Over-Inflated Faith (Pt.2)

(Part 2 of 2)

“Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say.”-Mark 14:39-40

Where did all their proud boasting go? These die hard believers that were, hours before, willing to lay down their lives for Jesus; couldn’t keep their eyes open for one hour to pray with Him. The sad reality is that a man will never die for Jesus if they aren’t first committed to pray with Him. Gethsemane always comes before Calvary. The truest test of our faith is not our willingness to die, but our willingness to pray.

The problem for many is that prayer is not as colorful as martyrdom. There are no books like Foxes Book of Martyrs geared towards those, who rather, lived a life of consistent prayer. We’ve romanticized martyrdom and marginalized prayer.

However, Jesus said in Luke 9:23:

“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

Usually when quoting this passage we recite it like this: “Jesus said take up your cross and follow me.” We leave out the “give up your own way” part of the passage. Nonetheless, that is precisely what Jesus did at Gethsemane:

“He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

In prayer, Jesus laid down His will for the Father’s will. Why? Because Gethsemane always comes before calvary. Living a crucified life is rooted in prayer. You can tell God all day long how much you love Him and how you would do anything for Him; but if you fail to prioritize prayer you are offering Him hollow words. Peter’s unwillingness to pray ultimately resulted in his denial of Christ. This after, Jesus had graciously tried repeatedly to wake Peter up from his slumber, knowing that his prayerlessness was going to lead him into sin.

These Scripture should give us pause and cause to to stop and consider if our prayer life is reflective of a person who would truly die for Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10:

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

Our fellowship in Jesus’ suffering doesn’t begin at the cross, it begins at the rock where He shed tears like drops of blood in prayer. So before we boast of the great faith that we carry, let us first stop and ask ourselves if our prayer time truly reflects our testimony.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church