[The Glory Unveiled]
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. [ Matthew 26:41 KJV ]
Watching [being alert] goes hand in hand with praying. Either is insufficient to deal with temptations that aim at our humanity. Whenever temptation or tests come our way, we should not depend only on either prayer alone or watching alone. Dwelling on just either of these for help in times of temptation will only end in surprising disappointment. There are very prayerful believers who fall every time into the arms of temptations, sometimes immediately after prayers. Did you realize that Jesus was tempted immediately after His 40 days of fasting and prayers. His prayers didn’t stop the temptation, but what gave Him victory was both prayers and his ability to watch (discern). Watching is a spiritual skill of looking through the eyes of Scripture to judge or interpret our world and experiences. Watching without praying means that we can recognize/identify the temptation but still fall in it as the capacity to escape it is unavailable. Yet praying without watching is just like being blindfolded but having a very sharp machete. No matter how skillfully you brandish it, you will mostly miss the target. This is why they go together and Jesus being aware of this instructed the disciples who were with Him to watch and pray. This recipe is particularly because of the weaknesses of our humanity. Jesus said that the spirits of the disciples were willing but their flesh were weak. Hence, watching and praying helps our spirit to superimpose the flesh. And with temptations all around us, sensitivity through the word of God and prayer is a necessity.
Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, thank you for showing me the way out of temptation. Help me to always watch and pray.
Wisdom_Quote: Praying and watching go hand in hand for the way of escape to manifest.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.