Matthew 26, 41: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26, 56: “(…) Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled.”

The Bible admonishes us to pray without ceasing (1 Timothy 5, 17). The necessity to pray without ceasing implies that we will also be tested without ceasing. As long as we are in this world and in this body of clay, there will always be a circumstance that tries to make us fall. But Jesus has overcome the world and we don’t need to be afraid when temptation arises. If we are well trained in prayer as good soldiers in the Lord, we will always defeat the enemy. Moreover, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from every sin and He will always forgive us if we confess our sins to Him and forsake them. When we pray, it is also important that we ask God to deliver us from the evil one and not let us fall into temptation, for the enemy of our souls goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour because he knows that he does not have much time left to take as many souls as he can with him to hell. So we must watch and pray, working on our own salvation with fear and trembling (1 Peter 5, 8; Philippians 2, 12).

Praying is inviting God in our hearts and lives and having fellowship with Him. God is love and His nature is to give. Which means that when we fellowship with God and spend time with Him in prayer, we will never go empty handed. He will always give us our hearts desires when we truly delight in Him, and He will make sure that He renews our strength and equips us with the tools that we need to resist every temptation that may come our way. As we read the living Word of life, we will receive the necessary weapons that will help us to fight the good fight of faith and be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 6, 12; 2 Corinthians 10, 4; Romans 8, 37; Ephesians 6, 11-18).

Despite all his zeal and love for his Master, Peter also denied Jesus in a time of weakness, when he was controlled by fear, anger and the desire to take revenge on those that had unjustly arrested His Lord. He never wanted to believe that he could ever deny Jesus who told His disciples that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But if we walk by the Spirit of God that dwells within us, we shall not fulfill the desires of the flesh. There is a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. Walking in the flesh will cause us to take the wrong decisions that may affect not only us and our family members, but it could also have a negative impact on an entire nation and the generations to come.

We are living in the last days and these are perilous times (2 Timothy 3, 1-5). In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is warning us about the difficult times that are coming upon the face of the earth and He admonishes us to watch and pray: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21, 36). In Ephesians 6, 18 we read: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”. If we remain faithful till the end and strive to overcome temptation, we will be pillars in the temple of God, as we read in Revelation 3, 12: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”

There are more promises given by the Lord Jesus Christ to those that overcome:
Revelation 2, 7: “(…) To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. “
Revelation 2, 11: “(…) He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
Revelation 2, 17: “(…) To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. “
Revelation 2, 26: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations”
Revelation 3, 21: ”To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
James 1, 12: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

We will overcome temptation in the name of Jesus, by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony. Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Amen! (Revelation 12, 11; Zechariahs 4, 6). mt