One Hour Minimum?

“And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Mt 26:40 AV)

The LORD is not asking them to watch for the sake of protecting him from harm.  The watching here is watching in prayer.  He invited these three men to the darkest hour of his life and asked them to pray with him until such a time they came for him.  All he asked for was for one hour of prayer.  Not so hard of a request, is it?

When was the last time you spent an entire unbroken hour in prayer?  Not to mention it was in the middle of the night.  They were tired.  They were weary.  Anxiety was running high.  Christ asks this question not as a means to excuse their slumber.  He simply asks because it was the one hour which He need their devotion the most.  This begs the same question.  When was the last time we spent an hour in prayer?

I am reading a book on famous men of Christendom from the last two hundred years.  Men who have shaped the very fabric of Christianity.  One practice seems to be common among most.  They would rise early, prior to their family getting up, and spend two to three hours in prayer and bible study.  They did this before family breakfast.  It was the first thing they did.  Two to three hours of prayer and bible study.  No wonder these men impacted the world.  Today, if we pray but for a few minutes, we think we have done a great deed.  One wonders what would happen to the world if God’s people were able to watch with the LORD for one hour a day.  It seems as though the one-hour time frame is the minimum expected from Christ.  One hour. One hour of communion with the LORD.  We are not too busy.  We just have too many things on our plate.  What, could we not watch but one hour?