Many of us know the story where Jesus prays in Gethsemane just before being arrested to be crucified and asks his disciples Peter, James and John to accompany him and pray. Jesus went away to pray and said to the father “…if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” And while Jesus was praying the disciples were not able to stay awake praying.
Matthew 26:39-41 (NIV) says: “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 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.”
It was a difficult moment in the life of Jesus since he knew that he would soon be betrayed and he felt a lot of sadness.
The bible tells us that he even felt that he was going to die, that’s why Jesus goes to his friends to pray with him, but although he asks them more than once, they can’t stay awake.
Many times we go through difficult times such as loneliness, depression, health problems, losing a loved one, economic problems or another situation and that is why we go to a friend, family member or acquaintance from a church so that they can pray for us. But what if this person is too tired to pray for us? How would you feel if something like this happened to you in a time of need, just like it happened to Jesus?
That is the call that we all have today, not only to ask for prayer and help when we need it, but also to pray for others when they need it. That prayer that we do for others is called intercession, what Jesus had actually asked his disciples was that they intercede for him. One of the most important lessons from this passage is that keeping ourselves in intercession helps us to remain in God and to withstand trial.
