Watching and praying are frequently associated together in the Bible. Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, asked his disciples to watch and pray with him in the garden. I think Jesus was asking them more than simply to stay awake and pray.But they fell asleep. And Jesus told them “pray that you enter not into temptation.” Being watchful during our prayers is putting our faith into practice. Prayer and watchfulness changes our perspective. It changes the way you look at yourself and the world around you. It’s about seeing the “big picture.”Being watchful is all about remembering that God is in charge, that He is watching over us. It’s about putting our trust in Him.The Kingdom of Aram, roughly the area we call Syria today, was at war with the Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 6). Now every time the King of Aram sent his army against Israel, looking to find a weakness to invading Israel, he found Israel’s army already waiting and prepared. It happened so often that he came to the conclusion that there must be a traitor among his army officers.But his men protested saying that the God of Israel must be telling the prophet Elisha their plans and Elisha was telling the King of Israel. So the King of Aram sent his forces to capture Elisha.So their forces surrounded the town where Elisha lived. Then early in the morning when the servant of Elisha awoke and saw the enemy army, he was terrified. So Elisha prayed for his servant “Lord, open his eyes so he can see.” The servant looked and saw horses and chariots of fire in the sky surrounding them all (2 Kings 6:823).The point is that when our prayers are joined with watchfulness, God give us eyes to see—to see as God sees, His perspective. Prayer wakes us up to the spiritual realities around and within us. It gives us peace and security as we know God is watching over us.We live in a world that is often openly hostile to God and Christ, or worse still, indifferent to Him! We must be watchful. Just as Elisha’s servant, we too can lose sight of God’s will and protection.Our prayers with God are strengthened as we keep watch. God reassures us of His care and concern, which in turn gives greater meaning to our faith and salvation.May we always pray and watch. ”Lord,
