It is while Jesus is on the mountain, praying that his appearance is transformed. Those talking with him are Moses and Elijah, who, although I believe were present physically, and not just metaphorically, represented the Old Testament Scriptures, i.e., the Law and the Prophets. Is there a lesson hear about prayer that is consistent with the context of the passage? I believe that there is. Peter, James and John are asleep while Jesus is praying and visiting with Moses and Elijah. Jesus has been transformed during prayer while having a spirited and invigorating conversation with the Word of God through the very personal agents of Moses and Elijah. Might this bring to us a stinging conviction that in prayer true transformation of our selves takes place, and communication with God becomes substantive and ethereal?
In this same passage we find three of the more well-known disciples, asleep. Only after becoming fully awake do they see the glory of Jesus! This is no slight matter. When their slumber has been overcome and their spirits enlivened they see Jesus in His glory. We sleep because we are overcome in the shadow of this world. Sorrow, worry, anxiety, despair and physical activity take there toll on us and we are overcome. Our condition, however has no bearing on the truth of God. Jesus is glorified! Jesus is Holy! Jesus is Mighty! Jesus is Savior! Jesus will not fail or be overcome by this world! He had physically endured everything that Peter, James and John had endured, so his reason to need sleep was as great as theirs. But, his reason to stay awake, fueled by his faith in his Father, overcame his need for sleep. It was in this hour of prayer that his Father supplied him with great encouragement through Moses and Elijah, no doubt related to the truth of God, as it has been recorded in the Old Testament. Jesus was renewed through the Word of God, and it was the message of God and His faith in it, that preceded his Transfiguration.
This is what the disciples awaken to...the glory of Jesus Christ. However, it would take some time for them, some struggles, some failures for them to understand the necessity and power of prayer. For in prayer we all come to see the glory of Christ. In this vision our faith is renewed, our focus is clarified and our purpose becomes clear. I suppose, though, we are not unlike these three men, who will use many precious moments to sleep rather than be renewed in prayer.
May it please God to bring to pass in the lives of His children, even this child, a sharper sense of the value and glory of substantive prayer, fueled by the hearing of God's word and the believing in God's word.
