Today’s Encouragement is Mark 14:38 NLT Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Keep watch and pray –
We don’t need to much convincing, do we? We’ve all recognized this truth within ourselves; we have the desire to be faithful, to honor God, to live right, to do as Jesus would do… but we all find this verse to be true… our flesh, the thoughts, and actions of humans, is weak… unable – on its own – to resist temptation… “We all have sinned” (Rom 3:23).
And the answer? Keep watch and pray! So That! In order not to! – fall into temptation… we keep watch and pray. We understand prayer fairly well, but what does it mean to ‘keep watch’?
Consider a watchman in ancient Israel, standing guard for his shift on a tall watchtower, keeping watch for any sign of the enemy approaching. He would scan the horizon for any signs, he would listen for any sounds, all his senses would be heightened while on duty… to any sign of danger. This is keeping watch!
So, for us today, could it mean being aware of the places the enemy is likely to attack, the plans and the tools he uses, our weakest areas, the sound of his tempting voice?
Being aware of his ways makes us better able to keep watch! Being ignorant of his ways, or ignoring them, will ultimately make us his victims.
Father God, help us to always pray and also to keep watch, to be good watchmen, aware of the ways of our enemy, his strengths, and our own vulnerabilities.
Watch and Pray
Twila Paris
Today’s Encouragement 