Watch and pray
"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
(Matthew 26: 36-41)
After three years of discipling, Jesus expected His disciples to pray for at least an hour.
One hour of daily prayer should be the minimum amount of time to pray if you have already spent a considerable amount of time as a follower of Christ.
Notice that in verse 41, Jesus tells them to ‘watch and pray’ in order not to fall into temptation.
Many people often fall into temptation because they don’t watch and they don’t pray for at least an hour daily.
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Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
(Matthew 26: 36-41)
After three years of discipling, Jesus expected His disciples to pray for at least an hour.
One hour of daily prayer should be the minimum amount of time to pray if you have already spent a considerable amount of time as a follower of Christ.
Notice that in verse 41, Jesus tells them to ‘watch and pray’ in order not to fall into temptation.
Many people often fall into temptation because they don’t watch and they don’t pray for at least an hour daily.
Watching
‘Watching’ means being able to source information about what’s going on in your physical and spiritual environment. In 2 Corinthians 2: 11, Paul wrote:
“…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
There is a longer context to the above passage but in short, we can learn that ‘being aware of the devices of Satan’ can prevent us from being outwitted by Satan.
Many Christians have easily fallen in temptations because they were either unaware of Satanic devices around them or they deeply underestimated Satanic devices.
This is the reason why you must watch what’s going on in society, in politics, in the economy, in the depraved culture,in schools,in the news…The goal of ‘watching’ does not consist in accruing depression but in raising awareness about our spiritual and physical surroundings.
Once you have an awareness of your spiritual and physical surroundings, then you have a better indication of what to pray about.
Pray daily for at least an hour
Prayerlessness is a quick shortcut preceding sin.
If you struggle to pray for an hour, then I recommend that you also pray with the Scriptures by reading them. As you read them (as a form of prayer), you will also get the inspiration to engage in longer conversation with God.
One of the indicators of a prayerless church is in the fact that the church leaders often fall into sins (often public ones). This is why I recommend that Churches should have at least an hour of prayer-praise and worship on Sunday before the preaching. Because the enemy often sends devices on Sunday to make Christians fall into sins.
This is a very important and non-negotiable teaching because the period preceding the ‘Mark of the Beast’ will be characterized by all sorts of temptations. The prayerless and ignorant (those who don’t watch) will have serious difficulties.
Watch and pray.
‘Watching’ means being able to source information about what’s going on in your physical and spiritual environment. In 2 Corinthians 2: 11, Paul wrote:
“…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
There is a longer context to the above passage but in short, we can learn that ‘being aware of the devices of Satan’ can prevent us from being outwitted by Satan.
Many Christians have easily fallen in temptations because they were either unaware of Satanic devices around them or they deeply underestimated Satanic devices.
This is the reason why you must watch what’s going on in society, in politics, in the economy, in the depraved culture,in schools,in the news…The goal of ‘watching’ does not consist in accruing depression but in raising awareness about our spiritual and physical surroundings.
Once you have an awareness of your spiritual and physical surroundings, then you have a better indication of what to pray about.
Pray daily for at least an hour
Prayerlessness is a quick shortcut preceding sin.
If you struggle to pray for an hour, then I recommend that you also pray with the Scriptures by reading them. As you read them (as a form of prayer), you will also get the inspiration to engage in longer conversation with God.
One of the indicators of a prayerless church is in the fact that the church leaders often fall into sins (often public ones). This is why I recommend that Churches should have at least an hour of prayer-praise and worship on Sunday before the preaching. Because the enemy often sends devices on Sunday to make Christians fall into sins.
This is a very important and non-negotiable teaching because the period preceding the ‘Mark of the Beast’ will be characterized by all sorts of temptations. The prayerless and ignorant (those who don’t watch) will have serious difficulties.
Watch and pray.