Practice

Mark 14: ³⁷ Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹ Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. ⁴⁰ And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

⁴¹ Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

============

“Run!” were the instructions of the track coach. “Do we have to?” was my thought. I mean we had already run miles and miles this very day. One teammate whispered to me “We can hide and pretend we practiced.” “I wonder if I should hide” was my thought.

• Sometimes I do not feel like practicing.
• Sometimes I want things to be handed to me.
• Sometimes I do not want to go through the difficulty of being ready.

JESUS brought Peter, James and John with HIM to pray for HIM as HE was about to face death. Not being used to praying on this magnitude, they fell asleep. They more than likely did not know what JESUS was going through. Even the stern warnings JESUS implored were of no use. Their senses were dull.

• GOD says to me “Do not follow the ways of this world for they distract you from MY kingdom.”
• GOD says to me “All are like sheep that go astray.”
• GOD says to me “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in and sup with them.”

JESUS knows the world will dullen my senses. With a constant barrage of murder, sex and drugs on television, my compassion falls to zero and I cannot hear GOD’s small still voice.

BUT GOD knew this and has taken this into account. HE went to the cross for me anyway. HE knew I could not rescue the world so HE took care of it all. HE raises me up to notice HIS power.

• Are you fretting about something so much that you cannot see or hear GOD?
• Are your senses so dulled that you cannot feel for those who are hurting around you?
• Can you wake up to see GOD is guiding you today?