WHEN YOU PRAY PT 9: DONT FALL ASLEEP

Pastor Maurice B. Breaux Thursday Night Bible Study

Matthew 26:36-40 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. Couldnt you men 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 flesh is weak. Prayer takes discipline. It takes discipline to get up every morning at a certain time to pray. It takes discipline to sacrifice time in the afternoon for prayer. It takes discipline to pray when someone approaches you with a sincere prayer request. It takes discipline to pray first then react to a situation after God gives you wisdom about the situation. Prayer is the result of a spirit-filled life. To be disciplined in our prayer life is to bring our life into a state of order and obedience by asserting Gods will over our fleshly desires. I am not talking about contemplative prayer which suggests that we use a form of New Age mediation practices to get something from God; I am talking about the kind of prayer life that is only established through a meaningful relationship with Jesus. I believe the reason there is so much going on in our society and in our churches, is credited to a lack of discipline prayer lives. Prayer is not a sacrifice, it is a discipline. It is availing yourself to petition the Father for others and for yourself because you know He hears and answers. If there is a great need, there must be someone disciplined in prayer to intercede on behalf of that need. Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30 (NIV) "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. Intercession is going to God on the behalf of someone else. When you intercede for someone, you are place yourself in their shoes and petition God as if you were the one in need.

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Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 1 Kings 18:36-37 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. (37) Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you are the LORD God, and that you have turned their heart back again. Praying people are Gods agents on the earth. They represent the government of heaven. For God to use great men and women, they must be praying men and women. An artist uses colors, a musician uses instruments, and an architect uses measurements. For God to carry out His purposes, He needs people that are going to be leaders in prayers. God gave us the ability to ask, but God wont do anything until he asks. When we fail to pray, we open the gap wider for the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy. When we pray we exercise influence and authority. Influence because we have Gods essence in us and authority because we have Gods word working for us. Nothing can ever or will ever take the place of prayer. No one is exempt from prayer. Everyone has an obligation to pray. How a person approach prayer is an indication on how they view prayer. According to H.W. Hodge, he states, "If there was ever a time when Peter, James and John needed to remain awake it was in Gethsemane. If James had persisted in keeping awake it might have saved his decapitation a few years later. If Peter had stirred himself to really intercede for himself and others he would not have denied his Christ that night in the palace of Caiaphas." The issue in the text is they were supposed to be praying but instead they were sleeping. They were sleeping. They were inactive during a time of intercession and watching. They allowed fatigued and the lateness of the night to dictate to them a reason to sleep. They could not see and their consciousness was completely lost. Jesus asked, Couldnt you men keep watch with me for one hour? Jesus wanted them to understand the urgency of time spent in prayer. Prayer is not something that can be taken lightly regardless of what it looks like to you. Prayer is an urgent matter whether its you or someone else. It is urgent to God and it should be urgent to us. They lived with Jesus. They ate with Jesus. They were trained by Jesus. They watched Jesus perform miracles. They saw Him heal the sick, raise the dead, cure diseases, walk on water, cast out demons, and thats just to name a few and yet they forgot one vital element to Jesus life PRAYER. Jesus was often found praying. On several occasions they found Jesus praying in the middle of the night. Jesus was showing them the meaning of the spirit being willing.

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Your spirit will always yield you to prayer, but your flesh will strive to yield you to sleep. Just because Jesus was present didnt mean the disciples didnt need to do anything else. They took Jesus presence for granted. He was with them. When a person takes the presence of God for granted, that person will remain inactive when they should be praying. Praying doesnt have an expiration date! It has a beginning date only! Even when God answers your prayer, you must pray a prayer of thanksgiving. Prayer doesnt expire! It waits for a start date so God can start His work.

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