WATCH AND PRAY!
The pertinency and
necessity of watching and praying in this dispensation cannot be overemphasised.
Its necessity does not only safeguard us from falling into temptation, but also
to make us strong enough to escape the ‘perverseness’,
‘peril-ness’ and ‘horror-ness’ of these end times. Jesus in
the Garden of Gethsemane related His burden to his three inner-caucused-disciples (Peter, James and John) to keep
watch and pray with him, but was disappointed at His first return from the
place of payer to find them sleeping. Instead of them to keep watch with Him in
prayers, they were sleeping. The truth is that you can either be watching and praying or be sleeping and fainting.
Jesus said to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane that they should “Watch
and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak. (Matt. 26:41)”. It is pertinent to know that temptations
and distractions are great and many in these last-days, and unless we always
watch and pray, we will find it difficult to neither stand strong nor stay
faithful to God. If you noticed carefully the denial of Jesus by Peter, it was
because he, alongside the other disciples slept at the time they needed to keep
watch and pray. Your failure and
inability to watch and pray reduces your chance of overcoming temptations and
trials when they knock at your door. If peter could deny Jesus after all
his boastings and noise he made never to, you can do likewise to deny Jesus
Christ if you fail to be careful. The possibility
of falling into temptation is high if a man fails to keep watch and pray. Though,
we live in a time were many people are neither keeping to watching nor to praying,
God does not want us to stand aloof “prayerlessy”
and “watchlessy”. This write-up titled: ‘watch
and pray’ is ‘detailed-ly’ represented
in an acronym to wake us up from our sleep and slumber so that we can keep
watching and praying always till the return of the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ). They
are explained concisely and by God’s
grace precisely below:
Ø
W: “Words” (Matthew 12:36-37) and “Word of God” (2
Timothy 3:16): As
we watch and pray in
this end time, there is need for us to
be watchful of the words that come out from our mouths. Not only that, we must
also take heed to the manual for living (i.e., Word of God). Hardly will a man
who faithfully watches and prays engage in lying, gossiping, talkativeness,
idle words, abusive words, curses, coarse joking, etc. All these mentioned
above are examples of possible sins committed through words. The bible counsels
that: “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such
sins have no place among God's people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and
coarse jokes - these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to
God.” (Eph 5:3-5). It is also very clear that it is by our words that
we will be condemned, and by those same words that we shall be justified. The
bible confirms this when it says: “You can be sure that on the Judgment Day
you will have to give account of every useless word you have ever spoken. Your
words will be used to judge you - to declare you either innocent or guilty.”
(Matt 12:36-37) Therefore,
let us be careful of what we say from our mouths. ALSO, The Word of God is a very paramount means God uses to build
us up as we watch and pray. A man deformed of God’s word can hardly watch and
pray in this crooked and perverse generation. The personality of Jesus Christ
is revealed in His word. It is by the residence of God’s word in our hearts
that we might not sin against God. The bible says: “Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalms 119:11). Allow God’s
word to dwell richly in you, and you will see continuous victories God will
grant unto you whenever devil brings temptations and trials your way.
Ø
A: “Actions” (Rom.
1:29-32, Gal. 5:19-21) and “Acting on God’s Word” (Acts. 4:18-20). The list of actions/deeds mentioned in
Galatians 5:19-21 points a great limitation to been watchful and prayerful. Many
people nowadays owe to the statement: “Christianity
is of the heart and not in our outward appearance” as a license to cover up
their sinful habits and actions that manifest from their sinful nature. As good
as Christianity is of the heart, it must also be proven by the fruits
we bear, i.e., in our actions and outward appearance. The bible says, “You
can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act…” (Matt. 7:16).
It further says that “…just as you can identify a tree by its
fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matt. 7:20). The way you act determines how people
will identify and assess you. The devil uses the commonly used statement of “Christianity is of the heart and not in our
appearance” to enslave many people in sin, iniquity and transgressions. Your actions
are propelled by what and who controls your heart and mind. You can
hardly keep to watching and praying if what propels your actions is the human
nature (Old nature, Old life, Old man, Adamic nature, Sinful nature, Mr. Self,
Mr. Flesh,). ALSO, acting on God’s
word is paramount if we must see progress in our lives. Hearing God’s Word is far different from acting on God’s Word. Our
generation is full of people who are Church-goers but hardly are they The
Word-doers. Many people fill up Church
pews/chairs on Sunday morning but only few practicalise and act on the Word of
God they hear. Many people fill up Church pews/chairs on Sunday morning but
only few are filled with the Holy Ghost. Many people fill up Church pews/chairs
on Sunday morning but only few manifest the life of Jesus Christ on the streets;
in their schools; in their market places; in their work places, etc. The truth
is that our growth in life and in the
knowledge of God is dependent on our obedience (prompt action) to His Word.
Acting promptly to God’s Word gives us practical experiences to life, and facilitates
our spiritual maturity; it also goes a long way to provide a way of escape for
us in the moment of temptations and trials.
Ø
T: “Thoughts” (Matthew 12:24-31,
15:19-20,) and “Teaching God’s Word” (Ezra 7:10). What goes on in your heart has a great
influence on your next course of action. It is “…out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh.” says the scriptures in Matt. 12:34. It is from
your heart that sinful actions emanate from. These sinful actions are sins (bad
actions) that manifest visibly in the life an individual. Sinful thoughts are
not in visible actions, whereas, sinful actions are in visible actions. It therefore
clearly shows us that there are particular sins that end up not in visible
actions but in our thoughts, nevertheless, God sees and treats them as the same
sin with that which manifest in our actions. The bible says, “For
out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies:.. (Matt. 15:19, KJV)” The likes of:
wrong thoughts about others, lustful
thoughts, impure thoughts, immoral thoughts, evil thoughts of all kinds have
the capacity and tendency of separating us from God. Not only that, it hampers
our enabling capacity to watch and pray. ALSO,
there is a great need to teach God’s Word that has now become our lifestyles. Engaging
in teaching God’s Word that you’ve studied and have allowed it to become
practicable in your life is of utmost relevance if you must keep to watching
and praying in these end times. Preaching and teaching God’s word is not an
exclusive venture for our ordained Pastors only. As Children of God, we are meant to engage our World with The Word.
For Ezra in the book of Ezra 7:10, he did not only prepared
his heart to seek the law of the Lord but to do it. He didn’t just stopped at
doing the law of God but to also went ahead to teach in Israel statutes and
judgments. The bible says: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the
law of the Lord, and to do it, and
to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” (Ezra 7:10). He (Ezra) began
to teach God’s Word after it had been evident in his life. Studying God’s word is not enough! Doing God’s word is not enough! We
must rise from today to begin to engage in teaching God’s word. This is
because God enjoins us to engage in teaching His Word as we engage in watching
and praying.
Ø
C: “Character” (Matthew
3:5-8, Gal. 5:22-23) and “Continue in God’s Word” (John 8:31, Act14:22). It is in the desire of God Almighty
that we be conformed to His patterned Son (Jesus Christ) in character. We live
in a world and generation where many people claim to be born-anew, yet, they are
deformed of the Character of Jesus Christ. The character you showcase and
manifest to people around is one of the easiest ways to prove whether you have
repented from your sins or not. The bible confirms this when it says that: “Prove
by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Matt.
3:8). A man whose character is not conforming to Christ is invariably conforming
to another being or thing that is certainly not Christ-like; he will be deformed
of the life Christ. The residence of God’s seal of ownership in me (Holy
Spirit) helps me to produce good fruit. This good fruit produced in a man’s life
makes him to live a goodly and Godly character effortlessly. It is by your fruits
the bible says that you shall be known. A good life manifests good character,
while a bad life manifests bad character. The bible says that “…every
good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:17-20). ALSO, God enjoins
us to abide in His Word. One of the evidences that certify a man as God’s
disciple is that such a man continues in God’s Word. Without continuing in the
Word and faith, there is high possibility of falling in the days of adversity
and temptations. The bible says that: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on
him, If ye CONTINUE in my word, THEN are ye my DISCIPLES indeed;” (John 8:31). Do
you want to be and ‘indeed disciple’ of Jesus Christ, you must therefore continue is his word. To
be watchful and prayerful entails that you never give up your trust in God’s Word;
His Word should be an anchor for you to hold on to continually as you journey to
the celestial city (Heaven). Therefore, having
less trust and believe in God’s Word is a short-cut to been defeated by the
enemy in your moments of trials and tribulations. The necessity of
continuing in God’s Word facilitates a step-by-step transformation of your life
(Character) to be conformed to that of Jesus.
Ø
H: “Humility” (Phil.
2:5-7, 1 Pet. 5:5) and “Hunger for righteousness” (Matt. 5:8 and Heb. 1:9).
Humility ought to be a lifestyle and not an act; and it is grounded in the
character of God. In Phil. 2:5-7, we can see how Jesus exhibited humility from
the manger right to the cross; He submitted to the will of God even to the
point of death. It is humility in action when we read the scriptures and accept
it as the will of God for our lives. Humility
is the godly posture of your heart, which must be expressed by a state of
voluntary submission to the will of God. I must therefore say that the surest and clearest indicator that you
practice true humility is your absolute obedience to God and His Word; and Jesus as we can see is the perfect model of
humility. Humility also means putting God and other persons ahead of our
own selfish interests. Humility does not mean to be weak, passive, careless nor
timid. In a nutshell, humility does not connote
timidity neither does it mean stupidity. It simply means an attitude of the heart that naturally recognises that
you are lower than God and owe your life to Him. We can learn about this
humility from the studying of Jesus’ words and actions; the only perfect humbled
person who ever lived. It is required of us to be clothed with humility at all
times if we must be watchful and prayerful in this corrupt age. ALSO, there is great need as Christians
to hunger and thirst for righteousness as we engage in watching and praying. This
is lacking in our world today. No wonder, many of us yield to the enticement of
the world. Jesus in the days of His flesh did not only hate iniquity but he also
loved righteousness. The bible says: “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated
iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.” (Heb. 1:9). We will never be filled with
righteousness, if we don’t hunger and thirst for it. The bible says: “Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled.” (Matt. 5:6). Let us as Christians crave to be in right
standing with God always. We must resist anything that will jeopardize our
pursuit of righteousness, and begin to re-strategise on how to quest after
righteousness in these days of battle.
Ø
P: Passion for
Fellowship (Psalm 42:2, 122:1).We live in a time were the passion for personal and corporate fellowship with God is becoming
extinct. Many people no longer pant for personal fellowship with God, nor do
they desire fellowship in company with other believers. The early disciples after
Peter’s preaching to them on the day of Pentecost were not so; they were so
passionate for fellowship. The bible confirms this when it says that: “And
with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from
this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized;
and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and FELLOWSHIP, in the breaking of bread,
and in prayers.” (Acts 2:40-42). After been saved from this perverse and crooked generation, there is a great need
to be passionate for the Lord’s house and His presence. King David understood this
matter of fellowship so much that on one occasion, he made both an heart-cry
and an outcry in Psalms 42:2
that: “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and
appear before God?” Many of us
today don’t ask ourselves the question of “when shall I come and appear before
God?” Instead, we ask questions of “when shall I depart from the sanctuary of
the Lord?”, “Which time will this morning Sunday service end so that I can go
home?” etc. You cannot properly watch and pray if your passion for
fellowship (Personal and Corporate) is gone unto extinction. This write-up is a
wakeup-call for you, if in any way you’ve gone down in your pursuit and quest
for God.
Ø
R: Run away from Evil
(James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8-10, 2 Tim. 2:22). The devil will hardly flee away from your life, if you don’t resist
him. We must learn to keep away from every appearance of evil. As the devil
will never terminate his advances towards us, we must therefore keep watch and
pray. Every evil presentation and temptation the devil presents to us, we must
trust God to continually resist him. One
of the proofs that you really fear God is this: when the devil presents free
opportunity for you to commit sin, and then you flee away from it. The life
of Joseph is a practical example and a proof. He said to himself; “my garment (cloth) can be snatched away
from me, but not my salvation.” He prefers to lose his cloak (garment) than
to lose his salvation for just temporal pleasure with his master’s wife. The
bible confirms this when it says that “…he left his garment in her hand, and fled
and ran outside.” (Gen 39:15b). We
must as a matter of necessity flee youthful lusts. God’s counsel as we engage
in watching and praying is to run away from evil.
Ø
A: Accepting Jesus’
Yoke of Discipleship (Matt. 11:28-30, Rom.8:29). I must quickly say that every one of us is a carrier of a
yoke. Though, it depend whose yoke you bear or carry; it can either be Jesus’
yoke or the devil’s yoke. We must come to a point of accepting God’s will for
our lives. The greatest tool to
facilitate our ‘conformity’ and ‘formationality’ to Jesus is by accepting his yoke
of discipleship. Jesus’ burden is not burdensome, but light. We will surely become like whose yoke we take
and bear. If we bear and wear the yoke of Jesus, we will surely become like
Him as we learn from Him day by day. Similarly, if we bear and wear the yoke of
the devil, we will surely become like him as we keep yielding to his counsels
and advises. Discipleship which can be either formational or manifestational
is necessary for every one of us if we must properly watch and pray. Submitting
absolutely first to God, and then to human hands on a willing
terms and bases in order to be conformed to Jesus
Christ in all ramifications is the central
message of discipleship. Accepting the yoke of Jesus is in another
form accepting His will. The will of God (yoke) shouldn’t be a burdensome yoke but an easy yoke to carry.
Ø
Y: Yielding to the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:25-26,
Rom. 8:14). It is one
thing to have the Spirit of God resident in my life and another thing to
yield to the leading of that Spirit (Holy Spirit). We have many Christians who
have the Holy Spirit in them but have been running their lives exclusively from
the leading of the Holy Spirit. To be able to engage well in the venture of
watching and praying, there is need to continually yield to the Holy Spirit. Many
people are guilty of grieving the Holy Ghost severally, while others have even
quenched/silenced the Holy Ghost in their lives. God’s prove of our son-ship to
Him is evaluated based on how we allowed ourselves to be led daily by the Holy
Spirit. One of the things that show that
I am a bona-fide son of God is that I allow myself to continually yield to the
leading of the Holy Spirit. The bible says that: “For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Rom. 8:14). Not yielding to God just shows that I am yielding to the biddings
of the human or carnal nature. Let your new life in Christ Jesus not only be proven
to have God’s seal of ownership (Holy Spirit), but you must learn to continually
yield to the leadings, guidance, counsels, instructions, and directions of God’s
seal of ownership (Holy Ghost) in
your life. Let us keep on with been watchful and prayerful as we await the
return of the bridegroom.
Looking
at the above explained acronyms to watch and pray, we can clearly see that
there is so much urgency in the mind of God for us to keep watch and pray in
this end times. As a counsel to some of his disciples on how to stand in this end
times, Jesus said: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation,
drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you
unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face
of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to
escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before
the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36). The necessity to watching and praying
does not only grant me strength to stand strong in this difficult end times,
but that I may be able to stand before Jesus Christ. Watching and praying does
not only afford me the enabling ability to escape and not be trapped by these
end-times traps, but also grants me the needed strength to stay righteous and
not to be spiritually and morally corrupted by these end-times’ stress and
difficulties. As Jesus counseled some of his disciples many years ago, so am I
counseling you through this write-up to “…take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts
be weighed down…”
The challenge to watching
and praying can be traced to the heart. If
your heart is not consistently storing God’s word in the inside, it can be
weighed down with Dissipation (Carousing, partying, feastings), drunkenness and
the anxieties of life. The questions to unearth personally are these: Am I really watching and praying? Haven’t my
heart been weighed down with the cares/anxieties/worries/problems of life? We
must keep watch and pray as Christians so that we wouldn’t be caught unawares
of the coming of Jesus Christ. To be able to stand before the Son of Man (Jesus
Christ), we must watch earnestly and pray fervently. The five foolish virgins failed
to be watchful and prayerful, no wonder they were not fully prepared for the
Bridegroom’s return. Can you check your life RIGHT NOW: are you ready of the coming of Jesus? Have you not slept
and slumbered like all the virgins? Have sin of immorality, disobedience,
masturbation, pornography, sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish
ambition, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, wild parties and
lies not ruined and wrecked your life? Is your heart not polluted with the
things of this world? Has lust of the eyes; lust of the flesh, and the pride of
life not taken control of your life? All these among several others can hinder
you from watching and praying. It has the capacity to take you off the track of
righteousness and holiness, and render you unprepared for the coming of Jesus
Christ.
It is practically impossible
to be worthy of those who should watch and pray if you have not willing surrendered
your life to Jesus Christ at all. Your watching and praying is in futility if the
certainty and genuinely of your salvation is with a question mark. If your
heart has not been totally changed from the heart of stone to the heart of
flesh through genuine salvation, it will be difficult to watch and pray. Though,
a man can give his life to Christ and still be deformed of a circumcised heart.
We have many Christians who have not been circumcised. Apostle Paul who came to
the realisation of circumcision and the practical positive effect it has on his
life said: “For we are the CIRCUMCISION, which worship God in the spirit, and
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH. Though I might
also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath
whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the
stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as
touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching
the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to
me, those I counted loss for Christ. (Phil 3:3-7). The proof that your
heart has been circumcised is that you have no confidence in the flesh; and
that you have counted as loss for Christ all those things that were once
worthwhile, precious, lovely and gainful to you. You can also be among the circumcision (those whose hearts are
genuinely purged and circumcised) like Apostle Paul when you ABSOLUTELY trust in the Holy Spirit for
everything that concerns your life. My conclusion therefore, is for you to
watch and pray so that: you will not fall
into temptation like Peter, who denied Jesus Christ three times; you will not be
weighed down in the heart with partying, drunkenness and the worries of life; you
will escape from these end-times traps and distractions; you will be able to
stand before the Son of Man; and you will be ready at all times for the return
of the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ). Dear friend! I will leave you finally with
this scripture “Watch therefore, for you
know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (Matt.
25:13). God bless you.
Written
and Edited by: Bro. Samson O. Daniel
Contact
Phone Numbers: 07065752517, 08179424767, and 09076666909
