Sleeping Instead of Praying
In Luke 22:45-46 we read: "When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' he asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.'"
The disciples made the mistake of sleeping instead of praying!
Notice that Luke says the disciples were exhausted. We live in an age where exhaustion has become the norm. I love what Gordon Macdonald said in his book Ordering Your Private World: "I sometimes have the feeling that if I don't tell my friends how tired I am they will doubt I am doing anything worthwhile. Try telling someone that you feel great, that you are at the top of your game, that you've never been better. The chances are that they will suspect that you're putting them on... that you lack sincerity."
I wonder if you can relate. Feeling exhausted has become something of a badge of honour.
Of course, we are called to work hard, to not slack and be idle. But do you think God calls us to exhaustion? Do you think God lovingly moulded us into beautiful human beings, so that we could run ourselves into the ground?
The Cost of Exhaustion
I wonder how often I have missed out on deep, meaningful times of closeness with Jesus because I'm too exhausted to pray.
Jesus comes to the disciples and says "why are you sleeping? Get up and pray!" But they were exhausted, they'd burned out.
This is a mistake we need to avoid.
Do you need to put some changes into your life to avoid exhaustion today? Do you need to take a careful look at your schedule and factor in consistent times of rest and enough sleep so that you don't burn out?
What depths of spiritual intimacy and power might you find, if you quit running yourself ragged?
Exhausted From Sorrow
But if you look closely at this verse, you can see that what exhausted the disciples was not so much work and a busy schedule, but sorrow. "He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow", the text says.
Think of it: they had just eaten a big supper where Jesus had spoken of His death, and then washed their feet. They had just heard Jesus predict Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial. They walked down to the garden and watched as Jesus wept and sweated drops like blood and agonised with God in prayer.
Sorrow overtook them! The man who had been like a rock to them all this time was starting to show signs of panic. It stressed them and made them very sad.
How often our stress and our sorrow keep us from God's embrace. How often our struggles and sadness overwhelm us so we just crash and leave God out of it.
How much better to be with Jesus in prayer and worship when we are in a dark place instead of pushing Him aside and self-medicating.
Learn from these men today. In their exhaustion and sorrow, they crashed. I think that's ok. Rest is part of God's healing, 100%.
But don't neglect to pray and spend time with Jesus in moments like these.
Because healing for the soul will come when we take our exhaustion and sorrow to Him in prayer instead of leaving Him out.
Jesus’ disciples neglected prayer in their exhaustion and sorrow. How often we make the same mistake.