Watch and Pray

Matthew 26:41 (New King James Version)


41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”


So many times when we try to have an intimate relationship with the Lord we are distracted. Rather it be because our work lives or our home lives, we become distracted and end up farther away from God then when we first started. We allow so many things to come between us and God even though in our hearts we truly want to be closer to Him.

I myself struggle with this very thing almost everyday. Though I want to do have a strong and healthy relationship with God, I always seem to allow something else get in the way. I have thought about this long and hard for the last couple of days and asked God way am I this way. Because I sometimes I feel that I will never have the sort of relationship with God that I’m seeking. He in turned led me to this scripture, Matthew 26:41, which you can read above.

In this scriptures we find Jesus in what was called Gethsemane where he was preparing himself for the task in which He had came for. This was to die for our sins. In this passage Jesus is very distraught and deeply distress because he knew the task that laid before him. He took with him three of his disciplines Peter, James, and John. He had them watch with him while he pray. Now the way that I understand it is that this meant to wait with him not to actually be lookouts for him. I say this for the watch that Jesus is talking about means waiting for something to come into fruition, like when we have the watch party at church New Years Eve, we are waiting for the New Year to come.

Now Jesus asked the three disciples to watch with him and while he went to pray, however when he returned an hour later he found them sleeping. He woke them up and asked them why they could not watch with him for one hour before they went to sleep. Then he said to them, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak.”

My Friends I believe that the Lord is saying those very thing to us today. For many of us are exactly like the three disciples. If you study this text, and I encourage you to do so, then you will see that even though Jesus asked the disciples to watch with him they instead fell asleep not once but two times. Now you could say that they were not omniscient like Jesus so they had no way of knowing what was about to happen. But the Bible tells us in verse 37 that Jesus was sorrowful and very heavy, so this alone should have made them want to him who they called their Rabbi, or great teacher. I believe that they truly wanted to be there to comfort Jesus but they were just to tired to do so.

I think that God is using this incident to show us I we are today as well. We want to walk with Jesus and have a fulfilling relationship with him but we are allowing our daily lives to get in the way. No we may not be sleeping like the disciples, but we are allowing other things to distracted us. We have to watch our favorite show on T.V., we are worrying about our work after we leave our jobs, we have to make sure that we make time for friends and family so that they will not become mad at us, and the list can go on and on. However will it comes to God we put him on the back burner because we know that he will wait Patiently for us.

My friends God has spoke to me and he said, WAKE UP!! For it is during these very times that I put Him on the back burner that I become even more susceptible to temptation which in turn causes more separation being God and I. Pushing me back in my growth as a Christian when my heart desires to move forward.

While He does not want you to avoid none of those things that I had listed above, we can not put them ahead of God. He must be number one in our life in order for us to be truly fulfilled. We have to Watch, looking forward and being prepared for the unseen, and pray constantly. For as Jesus said though our spirits are willing our flesh is weak.

Through watching, praying, and faith, I believe, are the only way that we can grow closer to God. This is something that I yearn for and I hope you desire the same thing. God Bless.