Victory in the Spirit

“VICTORY IN THE SPIRIT BRINGS GREAT JOY AND FREEDOM–‘WATCH AND PRAY.’” Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “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. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand” (Matt. 26:36-46). The day of betrayal has come, Jesus has just warned His disciples of His impending suffering, they have sworn allegiance; yet at the first opportunity, their flesh leads them astray. Jesus is asking His disciples to defeat their flesh for one hour by praying and keeping watch. In essence, He is asking them to be on guard, both in the flesh and in the spirit, by watching with their eyes and praying with their mouths. Yet the eyes soon fail, and by doing so, they shut the mouth. In other words, the flesh takes control and defeats the spirit. In their final hours with Christ before His crucifixion, the final memory the disciples will have is how they failed their Messiah, and yes, the enemy will use that to cause them even greater despair, because that is what he does. I don’t know about anyone else, but there was a time in my life where, once I had sinned, I felt so bad I would run from God, too ashamed to face Him, and in the process, I would sin even more. It was as if I had thrown all care to the wind. At this point, my flesh was in control because of my guilt and shame. I wonder if that is possibly where things went awry for the disciples. Could it be that because of their failure of Christ in the garden, it became somewhat easier to deny Him the next day? The statement “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” was not out of context here, but rather one which we can be aware and cognoscente of for ourselves every day. By allowing their eyes to close and the flesh to rule, the spirit was silenced. Oh, how often have I been guilty of such actions myself? I think about the times when I was in a hurry to arrive at my destination and I would see someone stopped along the road, obviously in need of assistance; yet I didn’t stop. Even though my spirit was leading me to, craving for me to do what was obviously right, I allowed my flesh to convince me its needs were more important, more urgent and pressing. I am confident many of you have felt this shame as well; it is not the kind one can bear much of. You learn rather quickly; yet even then, it often happens again and again. So, what can we do, you ask? We rest when it’s time to rest; we take care of ourselves, both physically and spiritually; and we “watch and pray,” then obey and, as a result, life will be filled with far more joy and freedom than guilt and shame. † Father, may we be people who watch and pray. May we be people who seek Your will for our lives every moment of every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.