By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N
Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying
God’s Word Around The Globe”
August 4, 2016
Watch
And Pray
Matthew
26:41
Watch and pray, lest
you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Today I am led to talk about what it means to
watch and pray. I covered it last weekend, but many of you may have missed it. What
does it really mean to watch and pray? I personally believe that in this season
of my life the Lord is really showing me the real meaning of this scripture and
how to really make it work for me.
Last weekend I prayed and asked for help in one
situation, and the Lord provided. Yet, in another situation I did not ask for
His help and I failed. Last night the opportunity came again at dinner time.
Maybe you can relate. I started out with a plan to eat one thing, but at the
last minute I felt “prompted” to add a little something else to my meal. That
thought was coming from the voice of the tempter. He knew it would take me over
my limit for the day.
I left the room and asked the Lord if I should
do it. Then I proceeded to start the food on the stove. The next thing I knew,
our sweet Jesse started scratching on my leg to go out. I thought it odd
because it hadn’t been that long since he had been outside. Denny and I
proceeded to harness him up and go out. We talked as we walked, so I was
distracted from hearing from the Lord.
Soon Denny’s cell phone rang and he took the
call. While he was busy talking to his client on the phone, the Lord got busy
talking to me in my spirit. He said to me, “Don’t eat the chicken. Put it in
the refrigerator for lunch tomorrow.” That was all I needed to hear. When we
got back home, I finished cooking the chicken and promptly placed it in the
fridge for the next day’s lunch.
The bottom line is this. We know in our hearts
when we are considering doing something that we shouldn’t. That’s the time to
step aside from the situation and ask the Lord to help us. He is ready, willing
and able to help as the scriptures say…
1 Corinthians 10:13
No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it.
The Lord used our puppy to get us away from the
kitchen, and He used the timing of Denny’s phone call to give me a moment to
listen to Him. He needs our cooperation. He will not shout at us, NO – DON’T
EAT THE CHICKEN!” No, He will speak to us in that still small voice on the
inside – so we have to give Him our attention and listen for His answer. It
will surely come.
So to watch means to be aware of the situation
we are in at any given moment. If it becomes a tempting situation, we need to
escape to a quiet place and ask the Lord for help. Then we need to be quiet for
a few moments and give Him the time to respond. And He will. He is faithful. He
would much rather see us do this than to blow it on a whim and then run to Him
repenting and having to seek forgiveness. He does expect us to grow up and do
the right thing. He does not want us to use, or should I say, abuse His grace
as an excuse to do the wrong thing time and time again, only to ask for
forgiveness and then turn right around and do it again. That is childish
behavior. Kids will do things like that – adults should not.
So today, whatever the temptation is that you
are faced with, remember to leave the room. Even if you are in a restaurant,
whatever the case may be, get to a restroom, any place where you can go to the
Lord and ask for His help. Then sit and wait for your answer to come. When we
get the word from the Lord and do it – the miracle occurs, just like Jesus
mother said to the disciples. If we do what He says, His miraculous power will
manifest itself in our situation and we will come out on top instead of caving
in to the flesh or the tempter. Glory to God. The water would have remained
only water that day if the disciples had not obeyed, even though they had no
idea what they were doing or why. It can be the same for us every single day.
We don’t have to seek the flashy stuff to receive the supernatural.
John 2:5
His mother
said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
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