Prayer and Presence Matthew 26:31

31Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'


Jesus is about to go to the cross. He tells the disciples that they will stumble and be scattered when He is arrested and taken to be crucified. This is when Simon Peter stands up and says, "even if everyone else leave You, I will never leave You." Jesus tells Peter, "Before the rooster crows, you will have denied Me three times."

The thing that caught my eye in this prophesy, which came from the Old Testament, Zechariah 13:7, was the scattering of the flock or the disciples. If the disciples would indeed scatter and leave the Lord when He was arrested and then Simon Peter would deny the Lord, we need to make sure that we are not guilty of the same mistake.

The best way to make sure that we are not subject to stumbling is to stand on prayer. Jesus told the disciples when they got to the Garden of Gethsemane, 41"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Jesus knew what the disciples would face. He had even warned them and He gave them instructions on how to avoid the temptation that would cause them to stumble and then scatter. When we come to God in prayer, we draw near to the Lord. When we come near to Him, He comes near to us and His strength becomes our strength.

Peter drew His sword and struck one of the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus. He was wiling to defend Jesus with His life. Just hours later, he denied that he even knew Jesus to a little girl of all people. Why?

When Jesus is near, there is strength. When we are not in His presence, we are subject to failing and falling. Prayer brings His presence and His strength and His guidance and His blessing. Prayer keeps us from being scattered.