(My friend and mighty woman of prayer, Sabrina, was explaining this to me last night and I was so moved that I asked her to write it down for me to share with my blog friends.)
Matthew 26 tells us the story of Jesus’ last hours with his disciples.
At the Passover meal, Jesus warned his friends that they were all about to fall away on account of Him. Peter and the rest were horrified to think that could happen.
Then in just an hour later, the group settled in the Garden of Gethsemane. Knowing what was to happen next, Jesus warned his friends to watch and pray so that they would not “fall into temptation”.
They should have had a pretty clear picture of how dire the circumstances were. He had just warned them they would fall away, but that they should watch and pray so that they wouldn’t be tempted to do that.
So what happened? The disciples fell asleep…
What might have been different for them in the next few hours if they had followed Jesus’ advice to pray?
It seems like the devil was able to tempt them to sleep. Why would the devil want to do that? Maybe he knew that prayer would have changed things for Jesus’ friends.
Maybe when we don’t feel like praying, it is not JUST our own laziness. Maybe it is the devil’s temptation. Maybe he believes in prayer- that God uses our prayer to change things on earth- so wants to stop us from praying.
Hmmm. Maybe we should redouble our own efforts to watch and pray- just to spite the devil.
In my work-a-day world, I am a counselor, so I get to hear a lot of folks’ ups and downs.
One sometimes-surprising “down” during the lovely spring season is the feeling of loss and failure. The sun is bursting, flowers are glorying, trees are greening. Life and fresh starts abound.
“Then WHY don’t I feel better?”
“I should feel better. That makes me feel guilty- so I feel worse!”
It is frustrating to think we should feel encouraged but don’t. I want to share with you some ways that God has helped me deal with “not feeling better”.
Lamentations
There are times of grief, sorrow, rejection, loss, pain or trauma in all our lives. In counseling, we talk about these things openly and safely. In prayer, we do the same with God. We tell Him how we feel- openly, honestly, messily. He knows anyway and he cares.
It is helpful to read a Psalm of Lamentation (look at Psalm 31, Psalm 59, Psalm 74, Psalm 80)- read it to yourself, then to God.
Then ask someone to pray with you, too.
Sacrifice of Praise
There are times when things are irritating and pesky- folks not pulling their weight at work, kids leaving junk all over the house, endless chores. These are the things that make us feel irritable, whiny and snippy.
These are like “little foxes that spoil the vine”. They hold no eternal value and if we get our mind on something else, we forget it.
This it time to pull out Hebrew 13:15-
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. (NIV)
We don’t feel like praising God. That is why it is a sacrifice.
But when we make that sacrifice, we are pulled back to where we belong- living with God, thinking about him and his works and his love.
The sacrifice of praise honors God and changes us.