Watch
and Pray
Matthew
26:41
Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak.
My Experience, Strength & Hope
I was being led to talk about what it means to
watch and pray. 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.
The weekend prior to this writing 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. And the night before I wrote
this 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 puppy 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. My husband 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 my husband’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. This is taking a look at the current
circumstances (to watch) and it is asking the Lord to show us what we should do
or how we should handle it – (to pray).
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!” Instead 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.
Again, 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 and there is no true repentance in that! 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.
It really is a day by day walk; even a moment by
moment decision to make the right choices and be successful in overcoming the
obstacles that lay before us. Anything that we have been addicted to in the
past is something that we can never again dabble with. To do so is extremely
dangerous and will lead us down a wrong path.
Even though we get the victory over that
mountain, through Jesus Christ our Lord, we have to remember that if we were in
bondage to it before, we could become ensnared by it again if we are not
careful. That’s why we have to watch and pray. The Lord showed me how to do
this – really.
It is not going to hours of prayer. It is
recognizing the situation at hand and seeking to get the Lord’s help
immediately. He knows what we are faced with and He is right there to help us.
And He won’t keep you waiting long before you will have your answer of
encouragement. Then you and I can go back to what we were doing with the
strength of the Lord going before us.
Just for today, let’s not allow the enemy to
bring any negative thoughts to our mind. Let’s open ourselves to the word of
God as our lamp, our guide - just for today. Let’s remember that we do not have
to deal with tomorrow. It is not here yet. Yesterday is over and done with.
Temptations will come, but God is able to deliver us from them – hallelujah!
Remember this…
Today is a brand new, fresh day - like a load of
clean laundry just pulled out of the dryer. Just for today you and I have the
power living within us through Holy Spirit to make the right choices as we
place out total trust in the Lord. Be blessed and be a blessing to someone
else. Freely we have received – freely we give, in Jesus name!
Scriptures from This
Message…
1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it.
2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.
John 2:5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he
saith unto you, do it.
Revelation 21:5
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I
make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and
faithful.
Questions from This
Message:
·
How has this message
taught you more about what it means to watch and pray?
· Will you make a plan for
the next time you are feeling tempted to eat something you shouldn’t? What will
be your “escape route?”
· Remember that the Lord
is living right on the inside of you. He is not some foreign unknown God way
out there in outer space somewhere. He is only a breath away. We can ask Him
for help at any moment and when we do, be prepared! He will help you in ways
you never imagined.
If you would like to join our weekly call, please send an email to the following:
The3rdJohn2Program@yahoo.com
Be blessed!
Hanny Stearns
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