Watch And Pray

February 16, 2021

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

~Matthew 26:40‭-‬41~

Jesus knew He was about to be betrayed and He knew what it would lead to. The one thing He asked of His disciples was not to help Him run away, or to guard Him so they did not come to arrest Him. Jesus asked His disciples to pray for Him. When Jesus walked away to pray with despair in His heart, He came back to find His brothers asleep. The one simple thing He asked of them and they couldnt stay awake to do so with Him. This didn't happen once but two times. Jesus then explains to them and to us how weak our flesh truely is. Our spirit is willing yet our flesh battles against us. Jesus Himself was battling against His flesh as He became sorrowful and prayed to God that there could be another way. "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. ” (Matthew 26:39)

Oh how this breaks my heart to imagine our Lord suffering such agony. Yet even our own Creator made Himself this vulnerable in the flesh just as we are. "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14)

Jesus defeated the works of the devil in His own human flesh and all He asks of us to do is pray. We are to do this for our brothers and sisters today. Watch and Pray. If we allow our flesh to get the best of us we may just fall asleep and miss out on what the Lord is telling us to do. Jesus tells us to watch and pray as we wait for His second coming; "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is." (Mark 13:32‭-‬33)

The last thing He wants us to do is fall asleep and spiritually become weakened too. When He arrives He wants to find us awake and ready. As we unite with our family in Christ we should also be reaching out and asking for prayer when we need it. The devil wants us to keep to ourselves and remain alone; yet Jesus, our King of Kings asks His own people to watch and pray for Him. The temptations we fall in as we take breaks from praying to the Father can be damaging. As we assume we can handle things on our own we may fall asleep and have nobody to wake us up. "For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up." (Ecclesiastes 4:10)

We need support of eachother. Prayer is where the battle takes place, the heavenlies shift and the demons change positions. The Father moves quickly on our behalf in prayer.

Praying opens doors to heaven; "When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened." (Luke 3:21)

Praying protects us from the elements of the world; "My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:22)

Praying creates confession; "And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this."

(Ezra 10:2)

Praying heals our land; "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)

The importance of prayer is so vast, the Lord continuously warned us to do so without ceasing. Our flesh may try and stop us but our spirit remains strong. Praying feeds our spirit and makes us holy unto the Lord the more we do so. As we keep watch for our brothers and our sisters in Christ and continue to live a prayer filled life, blessings will happen more then you could of imagined. Our trust should remain in Him. We should live everyday as if it were our last just as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

(Ephesians 6:18)

The moment we take our eyes off prayer, the devil is lurking to move in. Ask for prayer, ask to pray for others and keep watch; for the time is at hand. The flesh is too weak we must walk in spirit. "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16)

The works of the flesh not only creates you to slumber and become blind, it can lead you further away from your holy place and closer to the world. "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." (I Timothy 2:8)

Let us not be found as His sleeping disciples when He comes, let us be found alert and praying fervently.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for the faithfulness of Your Son, who prayed every moment of everyday to You and for us. I know He still interceeds on my behalf today and I pray to grow as faithful in my prayer life as Him. Thank you Holy Spirit for helping me in my weakness. I pray for all of my family today that they may prosper, be in good health, thrive in the word of God and understand their calling You have placed on their life so that Your Body may grow each day. Let me be used for edification and Your glory. The praise and honor be to You as I have the ability to come boldly to Your throne to pray and get things done in heaven and on earth. Show me how I need to pray today with words I may forget. Lord, You are everything to me and without Your biblical lessons I would be lost. Lead me Jesus. In Your loving interceeding Name I pray, Jesus Christ. Amen.