” Psalm 121:1. I pray that the Lord will not tell us to sleep on, that the Lord will give us the grace to wake up to His call. Sometimes we do not know what to do for God. Wherever you see a need that you can fill, that is what you are meant to do. If God puts you in a place of need, you are there to meet that need. Watch with Him for one hour.

We are chosen to get into the inner circle with God to deal with the matters that are on His mind now, the things that are making His heart heavy. Are you dealing with those things now or will you be told to sleep on. God’s desire will be done. But will it be done through you? I pray that God will give us the strength to be sensitive to His need and the wisdom to understand that only He can meet our needs.

Prayer Points:

Father, I thank you because you did not hide the vulnerabilities you placed yourself in when you chose three to watch with you. Lord, we thank you that neither did you hide their weakness.
Although they were called the apostles, they slept even as you surrendered yourself to the will of God. Lord, we pray that you will give us the wisdom not to look around when we are challenged but to look above. Give us the wisdom to understand that even today there are many things that are making your heart heavy. Give us the grace to be your ambassadors, intercessors, and interveners. May you look at our lives and smile. May you not say to us to sleep on. Father, have mercy on us. Make us useful to you; turn our faces to you in every time of need in Jesus’ name.