His elect come to Him, as we saw in the parable, night and day, night and day, watch and pray.  This is no time for us to rest on the laurels of our knowledge of doctrine.  We need the presence of God.  We need the daily visitation of the presence of God in our lives.  That stirring, the confirmation that we’ve encountered God, we need to be in that visitation to where others can see it just like Moses when he came down, and they said, “You’ve been in the presence of God.”  We come down.  Our dispositions are changed.  Our personalities begin to change in many ways.  We’ve been with God, and we’re beginning to look like Jesus.  Hallelujah.  Why?  Because in that prayer closet, we begin to crucify the things of the flesh.  We die daily.  “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”, praise God.  Watch and pray.  This daily cross.

Jesus is bringing illumination into Peter and into the disciples.  It said it came to that place where they were depressed.  They were very heavy of heart.  Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.”  Wow.  Read those words.  This burden that Jesus was under.  We, in our own minds, make this cross too easy.  “Well, He was God.”  It was purposed from before the foundations of the world.  He was filled with the Holy Ghost without measure.  What is it that Jesus had for the remedy of being exceedingly sorrowful?  Psychologists?  “I just need to get with my friends and go on a vacation.  We need to have some form of recreation.  I just need a little time to myself.”  The solution is getting in the presence of Father; amen?  “Tarry ye here, and watch with me.  And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and praying, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass...”

We know we’re growing up when in our greatest tragedies and trials with hearts of thanksgiving we can say, “Not my will, thy will be done,” and mean it, and not accept it as something that we have to go through, but something that was good for us, that was the love of God to us.  That encounter with God lets you hang upon that cross and those who have mocked you and despised you, the very sinless Son of God, and to be able to say, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” the genuine love for our enemies.  His admonition to the disciples when he comes and finds them asleep.  “You couldn’t even make it an hour?  In My greatest agony, you couldn’t tarry an hour?”  It would be hard to put this on God as we as men and in our own minds try to comprehend the incomprehensible, the finite, the infinite.  In some way, He who lives in eternity from beginning to end.  He’s not waiting for something to happen.  He’s already experienced it all.  He’s been in our tomorrow; amen?

The very mind and scope of God seeing this concluded, I can’t help but believe.  Look at the words again, “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.”  I believe that same broken heart is there today in the heart of God who is not willing that any would perish and is admonishing His church right now.  “The night is going to come when no man can work.”  At least give me an hour and win some souls.  At least give me an hour and begin to pray for those that are perishing.  At least cast some seed.  At least cast a net.  We’re not pointing to the justice of God and the responsibility of men who are the haters of God.  We’re just talking tonight about the admonition that in this hour we’re living to spend a little more time in the prayer closet to get the heart and mind of the head of the church, so that we can see His body edified as we love one another, and we can see a remnant as the Lord adds to the church daily.

Father, we thank You for Your Word.  We ask for those hearts that would allow us to watch and to pray, to understand that we, too, are capable of being overcome in life’s circumstances.  We, too, can become burdened down with cares, with lusts, with carnality.  Why do we pray, because He asked us to?  No, He commanded us to.  To not watch and pray is just as great a denial as Peter had in failing to fully recognize His lordship at all times in our lives.  Help us, Father, by Your grace in this hour that we live, we ask it in Jesus’ name.  Amen.