Resurrection Week
Since we’re coming up on Easter Sunday, I thought it would be fitting to spend this week reflecting on and remembering the events that took place in Jesus’ ministry leading up to His crucifixion.
I know we honor and thank Him all year long, but I want to invite you to go a step further this week and take some intentional time to ask the Holy Spirit for fresh revelation and a deeper appreciation for all that the Lord has done to give us life through His blood and restore us to right relationship with our Father in heaven.
Sweet hour of Pray
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ~ Matthew 26:40-41
This one hits close to home.
If I’m honest, I’m pretty sure I would’ve done exactly what the disciples did that night in Gethsemane. They had just shared a profound moment with Jesus during the Last Supper, heard Him speak deep truths about the future, and now they were back in a familiar place, the garden where they had likely spent many peaceful nights before. It would’ve seemed like time to wind down and rest. But this night was different.
Jesus, fully aware of what was coming with His betrayal, arrest, torture, and crucifixion, was under immense pressure. He was in agony, so deeply distressed that He told His closest friends, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” And He asked them for something simple but powerful: “Stay here and watch with Me.”
He wasn’t asking them to fix anything or pray elaborate prayers. He just wanted them to stay close. To keep watch. To be present in the moment of His suffering. He carried the weight of the world, and all He asked for was their support in prayer.
But instead, they fell asleep.
I don’t share this to judge the disciples because I totally get it. I’ve been there. I’ve had moments where I wanted to pray longer, where my spirit felt the pull toward God, but my body gave out. I’ve sat down to spend time with Him and found my thoughts drifting or my eyes getting heavy. Life gets noisy. The flesh is loud. The to-do list feels urgent. Before I know it, I’m distracted or done before I really even got started.
But then I remember those sweet moments when I did press in, when I made time for an actual hour of prayer. I used to discipline myself to pray in the Spirit for one hour every morning. Most days it wasn’t easy to begin with, but oh, how worth it it was. There was something about getting past the 45-minute mark, almost like breaking through a fog. Now I know that it was when my flesh finally surrendered, and then suddenly, clarity would come. Peace would settle in. Answers would rise to the surface. God’s presence felt so close and so strong. I can’t fully explain it, but I’ve lived it. And I still long for more of it.
Jesus’ words ring so true:
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The hour of prayer isn’t just about endurance. It’s about breaking through the wall of the flesh so the spirit can truly take the lead. It’s not a punishment, but rather it’s a pathway to deeper intimacy with the Father.
You don’t have to become a prayer warrior overnight. Jesus isn’t giving us a guilt trip here—He’s extending an invitation. He is calling us to come closer and go deeper with Him. Here are some ways to grow into it:
1. Start Small but Be Consistent
Set aside 10–15 minutes a day to begin. Use that time to be quiet before the Lord, pray from your heart, read Scripture, and listen. As you get comfortable, increase your time gradually.
2. Create a Prayer Flow
Here’s a simple guide to structure your hour (or however long you have):
- 5–10 mins: Worship (with a song or quiet gratitude)
- 10–15 mins: Scripture reading and meditation
- 10 mins: Praying for others (intercession)
- 15–20 mins: Personal prayer (requests, repentance, listening)
- Final 5–10 mins: Sitting silently in His presence to hear in your heart what He wants to say in this time.
3. Use Tools to Stay Engaged
Prayer journals, worship playlists, guided devotionals, or prayer apps can help focus your mind and keep you present. Write down what God speaks to your heart.
4. Make It a Special Appointment
Find a time and place where you can be uninterrupted. Turn off notifications. Set a calendar reminder. Protect that time like you would any important meeting, because that’s what it is.
5. Give Yourself Grace
Some days will be easier than others. The point is not perfection, it’s presence. Keep showing up. Even when it feels dry or difficult, God honors your desire to be near and meets you where you are.
From Gethsemane to Glory: The Power of Presence
That night in the garden wasn’t just about Jesus’ suffering. It was also about the invitation He gave to His friends to share in His moment of vulnerability, to be near Him when He needed them most. That same invitation is open to us today.
Can you stay with Him? Can you watch and pray? Not because you have to, but because you get to?
Prayer is not a checkbox or a burden. It’s the privilege and an honor of being in the presence of the living God. It’s the space where heaven meets earth, where your soul is strengthened, and where your perspective is transformed.
Here’s the powerful part: Prayer prepares you for what’s ahead. The disciples fell asleep, and shortly after, they scattered. But Jesus, strengthened by His time with the Father, stood up from the garden with peace and resolve. He knew the cross was coming, but He was ready.
So today, I want to encourage you to accept the invitation to make space for the sweet hour of prayer, whether you’re at 10 minutes or 60. Ask the Holy Spirit to help your spirit rise above your flesh. Linger. Watch and stay close to Jesus.
Because that garden moment wasn’t just about the disciples, it’s about you too. It’s about every believer who’s ever struggled to stay awake spiritually but still longs to draw near.
The spirit is willing and with His help, the flesh doesn’t have to win.
So don’t be discouraged if it’s hard at first. Keep showing up. Keep leaning in. You’re not just praying, you’re preparing. You’re not just spending time, you’re being transformed.
Just like Jesus walked out of the garden ready for the cross, you’ll walk out of your prayer time ready for the battles and victories of life, with peace, power, and the presence of the One who meets you there.
“Could you not watch with Me one hour?”
Yes, Lord. We can, and with Your help, we will.
Today’s scripture reading: Matthew 26:31-46
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”
37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
The Daily Dose 