Are You Asleep?

Luke 22.45-46
45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

I always wondered why so much emphasis was put on this verse here in Luke 22, where we find the disciples sleeping when they should be praying. Why, just a little while earlier Jesus had told them to "[p]ray that [they would] not fall into temptation" (Luke 22.40b). And yet when Jesus "[rises] from prayer and [goes] back to the disciples, [He] [finds] them asleep, exhausted from sorrow." I don't know why, but I always get the feeling that Christ was somehow disappointed in the disciples when this even occurred. That may not be the case, but we certainly see Christ's correction aimed to them when He asks them "[w]hy [they are] sleeping" and instructs them to "[g]et up and pray so that [they] will not fall into temptation."

Beloved, this story is not only historical, but it is quite a good lesson for you and me. How often, brethren, are we asleep from all our sorrows and neglect to do what we ought to be doing? Perhaps we should be praying, showing Christ to someone, learning God's Word either communally or in solitude. But so often we do not do these things; we neglect them for our own selfishness or for the selfishness of some group or someone else. We are spiritually asleep when we do such things. So many Christians have been asleep for far too long. It is certainly evident in our culture today. When you have Christians honestly say, "I don't need to go to church to be a good Christian," we have a problem. That is evidence that such a person is spiritually asleep. As Christians, we should always relish the opportunity to worship or serve God in any way we can. That does not mean we should over-extend ourselves, but it does mean we should do what God has called us to do.

Awaking from spiritual apathy takes Christ's intervention. As we see in Luke 22, Christ had to wake the disciples up. The question He asked of them is the same question He is asking of us, beloved: "Why are you sleeping?" Oh, how we dislike when God asks us a question that reveals we have been doing something we shouldn't have done. Remember God's question to Adam, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3.9). But the sooner we accept God's discipline on us, the sooner we can return to His will. The best way to wake up a spiritually asleep Christian is to pour cold water on him--make him not only get out bed, but jump out of bed into immediate action. This is what our Lord did when He told His disciples to "[g]et up and pray so that [they would] not fall into temptation."

If we are in a state of spiritual sleep, we must obey God's voice to be awakened. Listen to your heart, for He is in it. What is God telling you to do? How can you once again return to a close state with Him? It is easy to fall away, beloved, but returning only takes a conscious effort. All we must do is say, "I'm here, God! Where do you want me?" In doing so, God will begin to work miracles in our lives. He will revive us spiritually and help us to be His disciples, fit for a dying world. Awaken today. Don't turn Jesus away. Obey Him, and you will find more rest and comfort spiritually than you ever could have imagined. In Him we truly have "the peace that passes all understanding." Amen!

With love in Christ,



Austin Aldrich