Then he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”” Mark 14:37-38 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/mrk.14.37-38.NET

The powerlessness of the Church over these past sixty years to grow the influence of the gospel can be attributed much to our lack of prayer. The culture is now more gentile than Christian, the result of our failure to consistently obey Christ and teach obedience to all as He commanded. While many still claim to be Christian, their flesh is weak, so they live inconsistent devotion and obedience to Jesus. The most significant lack of prayerfulness comes in our boldness to witness before men their need for a Savior, which is why our culture is so gentile. Like Peter, we deny Jesus by saying nothing of Him to others and living lives reflective of our culture’s values rather than the holiness God requires of His people. Our minds are filled with the knowledge of the world but absent of the knowledge of God’s word. We live and look like gentiles surrendered to the will of our flesh rather than led by the Spirit, Who is energized by our prayers to live powerfully in His people to accomplish His purposes through us. Let us take the challenge to pray consistently for one hour so that we would live like Jesus. Few of us could engage in such a practice without sleeping like the disciples. But if we humble ourselves, pray, seek God, and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our land. Do we truly love our God? Then let us engage Him in fervent prayer that we would no longer live self-centered lives but would join Him in seeking and saving the lost to make disciples of all people, proven by our obedience to all of His commands.