Watch and Pray II - What I Learned

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Have you ever told yourself "Tomorrow, I will do better!" I have. It seems that it is the story of my life. It seems to be an ever present shadow that makes someone feel like an utter failure...mostly because it rarely and maybe never works! Jesus tells his disciples on his last night with them, "The spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak!" Our spirits want to do the right thing. Trouble is, our flesh is too weak to carry it out. That is the reason we try so hard to "do better" and end up making a bigger mess of our day than the previous one was.

There has to be something bigger to worshiping God, than vowing in our flesh to do better in the days to come. There has to be a bigger purpose, a larger life calling, a more meaningful theme to life!!! It took me a long time to get this. It took me a long time to realize, "I can't do it on my own." Maybe we have turned back to God, and are living a life that we think is pleasing him, and yet, if we are the pilot of our plane, if we are the captain of our ship, the driver of our car, wreckage is just around the corner. So what does all of this have to do with Watching and Praying?

We are a people of common sense. What makes sense to us is often what we do. Rather, Jesus tells his disciples to seek the wisdom of God for their lives. He tells them that man looks on the outside but God sees the heart. Common sense breeds drug addicts, alcoholics, and broken marriages. It leads people to choose the only human fix to life's problems. A drunkard cannot say to God, "Well Lord, you have to understand, I was depressed and I didn't know what else to do to drown out my troubles!" Human shortcuts rarely match God's best in blessings. They are rather, a direct result of a lack of prayer, the absence of watching for where God is working and what he is doing in our life. In the context of this passage, Jesus is preparing to be crucified. His disciples are tired. What is the logical thing to do? You can't prevent the death of Christ. Why not sleep so you don't have to think about what is about to happen? It will de-stress you, refresh you, and help you avoid thinking about the problems that will arise in the morning. Jesus urged them to use that tiring time to get to know the heart of God the Father. To get acquainted with the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, so that when his physical body no longer walked the earth, they would have someone to turn to. Someone who they knew was there.

We are the new generation ladies. We have the opportunity to show a watching world what it looks like to watch and pray, and wait for the answers which come from God. When a loved one dies, we have the opportunity to show them that God's grace is sufficient. We can show them that there is joy because our loved one is with Jesus. When our parents have rules we think are too hard to bear, we have the opportunity to show the world that submission is the key to true freedom. We have the choice to obey, or suffer the consequences. It all goes back to waiting on the Lord. As we wait for him to speak, we wait on him as a waiter waits on a table. As we wait for our purpose and our calling, we busy ourselves glorifying God. We busy ourselves watching and praying, all the time knowing that God has a perfect plan and a perfect time to reveal that plan to us.

Right now, I am only hours away from flying to Chicago for another Journey. I already know what I WANT to do. I already know what I WANT to happen. I know what I think is best. But am I watching and praying for God's best? Am I fully yielded so that if my way is not his way, I can cheerfully respond? My heart wants to impact other girls for Christ. But what if God wants me to be the student and allow other girls to impact me? My heart wants God to deal with precise issues. But what if he wants to reveal something I don't want revealed? I want to be able to spend time with certain people, but what if God wants me to minister to a total stranger? Life is full of the choice to do things our way or God's way. Prayer is a key issue here. You WANT to bite back at someone who has hurt you. You WANT to send an argumentative email. You WANT to tell your parents how unreasonable you think they're being...yet, in the midst of the biggest storms, Jesus is there, calling us in almost a whisper, and asking us to obey. What is that calling? That calling in essence is an invitation to enter into the joy of the Lord. Obedience brings joy that never would have been revealed. It is like a flower that suddenly blooms when given the proper sunlight, but never would have opened without it.

Remember today as you go about your daily tasks, that you are being watched by God, by your younger siblings, by the world! You have a message. A precious story that has not yet been completed, but which has started to take glorious form. A story to tell to the nations! With God on your side, with a yielded heart and an obedient mind, you have the power to turn hearts, to free prisoners, to loose captives. Isaiah 61:1-3 sums it up beautifully.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable ear of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified!"

How little we have to give, but how much the Lord can give us if we share with others! Ladies, remember that your family is your first mission field. Love them, pour your heart into them, however difficult that may be. Strive to make your goals God-honoring, authority honoring, and honest. Strive to make your siblings your best friends. It is the little things that show them you care. If you knew how bad your little brother wanted to take a walk with you...or how badly your sister wants to share a cup of tea with you...you would be surprised. it is sometimes shocking how small of a thing can mean SO much in their lives. Use that to begin your journey, to seek, to watch, and to pray. Prepare, because you do not know when the day or the hour comes when the Son of God will again come to earth!