Even Youths

Day 5: Matthew 26:41 ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’ March 26, 2010

This is a second dimension of prayer, not just time spent with God, but also spiritual strengthening to resist sin and to live for God. We need prayer, Jesus notes, because ‘the spirit is willing, but the body is weak’ (26:41).

This is a reality that we all share. ‘The Spirit is willing’: we want to overcome sin; we want to please God; we want to stand firm in the midst of discouragement or opposition.

But none of this is within our grasp: ‘the flesh is weak’. (Contrary to the NIV translation [‘the body is weak’], Jesus is not disparaging our physical bodies; ‘flesh’ represents our carnal resistance to spiritual things.) The evidence bears out our spiritual frailty and impotence: Judas betrays Jesus; the sleeping-instead-of-praying disciples desert him; Peter denies him three times.

What to do?

‘Pray,’ says Jesus.

What struggle do you face that undermines your devotion to God? What temptation? What rival for your devotion? What difficult circumstance? Make it the focus of prayer today.