If the Lord wakes us up to pray

Have you ever been aware that you are sleeping (or in that lethargy where we do not know if we are asleep or not) and have you heard the voice of God calling you to pray? You want to pray but your eyes are closed and you can't help it. Have you fallen asleep in the middle of prayer? I invite you, dear brothers and sisters, to search the Word for the passage of the Gospel according to Mark, verses 37-41. The Master prays that anguished prayer in Gethsemane before being handed over to the local authorities and finally being crucified. The disciples, very close, slept.

The Lord, after an hour of prayer, went to see if his disciples accompanied them in that bitter moment of praying, knowing that one of them had hatched a plan to deliver him. The prophecy was about to be fulfilled. He wanted to know if his disciples were accompanying him in prayer, but they were sleeping. The Lord particularly rebukes Peter. Couldn't you stay awake for an hour? (37b). Jesus tells Peter a great truth The spirit is willing, but the body is weak (38b). History was going to repeat itself two more times. The Lord retires to pray, returns a third time and finds them sleeping and resting. His scolding was immediate. He had commanded you to watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation! (38a).

What a shame! When we read the passage and are aware that at times we have not been obedient to the voice of God, there is no other way than to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness. He knows us, he knows that sometimes we are willing to pray, but sleep overcomes us, negligence captivates us in its webs of foolishness, the heart wants to prostrate, but fatigue defeats you. "I will pray tomorrow, when we are at the table and give thanks for the food," a very convenient pretext. We postpone the blessings of praying, the privilege of immersing ourselves in the Spirit of comfort and peace that prevail after sincere prayer. Unfortunately, the prayer of thanksgiving for the daily provision of food when we are at the table, alone or with the family, has become the primary prayer of many Christians. We take advantage of that beautiful moment of family or individual communion and giving thanks for the food, we believe that it is enough as an act of adoration to those who guard us with the zeal of a loving Father every minute of our existence.

Jesus Christ wants us to accompany him in prayer. Luke says that Jesus was in agony when he was praying in Gethsemane, he was sweating drops of blood (Lk 22:44), his humanity was unraveling in that desperate prayer. Perhaps the prayer of his disciples would have comforted him. The cup was bitter, but the prayer of his friends could have made it sweeter.

Christ still suffers for our rebellions, he sweats drops of blood from the pain caused by seeing this humanity immersed in sin, lost in the crimes that bring disobedience and relegating him, us, his children, to the distance of one simple prayer for food. Jesus wants us to be awake, to be alert in these times of inconsistency when we need him so much to walk in faith trusting in his providence and his company. If the Lord awakens you to pray, refresh your face, overcome the test of the temptation to postpone the prayer that He expects of you. Our prayer could make this world better if we accompany Jesus in his eternal mission to intercede for us and for all creation. Christ needed prayer partners in his human condition during the Gethsemane episode. As God did not need him, as a son of man, yes. He demanded it with love. Three times he approached the group and three times he saw that his friends were sleeping dejected by uncertainty and fatigue.

It is a beautiful lesson for us. We have all gone through some Gethsemane in our lives and we have needed a prayer partner, a friend who intercedes for my anguish, for my need, for my faith not to fall, for my strength to rise up in the precious name of Jesus. I thank God for the brothers and sisters who receive these humble reflections and they motivate them to pray for each other, to intercede for the need of those who ask for a word of comfort and prayer. God glorifies himself in sincere prayer, in the intercession that comes from the heart for those in need. If we had prayer partners, things would be different, the world would be different. I invite you to meditate on all this, and pray without delay. Don't wait for the Lord to wake you up. Live alert, vigilant in the Kingdom, praying without ceasing.

God bless you!