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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
a splendid opportunity to show th e ir faith and faithfulness! B u t they were unprepared,-—they had failed to pray,— and now they all forsake H im and flee. W hat emphasis should be placed upon th a t injunction of our Lord “W atch and pray, lest ye en ter into tem p tation .” (M ark 14 :38 ; 1 Pet. 4 :7 .) Many tim es we fall into sin because we have not bulw arked our lives w ith prayer. F ailing to watch and pray, men are overcome and swept away by the power of some m ighty wave of tem ptation. The devil watches and a t th e critical tim e he comes in like a flood. P raying w ithout w atching is hypocrisy. W atching w ithout praying is presumption. Let us pu t on th e whole arm o r of God, ta k e , the sword o f th e Spirit, and watch unto prayer (Eph. 6 :13-18). PRACTICAL POINTS. (1 ) The Garden of Gethsemane is the scene of the Lord’s final conflict w ith Satan. (2) The preparation for every tria l of our faith is prayer. (3 ) The Lord was perfectly hum an; He sought tfle sympathy and pray ers of His followers in His sorest need. (4) Bare your h ea rt in th e presence of th is sad, sacred, solemn scene,— th e Son of God falling upon His face! (5 ) Here is sorrow so deep th a t no hum an can sound its depths. ( 6 ) Soldiers are shot who are found sleeping on guard, bu t our Lord forgave His followers. (7 ) We m ust w atch and pray, work and p ray and w ait a n d pray. ( 8 ) The th ree chosen apostles forfeited th e honor conferred upon Mary, “ She h ath done w hat she could." (9) A question for each teach er and scholar: “ Can th e Lord depend on m e?”
tu te a number of years ago used to m ark on his rep o rt th a t he spent two hours a day in prayer. He would go to th e dining room, LESSON ea t a h earty meal, ILLUSTRATIONS then go to his room, W. H. P ik e kneel down by his bed to pray. In a few m inutes his roommate would h ear him snoring instead of praying. C h rist’s w arning ag ain st th e sleepiness of the flesh is needed today as much as 1900 years ago. A m issionary going fo rth one morn ing was observed by his devoted wife to be sad. Looking into his face, she said, “Oh, W illie, much work and lit tle prayer makes a h ard ta sk .” He re-entered, spent th e morning w ith his Lord, feasting on Christ and w ent out in the streng th of th a t meal. F leshly P raying. “ In an old book I read how one fel low offered to give his horse to a fel low who would say th e Lord’s prayer a n d th in k abou t no thing b u t God. The offer was accepted and he began, “ Our F ath e r, which a r t in heaven, hallowed be Thy name—-but I must have th e bridle too.” . “No, nor th e horse eith er,” said th e other, “ for thou h ast lost both already.” How th e m ind of the flesh in trud es into our holiest moments. P ray ing B efore a G reat Event. Jesus, no doubt, won th e victory of th e cross alone in Gethsemane. “ Im mediately before th e battle of T rafal gar; Nelson, having seen th a t all was as it should be, retire d to his cabin and w rote th e following prayer, “May the G reat God whom I worship g ran t to my country, and for th e benefit of Europe in general, a g reat and glorious victory, and may no m isconduct in anyone ta r nish it,, and may hum anity a fte r the victory be th e predom inant featu re in th e B ritish fleet! F o r myself individ ually, I commit my life to H im th a t Isa. 63:3.— Rice.
Sleepy P rayers. A stud en t a t th e Moody Bible Insti-
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