Sleepiness
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. – Matthew 26:41
As a mom, after a particularly hectic day and evening, I sometimes fall into bed exhausted—too tired to read my
Bible, but determined to get up early enough to commune with the Lord before another hectic day begins. Then there are the mornings when nothing seems
to be going right—lost keys, wrong sweater, one shoe missing, etc.—and everyone is looking to me for the answers! In those moments, I promise
myself I will set aside a quiet time later in the day so that I can visit with God. I know it is important to spend time with the Lord, yet in our
busy world, that can be a challenge.
Sleepiness was a challenge in Bible times also. The focus verse comes from the account when Jesus asked the disciples to watch and pray with Him in the
final hours before He was betrayed. The biggest trial of His earthly life was about to take place, and He wanted their support. Jesus also knew that
the disciples were going to face trials such as they had never known, and although their spirit was willing, their flesh was weak. Even so, the disciples
fell asleep in the garden while Jesus prayed alone in His anguish.
Physical sleepiness is a part of our natural makeup that will not go away as long as we have mortal bodies. However, spiritual sleepiness is something
far more serious. If we are not careful, we can be lulled into a habitual walk with the Lord, and not really experience the bountiful life that is
available to us. We do not want to reach a point where we use sleepiness as an excuse not to spend time with the Lord or where we start to think we
can get along without communing with Him. We need to be spiritually alert—watching and praying—so we can hear God when He speaks to us,
and be ready to pray about any issue as soon as He lays it on our hearts.
Even though our days can be exhaustingly full of activities, we must determine to make our time with the Lord a priority. He understands our limitations
and will help us if we make an effort in that direction. We will find that getting up a little earlier to spend time with the Lord will give us more
strength than the sleep would have!