Keep Watching and Praying
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November 05, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).
What should we do in order to enjoy true peace given by the Lord without entering into temptation? You should pray. In this message, I hope you will realize why you should pray and enjoy the true peace that comes through prayer.
1. Jesus tells you to keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation
Jesus said this while He was praying at Gethsemane just before He took the cross. He went there with Peter and two sons of Zebedee and prayed earnestly. But His disciples, who went with Him, fell asleep. Seeing them, Jesus spoke to Peter. "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation."
Jesus said so because for those disciples who still had little faith, His crucifixion could have been a difficult test to overcome although the crucifixion was within the spiritual providence to save all mankind. This word is not just given to the disciples at that time, but to all the believers in the Lord. Those believers who are following in the way of the cross are having spiritual battles with the enemy devil and Satan daily. They can win victory in the spiritual battle only when they keep watching and praying.
But it doesn't mean you should pray with the fear that you may enter into temptation. Some people say God gave them tests. Under no conditions are such tests of temptation given by God. They enticed themselves and entered into temptation through their own lusts (James 1:13-15).
There are, however, tests given by God just as in the case of Abraham. Such tests are allowed for your soul to prosper and you to receive blessing. God even provides the way of escape. Thus, there is no reason you enter into temptation.
2. Why is it easy to enter into temptation if you do not pray?
First of all, if you don't pray, you cannot be guided by the Holy Spirit.
For example, some people face difficulties in their businesses. In most of these cases they followed their own self-interests rather than receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayers. But if you do everything by the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer, you will be prosperous.
In John 16:13, Jesus said, "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." If you receive the Holy Spirit's guidance, there won't be any chance for the enemy devil and Satan to accuse you. Even if temptation comes because of your mistakes or some external reasons, the Holy Spirit lets you know in advance that the temptations are coming so that you can be prepared. He gives you a way out as well.
Some people say that they faced difficulties even though they lived by the word of God. They may think that they practiced the word of the truth, but if they maintain their own righteousness and frameworks, they cannot really discern truth from untruth 100%. The apostle Paul had strong self-righteousness. But from the time he accepted the Lord, he thoroughly experienced that most of his righteousness was not right according to the will of God. He said in 2 Corinthians 10:5, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Therefore, in order to understand the will of God correctly in every matter, we have to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit correctly by being on the alert and praying. At the same time, we have to break our self-righteousness and frameworks by fervent prayer.
The second reason is that it is difficult to follow the desire of the Holy Spirit.
If people face some difficulties in family or workplaces while not praying, they may get discouraged. They know that they have to rejoice and give thanks, but they cannot do it because they don't have spiritual strength. Only when they pray fervently and have the spiritual strength can they follow the Holy Spirit's desire and live by faith.
Also, if you do not keep watching and praying, you cannot drive away temptations. You can control your heart only by the grace and strength of God from above and by the help of the Holy Spirit. Without them, you may begin to follow the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of this life and take the fleshly things again. You will follow your old habits again.
Satan always provokes the untruth in your heart through your thoughts. He incites and motivates you to act on untruth (1 Peter 5:8-9). He will give you doubt so you will not believe in God. He will make you follow your tendencies of laziness so you won't be diligent in faith. To keep from falling into the temptations of the enemy Satan and drive him away, you must keep watching and praying.
3. How to keep watching and praying
Some people say that they know they have to pray, but it is too difficult for them to pray because they are so tired after working hard all day. In an effort to justify their lack of praying some people say that Jesus also said, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," and that human beings are meant to be weak. Here, saying 'the flesh is weak' does not simply mean their physical body was weak.
Here, 'flesh' means the body combined with sinful natures. The body combined with sinful natures causes you to follow flesh, and this attribute is the 'desire of the flesh'. The disciples of Jesus had not received the Holy Spirit yet. They wanted to pray in heart, but their desire of the flesh, a desire to sleep and rest was stronger. This state is referred to as the 'flesh being weak'.
However, after they received the Holy Spirit, the disciples prayed fervently and changed to become apostles who were bold enough to become martyrs. Even though our body may be weak, if we just have the willingness to pray, we will ask for health and strength and then pray. If we pray with heart-felt love for God, the church, the shepherd, and brothers in faith, we can overcome tiredness any time. The Holy Spirit will help us if we try just a little bit more. We will not feel drowsy or tired when we are filled with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We will have clear inspiration and fullness of joy.
People who keep watching and praying won't enter into temptation and will be able to overcome it even if temptation comes. We are living in the era of the Holy Spirit, so we must not say the flesh is weak and stop praying so that we won't enter into temptations. We have to always keep watching and praying, receive the help of the Holy Spirit, cast away our old habits, and cast away evils from our hearts.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, just as a fish dies outside of water, our spirits will die when we do not pray. On the contrary, if we pray and stay filled with the Holy Spirit, our souls will prosper, everything will go well, and we will enjoy good health.
I pray in the name of the Lord that by praying, you will overcome the world with faith, become true children of God who deserve to enter New Jerusalem, and enjoy eternal happiness.
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