Keep Watching and Praying in Crisis

 

Mark 14:32-42

Jesus Prayed in Sorrow and Distress

We often encounter crisis in our life journey. Now, the crisis we are encountering is the rampant attack of Covid-19 upon the whole world, and no one is certain when it will end.

The scope of Covid-19’s widespread and the level of damages are unprecedented in human history. Our national economy, international relationships, church ministry, human lives and possessions all have become vulnerable.

Since we are living in such an age of crises, we need to be very watchful and vigilant. How did our Lord Jesus Christ react when He faced the greatest crisis of His life, i.e., to be crucified on the cross? How did He prepare himself for it?

To Be Watchful and Prayerful in Crisis

Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 

“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed…. (Mark 14:32-35)

How did the Lord Jesus face such a crisis? He knelt down to pray.

The Bible recounts that Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled. His soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Not one commentator doubts the genuine trauma of Jesus. His sense of crisis was truly so acute that it is beyond our imagination.

Today, are we overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death?

We have experienced MCO1, MCO2 since the beginning of last year, but our sense of crisis was not acute enough. Now with the prevalence of MCO3, we start feeling overwhelmed by a sense of crisis because the daily Covid-19 cases has reached few thousands with two-digit number of death cases!

Many have become very depressed and desperate because we do not know what will happen tomorrow when we could resume our norms. As we face all these many uncertainties, may we feel deeply distressed like our Lord Jesus, and may we kneel down before God.

To be deeply distressed is not an expression of our weakness or distrust in God, but rather, it is to see our need of receiving grace and help from God, and for God to come into our midst and do wonderful things.

As we entrust ourselves into the hand of God, we must also believe that God has His plan for us.

The Lord Jesus knew deeply in His heart that His future was held in God’s hand, hence He prayed,” Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me, Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Our life, work, family, church and even the future of our nation, are all held in the hand of God. We do not trust ourselves for tomorrow’s journey, and we do not rely on ourselves to finish our tasks.

Instead, we are to be watchful and pray, “Father, not what I will, but what You will. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Do to us according to Your will and plan, and may Your will be done in us individually and in the church.”

People Could Stumble in Crisis.

Men tend to have moments of weakness when they face crisis. The disciples then were very weak, and they could not keep watch and pray. The Lord said to them, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Satan, the devil always does his work when we are not watchful, and He would attack us and make use of us. May God help us to always keep watch and be able to witness for Him in whatever circumstances in our personal lives, ministry, work or family, etc.

On the night at Gethsemane, the disciples were falling asleep when the soldiers approached them. Though the Lord Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled in his crisis, He prayed to God earnestly, and knew what God wanted, and was well prepared to face the danger.

But, how about those disciples who were not watchful?

They all left the Lord and fled for their lives. Peter even denied the Lord three times! Just a few hours ago, he did say to the Lord firmly, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”

When Peter denied the Lord the third time, and when the rooster crowed the second time, he remembered the words of Jesus and he wept.

Maybe we are like Peter. We think that we love the Lord dearly and we have followed Him faithfully and are willing to serve Him, and we are even willing to die for Him. We think that we would not stumble and fall. However, this pandemic may be weaking the faith of God’s people and ruin many churches in this land.

Sometimes it is not that we are willing to backslide in faith, or do it intentionally, we are just being careless by allowing the flesh to overtake us, especially after so long time of not joining an in-person worship. Somehow or rather, we have given Satan an opportunity to cause us to fall, just like Peter who denied the Lord thrice.

However, the Bible allows us to see that Peter wept and felt sorry for his weakness. Peter saw himself offending God and denying his Lord. He asked the forgiveness from His Lord. God would not despise a contrite heart. God surely would not belittle those who wept before Him like Peter, who saw their own shortcomings and who felt indebted to Him.

Though Peter once stumbled, the Lord Jesus did not doubt his love for Him, and He even entrusted His sheep to Peter. Similarly, though we may be weak sometimes, God does not question our love for Him, as long as we are like Peter, who grieve over our faults and have a contrite heart.

“Do you love me more than these?” The question the Lord Jesus raised to Peter previously becomes His intention for us now to love Him once again, that He longs to have us serving Him and be used by Him greatly once again.

Prayerful Watchfulness Overturns the Crisis

What happened later to these apostles who couldn’t keep watch at that time?

God used them greatly in the early church and they became the founding fathers for churches over all the world. This bunch of apostles who were weak, unwatchful, fleeing away and insensitive towards crisis, turned out to be people who were used by God greatly. It was unimaginable!

The reason is that though they fell, they also cried and stood up, and learnt to be prayerfully watchful in crises.

Acts 1:14, “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

“They” were the disciples of the Lord Jesus, and they prayed fervently with one heart. At that time, they were in their crisis, and it was more than forty days after the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

At that point of time, they were the focus of all people, and they were not out of their danger completely. However, they came together and prayed.

This prayer was the prayer they prayed while they waited upon the Holy Spirit as instructed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit came upon them, and Peter was changed, as well as every of His disciple. They, who once fled for their lives, stood up and preached the Word of God!

Be watchful in prayer. Church revival shall follow personal revival. We pray that we will not focus solely on the result of God’s work, for God does not only change others but us in this process. We renew our strength through prayer, and we offer ourselves again to the Lord.

The greatest change experienced by the early church was that those who prayed were changed by God. Then, God used them greatly to change the world.

Let’s take heart, confess our sin and weakness to God. Let’s cry out to Him in distress. Let’s entrust ourselves again to the Lord today and be someone who is watchful in prayer in this age that is full of crises. Let’s reverently commit our lives unto God’s hand, and allow Him to mold us and change us, and cause our church to be united in prayer.

As we go on our knees, we allow God to empower us with the Spirit and use us to change this world, that we will become the channels of God’s grace and bring forth His blessings upon all men.