Today's Passage - Matthew 26:40-46

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 26:40-46   Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.  Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"   As we face our daily life, we must learn to pray. Prayer will give you spiritual wisdom and insight to overcome attacks from devil Satan. When Jesus was facing the path to the cross ahead of Him, He was filled with anxiety and sadness. That's why He brought the disciples to pray with Him because He was hoping the disciples could pray with Him in one accord. The more Jesus prayed, the more power and faith He had. The disciples were filled with anxiety and sadness as well, but they fell asleep. When Jesus spoke to them, they were so sleepy that they didn't know what to say. It was like when my daughter was young and couldn't wake up in the morning, she'd be changing clothes while still sleeping, and even after she got into car she'd still be sleeping.   How's your prayer life? We are like those disciples: Going to work is like fighting a battle, back at home we need to do house chores and take care of kids, and when everything's done our eyes are already sore. Many people pray before they go to sleep, but they conclude the prayer with amen next morning. We fall asleep as soon as we read the Bible or pray. We often comfort ourselves by saying "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." That's why the Lord told the disciples here to "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."   We begin to stumble and fall as soon as we stop to pray. Deuteronomy 33:25 says that "your strength will equal your days." Your day must begin with prayer, and the day will be filled with presence of God. You'll have wisdom at work and have love and patience with family. If you day begins with helplessly busy schedule, then your day will be filled with complaints, frustration, stress and bad temper. May God help us to know how to rely on the Lord in our daily life, to experience His victory and abundance through prayer, and to fight a wonderful victory for the Lord!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we thank you because you have set an example of prayer for us. May the Lord remind us to learn to retrieve grace, strength and wisdom from you every day through prayer. Help us to keep our spirits awake so that we'll watch and pray with you until we have victory. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!