Keep Watch and Pray!

It was night when Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The disciples fell asleep.  Jesus asked them, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray (Matthew 36:40).”

It was a bright sunny day when we visited the Garden of Gethsemane. I imagined Jesus asking me, “Could you watch with me one hour? Keep watch and pray.” “Watch and pray . . . the spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Matthew 26:41).”

What Jesus Prayed in Gethsemane

Before his arrest, Jesus went to Gethsemane, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as you will (Matthew 26:39).”

We know how God answered that prayer: “It was the will of the Lord to crush him . . . He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:10-12).”

Those who pray “Your will be done” often find the path to joy is through pain.