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. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto 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.
Matthew 26:38-41
In Gethsemane Jesus, knowing what was about to happen, asked His inner circle—Peter, James and John—to pray with Him. Instead, they went to sleep. Though they didn’t understand the full scope of events, Jesus had warned them of His impending arrest and crucifixion. He had also specifically warned Peter that Satan was seeking to bring him down. Yet rather than staying on guard, alert to what was happening around him, Peter slept. It is little wonder that when the moment of testing came, Peter failed. Rather than living up to his boast, he denied even knowing who Jesus was, let alone being one of His followers.Â
Every day we face the attacks of the enemy, and any day when we are not diligent to pray and be on guard, we will fail the test. George Whitefield said, “If we would therefore behave like good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must be always on our guard, and never pretend to lay down our spiritual weapons of prayer and watching, till our warfare is ended by death; for if we do, our spiritual foe will quickly prevail against us. What if he has left us? It is only for a season; yet in a little while, and, like a roaring lion, with double fury, he will break out upon us again. Satan is such an evil enemy, that he seldom leaves us after the first attack. As he followed our blessed Lord with one temptation after another, so will he treat the Lord’s servants.”
