Morning Manna | Matthew 26:40 | One Hour?

What, could ye not watch with me one hour? — Matthew 26:40

Sometimes God asks great things of His people. Take for instance the three to whom this word was spoken. He had commanded them to give up their families, their jobs, their lives—and come follow Him. And they did. They went on hard errands and difficult tasks. Preaching Jesus' message was no walk in the park. Then, at the end of their lives, they paid the ultimate price. Peter was crucified. James was beheaded. John was boiled in oil and exiled to Patmos. These men were asked great things by Christ—and they followed through.

But in this one hour, they failed.

God may ask great things of you as well. He may ask you to give up your religion, your family, your houses and lands. And for many—many actually—this great demand is too high a price. Like the rich young ruler, they bow their heads and walk away.

But today we’re not speaking to those.

Today we speak to those who have given up everything to follow the Lord. To His servants—who, even if they haven’t yet paid a very high price—are willing to give up whatever may be asked. Or, if not yet willing, are praying daily that God would make them willing, should the occasion arise.

It was to these dedicated disciples that Jesus asked a very small thing. He asked for companionship. He asked them to share the burden. He asked these three, above the rest, to give up just one hour of sleep—to commune with Him, to help bear the sorrow, to become workers together with God.

That is what God still asks of His dedicated disciples today.

He wants your companionship. He desires communion with you. He is looking for those who are willing to forgo the comfort of rest in order to labor in prayer—those willing, even for a short while, to become workers together with God.

They had not failed in the big things. But in this simple, short task—they failed. This is the failure of the best of the best, the consecrated among the consecrated. And it still is today.

We are often willing to give everything to Jesus—except an hour of comfort in the midnight season. We want to lay it all down. We, like Peter, may have boasted in our great love. But we fail not in the years of our lives—but in the hours.

I wonder how many times in the years that followed, those disciples looked back on that one hour and wished a million times over that they had stayed awake and prayed with their Lord? I say that because in my own life, I’ve slept through those sacred hours and looked back with deep regret, wishing I had labored on.

This morning, let’s not let the small services slip away in pursuit of the big. Remember: at the last day, our service to Jesus will not be measured by how much we did—but by how faithfully we did the little things.

Faithfulness in the unseen hour is just as important—perhaps more important—than the willingness to give it all up for Him. Big acts of service can be done from wrong motives. But the quiet, hidden acts? Those are much harder to do for the wrong reasons.

I suspect that, on the day of judgment, many years of costly service will be revealed as wood, hay, and stubble—and that seemingly costless hours of prayer, communion, and burden-bearing will shine out as more valuable than we ever imagined.

George H. Morrison once said:“Great services reveal our possibilities; little services reveal our consecration.”

So this morning, let’s shift our focus from the great things He has asked—and seek first to be faithful in the little.

Can we not watch with Him one hour?