Don't sleep?

Anytime I come to a passage of scripture that I am uneasy about, confused or skeptical, I write a question mark next to the scripture and then I pray asking God to reveal the answer to me. Most of the time I get an answer before I am even done writing down the question. But sometimes I will search, just like I would search anything else that is critical to my well being. These question marks have yielded some major wisdom for me.

Here, in Mark 14:38, I put a question mark down next to the scripture. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak." ?

Question: Why is it important for the body to be awake? Isn't the spirit at work even while I am sleeping? If so, then because my spirit is willing, I will be in line with God's will through the Holy Spirit who lives in me. If not, then God will protect me as I slumber, right?

Answer: Here is a partial answer I got while seeking understanding here.
Disclaimer: I am not done searching, nor have I memorized all of the Bible, so I imagine more will be revealed in the future.

Jesus wanted His disciples to stay awake not to protect Him (He knew He would be handed over to be crucified) but there was a very heavy spiritual battle going on there in Gethsemane. v.33-34 "He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch.'"

Jesus wanted His disciples to stay alert because there was spiritual warfare that would attack them all very soon (Jesus already felt it). Jesus told them to pray so they would not fall into temptation. Sometimes I am weak in my body and I feel like a nap or some coffee or something of the flesh will cure my feeling. I am so focused on my own needs that I forget to look to God. If the disciples would have been praying, they might have been more in sync with the spiritual battle that was taking place and perhaps they wouldn't have used physical means (one of them standing near Jesus drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.)

Created over 2 years ago