Waiting and Watching
Jesus often spent time alone in Gethsemane in order to obtain rest and find new strength in prayer. One night, however, everything was different. His heart was troubled and He felt as if He were being excluded from the presence of His Father.
Leaving some of His disciples near the garden, He besought Peter, James, and John to pray for themselves and for Him. These three were close friends and had been witnesses of Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. They had seen how Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, and they had heard the voice of God coming from heaven. Christ desired the assurance that they were close to Him now, and He said: “Tarry ye here, and watch with Me.”
On this night everything was at stake. The tempter had come for his last terrible strike. Everything depended on the outcome of this struggle. And in this very hour Jesus returned to the place where He had left His friends, only to find them sleeping.
How much encouragement would it have been for Christ had He found them praying, but they had not heeded His repeated request, “Watch and pray.”
The sleeping disciples awakened when they recognized the voice of Jesus. Christ said to Peter: “Simon, sleepest thou?” “Couldest not thou watch one hour?” “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” The terrible moment had come, the hour that would decide the fate of the world, but the disciples were asleep. Jesus had often given the warning: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Those words are a warning for all who wish to stand faithful and strong in the faith. Nobody is safe for one day or even one hour without prayer. Only watching and praying can give us safety.
“A man cannot be a happy Christian unless he is a watchful Christian. He who overcomes must watch; for, with worldly entanglements, error, and superstition, Satan strives to win Christ's followers from Him. It is not enough that we avoid glaring dangers and perilous, inconsistent moves.” 1
“There may be supposable things that appear as good things, and yet they need to be carefully considered with much prayer, for they are specious devices of the enemy to lead souls in a path which lies so close to the path of truth that it will be scarcely distinguishable from the path which leads to holiness and heaven. But the eye of faith may discern that it is diverging from the right path, though almost imperceptibly. At first it may be thought positively right, but after a while it is seen to be widely divergent from the path of safety, from the path which leads to holiness and heaven.” 2
“It was in sleeping when Jesus bade him watch and pray that Peter had prepared the way for his great sin. All the disciples, by sleeping in that critical hour, sustained a great loss. Christ knew the fiery ordeal through which they were to pass. He knew how Satan would work to paralyze their senses that they might be unready for the trial. Therefore it was that He gave them warning. Had those hours in the garden been spent in watching and prayer, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength. He would not have denied his Lord. Had the disciples watched with Christ in His agony, they would have been prepared to behold His suffering upon the cross. They would have understood in some degree the nature of His overpowering anguish. They would have been able to recall His words that foretold His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Amid the gloom of the most trying hour, some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness and sustained their faith.” 3
It is very important to watch and to pray. We have to take time to consider deeply what are our real motives and actions. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
The Bible gives us many examples of people who prayed earnestly and constantly. When Elijah prayed, he held on to the promises of heaven and stayed in prayer until his prayers were answered. He did not wait to receive proof that God had heard him but he was nonetheless ready to risk everything at the smallest sign of divine favor. Everything that he was able to do with God’s help any one of us can do in the service of the Lord.
Jacob was victorious in the night of his struggle with the Angel because he possessed perseverance and determination. His experience in overcoming is to be ours. “The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.” 4
The Christians of the New Testament were praying Christians. The first church received the baptism of the Holy Spirit during a prayer meeting on Pentecost. We also read in the epistles that the disciples were constantly seeking communion with God in prayer while they were spreading the message of Jesus over the whole world. See Acts 2:42.
Prayer belongs at the core of our church services. Surely, we all know that. But does it really have the vital role that it should have in our worship? Or has prayer been reduced to a dry form that we use to open and close services?
Jesus drew strength from prayer in beseeching God in behalf of His disciples. He took each one separately and prayed for him to the Father. He has already interceded for you too, in saying “I prayed for you.”
Jesus has showed us in His life how He prayed. He prayed in the wilderness when the devil tempted Him and fought for His soul. He prayed in the night before He called His disciples. He prayed the whole night before healing the demon-possessed son of a man and before performing His crowning miracle - the raising of Lazarus. He did not want to do anything without praying first.
Today, it seems as if many brethren and sisters think they are too busy to be able to take sufficient time for prayer. But prayer was a constant source of strength for Jesus. “In the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).
When we pray for others Jesus shows us first that we need to bind ourselves closer to Him. Through interceding for our fellow men we become more conscious of our own sins - sins that Jesus would like to remove from our lives. Then we can admit: “O Lord, I have never seen myself like that. If I really am like that and if my bitterness, my envy and my pride are standing between You and me, O Lord, then take everything away so that I can become a new person and You can draw me towards You.”
Why is it necessary to pray for other people? Does not God already want them to be won? Does He not do everything that is in His power, even if we do not ask Him for it? Certainly He does, but prayer not only increases our love for those for whom we pray and their love for us, it also increases our faith and gives us a higher experience with God. We cannot understand in detail what prayer can do, but this should not discourage us. We also do not understand everything about electricity but this does not keep us from using the advantages of electrical light, heating, and power.
Besides interceding in behalf of individuals, we need to heed Jesus’ counsel in Matthew 18:19, 20: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Ellen White suggests: “Why do not two or three meet together and plead with God for the salvation of some special one, and then for still another?” 5
Small prayer groups are the foundation for the church’s successful prayer in behalf of other people. Conversions do not just happen but take place in a supernatural way. Maybe a salesperson can talk someone into buying a new car. A real estate agent can awaken interest in a new house. These salespeople can be successful through certain methods. But only God can convert a soul. Prayer is part of evangelism for our neighbors.
If we take a quick look at the prayer meeting in Acts 4:24-31, we see a detailed presentation of what took place in the days of the early church. Peter and John had been taken captive and put in jail because they had been preaching the truth. The Jewish council had commanded them never to speak or preach in the name of Jesus again. After they were released they returned to the believers and told them about the threats that had been pronounced against them. What was the reaction? When the believers heard that, they sought communion with God so that “they lifted up their voice to God with one accord” (Acts 4:24).
They began their prayer by acknowledging the power of God who created everything. And what was the result of their prayers? In verse 31 it says: “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
The same God has the same goal and the same desire today, that the ends of the earth may hear the good message of Jesus. When we as the church of God line up our prayers with the heartbeat of God and ask Him to give us determination in order to be able to realize His goals, then we, too, will experience His power working in the church of Jesus Christ.
If we do not wish Satan to defeat us, then it is essential to: watch, pray, and work.
Prayer and watchfulness are necessary to be able to grow in godliness. Never in your life was that time more important than it is now. You can only feel safe if you are constantly watching, praying, and working. These three characteristics alone can protect you from the snares of Satan. Now we must watch and pray as never before and refuse to become careless and indifferent. All who profess Christ must watch and pray in order to guard the door to their heart.
We should come to Jesus and tell Him all our needs and sorrows. We can bring our little cares and problems before Him as well as our greater difficulties. We should bring before the Lord in prayer whatever worries or concerns that cause us trouble. When you feel that you need the Lord’s presence everywhere and at every step, then even Satan will be limited in his opportunities to annoy you with his temptations. He has only one desire and tries hard to keep you and your thoughts away from your best and most understanding Friend.
What power shook the world during the reformation of Dr. Martin Luther? It was the power of prayer. The servants of God put their feet in holy silence on the Rock of promise. During the trial at Augsburg, Luther never failed to dedicate daily three hours to prayer - particularly at a time of the day most conducive to studying.
“In the privacy of his chamber he was heard to pour out his soul before God in words ‘full of adoration, fear, and hope, as when one speaks to a friend.’ ‘I know that Thou art our Father and our God,’ he said, ‘and that Thou wilt scatter the persecutors of Thy children; for Thou art Thyself endangered with us. All this matter is Thine, and it is only by Thy constraint that we have put our hands to it. Defend us, then, O Father!’ ” 6
Luther’s motto was: “Pray and work.” He was aware of his constant dependence on divine help and did not fail to come close to God in prayer and in deep humility every day.
Whoever is filled with the love of Christ cannot stay idle. Every day brings us closer to the end. People with whom we come in contact every day need our help. Maybe they are in such an emotional state that one word impressed by the Holy Spirit at the right time will reach its goal. Tomorrow some of these people may already be where perhaps we can never be able to reach them again. What efforts are we making to win them for Christ?
Everybody who loves God with all his or her heart must know that we can only work now while it is day. Jesus says: “the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).
He also makes it clear and understandable that we must await His coming not in idleness, but in diligent work.
“And ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8). If we love Jesus, we will love to live for Him, to bring our thanksgiving offering, and to work for Him. This work will not be hard; we will long to suffer pain, trouble, and sacrifice, and we will understand His desire to bring salvation to all mankind.
The Lord has given us much understanding, but we do not keep up pace with His providences. Jesus and His angels are working ceaselessly. This work is advancing but unfortunately we often stop, and the work entrusted to us comes to a standstill. If we truly followed God’s providence more closely we would immediately step on each way that opens before us and use every advantage that we have.
The light must reach the world so that it can spread. Jesus says: “Ye are the light of the world.”
Unfortunately, sluggishness and unbelief have crept in among us. They keep us from fulfilling the God-given work of saving souls. But God needs men, women, young people, and children who will sow upon all waters and use all opportunities they have. See Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6.
Those who have no courage, who are afraid and hesitant to go forward - who want to see clearly every step of the way in advance, at this time they will be of no value in spreading the truth.
“If we but realized how earnestly Jesus worked to sow the world with gospel seed, we, living at the very close of probation, would labor untiringly to give the bread of life to perishing souls. Why are we so cold and indifferent? Why are our hearts so unimpressible? Why are we so unwilling to give ourselves to the work to which Christ consecrated His life? Something must be done to cure the terrible indifference that has taken hold upon us. Let us bow our heads in humiliation as we see how much less we have done than we might have done to sow the seeds of truth.” 7
The threefold angel’s message is the message for our day that has to be spread clearly everywhere. Everyone who believes in it has to start working - all, no matter if young or old, should have part in it and, as Jesus declared, “ye shall be witnesses unto me.”
“Brethren, go out with your Bibles, visit the people at their firesides, read the word of God to the family, and as many more as will come in. Go with a contrite heart and an abiding trust in God’s grace and mercy, and do what you can.” 8
Why don’t you kneel down today - since you know that God wants to use you as a messenger to reach people, and dedicate yourself again to Jesus? Why not ask for His Spirit to fully take possession of you? Why not ask God to open your eyes to see the lost souls around you - that their salvation will become more important to you?
Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, may God’s Spirit work on our hearts now and may we pray as the first church did. Let us ask for constant watchfulness so that a final remnant may be found faithful and the work of salvation can be finished. Jesus our Saviour will come in the clouds of heaven to take His children home. With inexpressible love Jesus welcomes His faithful ones. . . . It is joy beyond description for the Saviour to have all those with Him in the kingdom of glory, saved - eternally saved through His great suffering and sacrifice. Amen!