Are You Still Sleeping?
By Annie Yorty
"And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, 'So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'” - Matthew 26:40-41 NASB
My ten-year-old son stared wide-eyed around the theater. Hushed, incomprehensible words filtered through the air as Russians settled into the seats around our American group. The Bolshoi! I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to watch a ballet at the most famous theater in Moscow. Yet here we were, waiting to watch Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
Three hours earlier, my team and I stepped off a plane traveling from eastern Siberia where we had been sharing the gospel with orphans and others who need the hope of Jesus. Sleep deprived didn’t begin to describe how we felt after the lengthy trip. But when our team leader offered the chance to visit the historic Bolshoi, I couldn’t pass it up. Sleep could wait.
The lights dimmed as heavy velvet curtains swished open to reveal the stage. Mesmerized, I watched the spotlight find the dancers. Lithe and graceful, they defied gravity with each leap in the familiar story of Esmeralda and the disfigured Quasimodo.
“What do you think, Buddy?” I whispered to my son next to me. But his eyes drooped as he slouched in the padded chair. Barely coherent, he nodded and mumbled. The next thing I knew, he slid down and stretched out on the floor. I glanced around to see if anyone noticed.
After prodding him to wake up, I let it go. We hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours. I turned back to the show, determined not to allow weariness to overtake me. But the haunting strains of violins lilting through the shadows weighed heavily on my own eyelids. I fought the mantle of sleep, shifting position, sitting taller, propping my chin on my fist.
Still, I succumbed to slumber. Every now and then, I dragged my mind back to embarrassed consciousness, only to fade yet again. It made me feel only slightly better to see that my friends had the same problem.
I wonder if the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane felt the same helplessness against sleep on that fateful night when Jesus was arrested. Jesus asked three of His disciples to keep watch while He prayed. “Then He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me’” (Matthew 26:38 NASB). Jesus needed moral support from His friends.
But as Jesus wrestled with temptation to avoid the pain and loneliness He knew lay ahead, His friends failed Him. Jesus asked them to stay awake three times. Each time, though, they yielded to slumber. I suspect they, like me, wanted to stay awake but their bodies wouldn’t cooperate. Jesus said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41b NASB).
After Jesus fortified Himself in prayer for a third time, He returned to His disciples. “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.” (Matthew 26:45 NASB).
What can we learn about spiritual slumber from this event? Jesus differentiates between flesh and spirit. While our spirits may desire to do what is right, our flesh pulls us in the opposite direction.
Jesus told His disciples to keep watch and pray to overcome weak flesh, to invigorate a drowsy spirit. We need to be alert to the schemes of our enemy, Satan, who seizes every opportunity to appeal to our flesh (1 Peter 5:8). He would like us to sleep through this life rather than serve God. Learning God’s Word helps us to recognize Satan’s tactics.
Once we identify Satan’s attack, we cannot battle him alone. When we feel the downward pull of our flesh, we must pray. Pray just as Jesus prayed to His Father in one of His darkest hours. He transparently poured out His doubts and pain, acknowledging His weak flesh. He depended on His loving, faithful Father to sustain and help Him.
My friend, are you, like the disciples, still sleeping? When Jesus returned to find His disciples passed out in the garden for the third time, He said, “Get up, let’s go” (Matthew 26:46a NASB).
Do you sense Jesus’ voice rousing you from spiritual slumber? It’s time to wake up and follow where He leads.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Is there some area of your life where you are spiritually asleep? What Bible verses can you memorize to help you battle Satan’s appeals to your flesh?
Further reading:
1 Peter 5:6-9
Ephesians 6:10-20
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/monkeybusinessimages
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