"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
{Mark 14:38} (NIV)
Our Lord Jesus is so gentle, so humble and so kind! Here He is in anguish, about to face His harshest hour, and when He finds that the men God has given Him as followers cannot even stay awake to pray with Him, He doesn’t lose it on them. Instead He teaches them a deep truth about willingness and obedience.
These men were willing, and they were with Him, for they had decided to follow Jesus, wherever He went. However the Lord knew that a willing spirit by itself is not enough for obedience. He tells them (therefore us as well) that a willing spirit is the start, but getting our bodies to do what our spirit wants to do requires prayer. In other words, our Lord is teaching us the importance of prayer for our bodies and therefore direct intervention of God the Father through answers to our prayers.
Our spirit can be most willing but our sinful bodies will stop us every time! Friend, we need God’s help, not just to change our spirits, but also to give us victory over these sinful bodies which war against our willing spirit that God has created in us. May we take heed to our Lord’s teaching and may we follow Paul’s example: The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20) May we pray today for God’s grace to overcome our sinful bodies.
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