“And when Jesus rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” (Luke 22: 45-46)

The disciples had succumbed not only to weariness, but to the sleep of sorrow, lulled into a belief that all was lost and there was not much they could do about it. Jesus knew better than any that the authorities were pursuing him and that their desire was his crucifixion. But what did he do?

Jesus took this time to pray. If anything, he became more alert and awake to God, to Life and Truth and Love. He drew close to His Father-Mother-Life, his saving strength, and was able to be clear and conscious in Truth, not foggy and sleepy with darkness and apathy. His time in Gethsemane was not used as a mournful occasion or one in which to give up and nod off. It was a time to unite with the divine Life, to be alert to the lies that included a sense of doom or victimization, and to overcome them through the Love of God.

Jesus seemed surprised that his apostles were sleeping. He surely had taught them that in any situation, prayer was most needed. They needed to watch, not with terror or paranoia, but with God, with that heightened enlightened perspective that didn’t dwell on the dream of death, but on the glory of the resurrection.

Let’s find our true peace and rest through consecrated prayer, and know that real and renewing sense of life that Jesus taught and proved.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.