His Cross Our HopeSample

My husband nudged me gently and asked again, “Are you asleep?” “No, no, I just closed my eyes for a bit.” No matter how hard I try, I can rarely stay awake through an entire movie, and although it’s okay to doze off on a movie, it’s a whole different story when it’s real life.

When Jesus asked his disciples, His friends, to stay and keep watch, they couldn’t do it. I imagine they were exhausted, and part of me wonders if they thought they were okay to let their guard down because Jesus was with them. I mean, after all, He was the Messiah! They had witnessed miracles and demons obeying His command, so they had to be safe.

I’m embarrassed to say I do that sometimes. I doze off when I know I should be more spiritually disciplined. I become so comfortable in my security with Jesus that I forget I still have a part to play. Jesus won the war, but I’m still in the battles of life! I will only grow stronger in my faith when I stretch that faith muscle!

For me, this means being deliberate with my prayer time. It means carving out moments in my day to read my Bible. It means quieting my spirit so I can sense more clearly what God wants me to know. It means knowing I just need to crank up the worship tunes in my car or cry it all out. It means choosing to seek the Spirit’s desire over the things my flesh would rather do (binge on Netflix, sleep the extra 20 minutes, listen to a podcast or book).

Jesus instructed the disciples to stay alert and pray in His darkest hour. Like Jesus, we pray, too, for ourselves and others.

Who can you cover in prayer today? Ask the Holy Spirit to keep you spiritually awake and prepared for spiritual battle.

~Kimi Miller

Blogger, speaker, and co-host of the Faith Over Fear podcast