“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
Luke 22:46 NLT
Jesus tells them to pray for themselves. Jesus knows the torture that awaits Him, but He's telling His disciples to pray for themselves. Wow.
He knows that when temptation comes, we don't have the strength in and of ourselves to resist. We need the power of God to resist temptation. He knows the betrayal of His disciples is coming, but they still don't realize it.
There's so much detail in the verses that account their time in Gethsemane. It actually says the disciples were asleep, exhausted from grief or sorrow (Luke 22:45). Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?
As a kid, I used to think this was just about the disciples being lazy or maybe selfish. Being honest, I, too, take the occasional nap while praying after a long day. So, who would I be to judge? I briefly researched what others were saying about this verse in particular. In addition to pointing out their sorrow, one person said that this sleep actually caused them to miss the lesson Jesus had for them.
When we allow our emotions to overcome us to the point that we fall into disobedience, we've made a mistake. While the disciples may and were likely truly broken by what was to come, the point is that they weren't supposed to be broken to the point that it led them to not pray.
I can't explain it, but there are some things that we are just going to go through in life. We are going to experience hurt and pain and brokenness. The point is to remain obedient through it all. Jesus is about to experience all of the above in every way possible, yet His example is one obedience. His own prayer is one of allegiance to the Will of God rather than His own.
Perhaps this is one of many lessons to learn. That impending brokenness is meant to call us to obedience to God and undettered allegiance to His will.
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