City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

-Matthew 26:41 (ESV)

Reflection

Jesus was about to be betrayed and handed over to the Pharisees for His ultimate crucifixion and death. So He took the disciples with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane, and asked them to sit in a spot and pray. (We do not know exactly what they were to pray about, as it wasn’t something written in scripture.) Then Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John to a different spot where He could pray and prepare for what was to come. Jesus’ soul was sorrowful, as scripture says (v. 38) and weighed with a heavy burden. Luke writes that Jesus sweated blood and was comforted by angles (Luke 22:44).

At some point in the night, about an hour had passed, Jesus went to check on Peter, James, and John and found them sleeping. He directs His question to Peter and asks how he could not watch one hour without falling asleep (v. 40). And then Jesus exhorts them all and says to make sure to watch and pray that they do not enter into temptation. Because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak(v. 41). There are two main points that come from this verse that we should focus on.

Prayer is Vital

So often we live our life as if prayer is not important or something we do occasionally. Jesus would pray in a secluded place early each morning while it was still dark in order to prepare Himself for the ministry He was going to do that day (Mark 1:35). He gave us an example to follow on how we are to be focused on God and stay away from any temptation that can come and destroy us.

Discipline Your Flesh

The second point is that we need to understand that we come into prayer with good intentions. Our spirit is often willing to go into prayer, and we recognize the need to spend time with God, but it is often our flesh that is weak and causes us to lose the discipline of prayer. We need to fight for our prayer time because Satan does not want us to have communion with our Father in heaven.

Application

The first time that I went into a fasting period, I felt that it was wasted. I could not focus, I felt tired, and had a headache from lack of caffeine. There was a willingness in my soul to spend more time in prayer, but instead I only took the time to sleep longer. My intentions were good and my spirit was willing, but my flesh was weak. God, in His compassion on me, showed me this very verse. He knew my heart was there, but my flesh was truly weak. This alone brought me a level of understanding that helped me in future periods of fasting. I have to fight against the flesh and against Satan to spend time with God, not just in a period of fasting, in which Satan’s attacks come more heavily, but also on a daily basis.

As we come into this week of prayer and fasting, hold fast and strengthen your mind. Do not let your flesh make you weak and instead hold firm in your prayer time with your Father in heaven.

It is with great effort that we begin to discipline our bodies and forge ahead in our walk with our God.

Prayer

Father in heaven, be with me in this time of fasting. My flesh is constantly fighting against my spirit. I am willing to pray and my spirit wants to read Your words and listen to Your calling in my life. Help me in this season to be strong and disciplined in my walk with You. Let me learn what you want from me in this season and in this new year. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.