TARRY ONE HOUR

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? – Matthew 26:40

“In the cold, black night of Christ’s betrayal, His disciples could not tarry one hour with Him in prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, while Jesus earnestly prayed in such agony of spirit that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground, His disciples ignorantly oblivious to the eternity-shaping events about to transpire, slept. Jesus, heavy and sorrowful in spirit, awakened His sleeping disciples and asked, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Matt. 26:40).

Mirrored in that tragic scene is the plight of the church today. Jesus, our interceding High priest, is praying; His disciples are sleeping; and Satan is winning contest after contest by default. It would be impossible to calculate the failures, the ruined reputations, the defeats, the broken homes and the other multiplied tragedies that could have been avoided if believers had prayed. It would be impossible to measure the destruction that might have been averted if only God’s people had taken the time to pray…

…I know what it’s like to be haunted by the call to pray, and…I know what it’s like to let interruptions, fatigue and pressures drown out that call. You see, God haunted me for six years with the call to pray before I finally obeyed His plea to tarry with Him one hour each day in prayer. But when I did so, my life and ministry were revolutionized.

…Something supernatural happens when you pray an hour a day. It does not happen overnight, but slowly, almost imperceptibly, the desire to pray becomes firmly planted in the soil of your heart by the Spirit of God. This desire crowds out the weeds of apathy and neglect, and matures into the discipline to pray. Then one day you discover that prayer is no longer just a duty or drudgery; instead, the discipline of prayer has borne the fruit of delight. You find yourself longing for your daily time with God.”