"'Why are you sleeping?' he asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.'" ~ Luke 22:46
Looking at this segment of scripture usually leads me to focus on Jesus' prayer. Beth Crawford's study on Luke 22:39-62 placed my focus more on the mental and physical circumstances of the disciples in this scene.
Jesus warned them many times that things were going to get rough. But the disciples didn't understand what he was talking about. And they certainly didn't understand how quickly things would happen.
Verse 39 says "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives." The disciples may have followed him other times. He was only a "stone's throw" away from them. Did they sleep through this learning session every time?
What are you learning in the peaceful times? Do you wait until the difficult stuff hits to start praying?
If we want to be true followers of Christ, our "as usuals" should be like Christ. Do you think that he knew what was about to happen only because he was fully God? I don't. I think he knew because he talked to God often in the very same way we can.
Temptation and crisis will come, there's no doubt about it. We are not given the privilege of a warning from Satan as to when he will strike. The best way to be prepared for the difficult times is to have conversation with God when things seem to be going as usual.
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