The Time of Trial

Ancient olive trees on the Mount of Olives

Scripture:

Luke 22:39   He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”^{a  41} Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” ⁴³ [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. ⁴⁴ In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.^a] ⁴⁵ When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”^a 

Observation:

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray, where he must have gone often. Jesus, knew what was ahead, and challenged the disciples to pray. There would be a time of trial, or temptation ahead, and he knew that they needed to be prepared. He told them to pray. 

Instead of praying, the disciples fell asleep. They were exhausted and seemed unable to focus. Jesus, on the other hand, was entirely aware of what would be happening. His humanity was on full display when he began to perspire profusely. He prayed that he might not have to go through all that was ahead, but in that moment, he also prayed for the Father’s will to be done. While he was struggling in prayer, an angel came to minister to him. The humility involved in this scene is great, for the Son of God needed strength from an outside source. 

Finally, as Jesus got up from prayer, he went to his disciples, only to find them sleeping. Out of his love for them and the sense of urgency that he felt, he told them to get up and pray! 

Application:

From the moment that the curtain closes on this scene of prayer, we discover who falls into temptation. It’s not Jesus, but the disciples don’t fare as well. Even Peter, “the Rock,” fails the test within the next few hours. The time of trial was coming, only the disciples didn’t know it. Jesus is the only one who spent the time in prayer, and then was able to stand firm and live through the time of trial. 

There is a direct correlation between the ability to withstand the time of trial and prayer. The reality is that we will all face “the time of trial” and the enemy would love for us all to be too tired and exhausted to spend time in prayer. I confess — I’ve been there. Life can become so busy and our hours filled with doing good things for God, that we immediately fall asleep when we begin to pray. This was especially true when I was a young mother. Chuck used to arrange for me to have a day of spiritual retreat every month where I could go and pray. However, I found myself sleeping nearly the entire day away — because I was so exhausted. Now, I have come to realize that this was part of my spiritual retreat. As a young, sleep-deprived mom — I needed rest. I think the Lord understands that. I think that Jesus even understood that with his own disciples. In this case, however, he knew that temptation was immediately going to come and smack them in the face. He was worried about them. 

There are times of urgency when we need to be aware of the leading of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord says to you — get up and pray — then I would suggest, it’s time to get up and pray. There are times of trial ahead, and we, as God’s people, need to be prepared. We need to be prayed up to face the trials and temptations. God was about to break the power of evil in the world through the death and resurrection of his son. Therefore, the enemy was fighting hard, against Jesus and his disciples. 

When God is working, the enemy will move into overdrive. That’s why prayer is so important. Spending time in prayer is the only way that we can be prepared for the time of trial. 

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to continue to soak in your presence and be prepared for the time of trial. Amen.