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)

Before Christ crucifixion He went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus selected Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to accompany Him to a private area to pray while He told the others to sit and wait for Him.

The Bible states that Jesus’ soul was exceedingly sorrowful and heavy. The Lord knew that He was about to face tremendous affliction unto death and so He needed a few of His companions to stand with Him in prayer.

Jesus specifically selected Simon because He knew Simon was going to be faced with temptation and so he needed to pray for strength to overcome.

However, Peter and the other two disciples were unaware of how crucial it was travail in prayer at that particular time.

Agony in the Garden, Jesus prays in the garden after the Last Supper while the disciples sleep and Judas leads the mob, by Andrea Mantegna c. 1460. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

So, while Jesus travailed before His Father, the three disciples promptly fell asleep.

When Jesus finished His prayer He found his friends fast asleep. He woke them and specifically addressed Peter saying, “What, could you not watch with me for one hour?”

The hour of trials and temptation were upon them and Peter was asleep with the others.

The Lord further told Peter it was imperative that he prayed so that he did not fall into temptation.

Twice Jesus left His disciples to pray and found them sleeping. But on the third time He told them to continue sleeping because the hour of betrayal and tribulation was upon them.

As a result of  Peter’s slumber, he succumbed to temptation twice.

1) That same night, Peter drew his sword and cut off one of the ears of the high priest servant, Malchus when they came to arrest Jesus (John 18:10).

2) Later after Jesus was arrested Peter denied that he knew Him and even sweared and cursed the third time when he was asked. (Matthew 26: 69-75).

Jesus was not asking Peter to pray with him for the entire night but just one hour so that his flesh would be strengthened to face the adversary.

Likewise, Jesus only want us to travail with Him for just one hour.

Perhaps your hour could be on a daily basis or a weekly basis. It is your commitment to a consistent prayer life that is the key.

The importance of one hour

Troubles can creep upon you suddenly – within an hour.

However,  the enemy is defeated in an hour.

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come (Revelation 18:10)

Therefore, watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation.

Are you willing to watch and pray for one hour?

Published by Beverley

Beverley has been serving the Lord since she was a child. At an early age, she recognized that God had a special plan for her life, but it was not until in her adulthood that she surrendered her total life to God and accepted the mandate that God placed on her life. The Lord called her into His Kingdom to be an encourager, intercessor, teacher, scribe, priest, and to proclaim the Word of God. Since then, Beverly has established a blog to teach us to become the oil and wine. The oil and wine are purified and mature products, which is the advanced level that the Lord expected of us. In 2017, Beverley published her first book, Harm Not The Oil And Wine. In it, she described her trials and how God helped her to overcome them, and to live more victoriously. The book also exposed the enemy of our souls with detailed information about his past defeats and future extinction. Wright spents most of her time studying the Bible to know the truth of God’s Word. She believes that only God’s truth can expose the deception of the enemy, and uproot and tear down spiritual strongholds. You can learn more about Beverley’s life and testimony on her website becomingtheoilandwine.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Google+ under the name of her blog, and on Twitter as @Theoilandwine. View all posts by Beverley