Spiritual Slumber

Why did Peter say what he said during such a significant event as the Transfiguration? The Gospels give us two reasons: One, he didn’t know what to say, and two, he was “heavy with sleep.” This was a bad time to fall asleep. Imagine what else Peter might have seen had he been fully awake and watchful.

This, of course, would not be the last time that Peter, along with James and John, would fall asleep on the watch. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told them, “Watch and pray. . . .” Then He went a few feet away and began to pray. When He came back, they were all sleeping. They were missing out on a significant event in the life of the Lord.

I wonder how much we miss out on because of our spiritual slumber. How many times are we spiritually slumbering when God wants to speak to us through His Word? Because we are too preoccupied with other things, we don’t have the discipline to pick up the Bible and open it. How many times are we spiritually slumbering instead of going to church and being fed from the Word of God? How many times are we spiritually slumbering when the Lord would want us to speak up for Him? We’re asleep on the watch.

Like the disciples, we too can miss out on what God wants to do in and through us. We need to be awake. We need to be alert. We need to be paying attention.