Watch and Pray
How should we orient our minds each day to insure that we are faithful to the Lord? That is a question that each of us must answer for ourselves, or else we will fail in living the Christian life as we should. I know there are many factors that have to be considered when we decide how to set our mind on the right things. However, I believe that Jesus' counsel to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane is very wise for all of us all of the time. He exhorted them to watch and pray. (Mark 14:38) Let's explore what this means and why we need to do it.
We need to watch the things that are going on around us all of the time. We must not just sleep walk through each day subjecting ourselves to whatever influences come our way. We need to watch out for the sinful things and avoid them. We need to watch for the activity of God and join Him in it. When we are soberly watching, then, we know how to pray. We can pray for the power of the Spirit to avoid the temptations and for the same power and wisdom to know how to serve God in what He is doing. We must do this to be spiritually effective in life, because our spirit is willing to do the right things, but our flesh is weak. If we try to do God's will in the power of our flesh or our human capability, we will always fail. Satan and his forces are much stronger than we are. However, they are no match for the power of the Spirit, and God's wisdom will always show us what to do, if we are faithful to ask Him. Therefore, I hope that each of us determine to watch and pray each day, so we can enjoy the favor of God on our lives, instead of being defeated by sin.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 16 and Luke 1-3.
We need to watch the things that are going on around us all of the time. We must not just sleep walk through each day subjecting ourselves to whatever influences come our way. We need to watch out for the sinful things and avoid them. We need to watch for the activity of God and join Him in it. When we are soberly watching, then, we know how to pray. We can pray for the power of the Spirit to avoid the temptations and for the same power and wisdom to know how to serve God in what He is doing. We must do this to be spiritually effective in life, because our spirit is willing to do the right things, but our flesh is weak. If we try to do God's will in the power of our flesh or our human capability, we will always fail. Satan and his forces are much stronger than we are. However, they are no match for the power of the Spirit, and God's wisdom will always show us what to do, if we are faithful to ask Him. Therefore, I hope that each of us determine to watch and pray each day, so we can enjoy the favor of God on our lives, instead of being defeated by sin.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 16 and Luke 1-3.