He went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his
disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that
you will not fall into temptation."
When he rose from prayer and went back to the
disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked
them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Luke 22: 39-46
New Year’s
Eve and New Year’s Day are times when we reflect back on the year, and what the
coming year might bring. After we reflect, we make resolutions. When we make
them, we have every intention of keeping them. But by the middle of January,
most of our resolutions have already been forgotten. Then for many of us, we lapse into
self-disappointment, as we wonder what
happened to all our good intentions! Our
spirit was willing back on New Year's day, but our flesh was weaker than we
thought.
Hearing
what God wants is one thing--doing it is another. No matter how
well-intentioned our thoughts may be the weakness of our sinful selves seems to
get in the way of our obedience.
Jesus'
disciples had the same problem. On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus made a simple request to His disciples.
He didn't ask for miracles or hard effort He only asked that they spend the
night in prayer with Him. Within an
hour, they all fell asleep. Earlier that
evening, Simon Peter had sworn that he would go to his death for Him. Now Jesus
had made the simplest of requests, and he failed at it. Peter must have thought
that he was the weakest man in the world.
How many
times have we made resolutions to lose weight, keep a house clean, get into a devotional routine, or go back to
church and not done them? Eventually we
must realize that resolutions don’t work.
Without God, our resolutions are
worthless!
Every time we make a resolution and break it,
we break a little of ourselves. A resolution is a covenant we make with ourselves, not a momentary whim.
Resolutions
are not commanded in the Bible. There is nothing in the Word that says we
should make them. God does not demand
resolutions from us. The forgiveness of Jesus has already covered our broken
resolutions, even the ones we have not made and broken. He demands nothing of us except faith in Him.
Resolutions are nothing but a tool to help us as we struggle to follow Him
daily.
If we do
make resolutions, however, we should
carefully consider how to keep them. Here are a few steps to keeping our
resolutions.
1. Whenever
you begin a new resolution, start with prayer. Jesus began everything with prayer. Before He started his ministry, he spent
forty days fasting and praying. Before
he chose His disciples, he spent a whole night in vigil before God. Before He faced the cross, He retreated to
the garden of Gethsemane to pray through the evening, until the soldiers came
to arrest Him.
The
passion that is needed to keep resolutions comes from our passion for God. Prayer and study of His divine Word ignites
that passion. Prayer changes the heart as well as the mind. If we receive God’s purpose, without
receiving God’s passion, our minds will be frustrated, because our hearts are
unchanged. Prayer softens the heart, and
opens us up to the Spirit of God.
2. Pray
through opposition. In the garden Jesus
struggled with the temptations that bedevil and defeat us. But unlike
us, He overcame Satan and emerged with His moral resolve intact.
Never
underestimate the size or intensity of spiritual opposition. Satan and the flesh are very clever in
overcoming our resolve. That is why we
need to be in constant prayer throughout the year. If Jesus, who was God, needed to pray to the
Father to overcome opposition, how much more do we need to pray? The strength we need to continue when things
get hard comes through regular connection to the Father.
3. Pray with
others. Jesus sought out the
prayer of His disciples at this critical moment of His life. Jesus as God had the power to overcome Satan
in Himself. But Jesus was also human and as an example to others, He sought
their help. People need to pray
together. There is power in united prayer.
Christian
friends are usually more than willing to help us and pray for us. But if we
don't ask for help, we do not get it. Sometimes we try to spiritualize our lack
of asking by saying "Oh, I don't want to be a bother." But really, we
are just too proud to let others know that we need help. God humbles the proud
by letting them fail at their resolutions, but to those who are willing to
humbly ask for help from God and others, He exalts them by helping them
succeed.
No one can
keep resolutions by themselves. We need the power of God and the support of
others to keep us on the right path.
Make the
first act of the New Year to pray. The first prayer sets the tone of the whole
year. Then this year may turn out to be
the best year yet.
"Father, help me to make serious resolutions and
keep them, so that this year I may end it closer to you than I began it. In
Jesus' name, Amen."
