Praying Affects How We Act Later
While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared, and the man named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He walked up to Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, should we use our swords?”
Then one of them struck the high priest’s slave, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus said, “Enough of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
The very sentence before this, Jesus told them to pray so that they wouldn’t give in to temptation. Here he is, being tempted right after saying that.
He could make Judas drop dead. He could melt his lips off with fire. He could open the Mount of Olives and swallow the whole crowd with dirt. He could unmake the entire universe instantly without any of them feeling any pain.
What if my Facebook login had a sensor on it that I had to complete 5 minutes of uninterrupted prayer before I could log in? What if just before I give my wife a snarky comment to belittle her, I would instead draw from the wisdom the Holy Spirit gave me in my 10 minutes of praying the Psalms this morning?
Jesus, in His temptation moment, healed the ear of one of a man that would likely hear and obey the call to nail Jesus to the cross.
Jesus, in His temptation moment, showed Judas who was in control by not losing His temper or avenging Himself. Jesus knew that The Father would deal with Judas. He knew that The Father would deal with those soldiers.
He knew that The Father would take care of Him through every moment of the next 12 hours. Even the next 3 days.
So praying so that we don’t fall into temptation isn’t just for the moments that we are praying, it’s for the next 15 minutes. It’s for the next day and a half.
Spend the time. Pray. Pray for all of the things. It’s worth it, and God will make your soul the better for it.
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