On Guard
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."—Matthew 26:41
Jesus instructs his disciples to “watch and pray.” In the context of today’s verse, the disciples were guilty of falling asleep while on duty. But Jesus gives this admonition for us as well, so we, too, must be careful to watch and pray. What does this mean? It means that we are to be on guard against Satan and his attacks, as well as to the rhythms of our own fallen bodies.
We are to be on guard against Satan’s attacks because, as Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”—1 Peter 5:8 (ESV). Satan desires to destroy us and we must not be ignorant of his schemes. It’s a lot like being a quarterback on a football team. The quarterback must be vigilantly on guard for whatever the defense throws at him. Imagine for a moment being a quarterback against the Chicago Bears. Brian Urlacher is on defense and he can totally destroy what you are trying to do. As a quarterback, you must be aware of him, but he must not consume you. That’s what we are trying to communicate. We must be aware of what Satan is doing, although not consumed by it (cf. Ephesians 6:11).
While Satan is trying to tempt us, we must also deal with our own fallen bodies. We are at war against the flesh, as Jesus said: “the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” We must be aware of our surroundings, our own rhythms and tendencies and then devise a strategy to fight against them. When I was younger, I noticed a pattern of sin that developed on certain days of the week. Once I realized that it was a pattern, I changed my schedule so as not to continue in that pattern of sin.
We are all susceptible to sin, none of us is immune, but the first step to preventing sin is to watch and pray. We pray that we may not enter into temptation (Matthew 6:13), but we need to be on guard so that we know when it does come, we are ready to get away from it (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Are we watching and praying? Are we mindful of the sins that so easily entangle us (see Hebrews 12:1)? And are we forsaking them on a daily basis? May we do so, knowing that as we do, we are living lives worthy of the Kingdom of God (Philippians 1:27). Amen.
Jesus instructs his disciples to “watch and pray.” In the context of today’s verse, the disciples were guilty of falling asleep while on duty. But Jesus gives this admonition for us as well, so we, too, must be careful to watch and pray. What does this mean? It means that we are to be on guard against Satan and his attacks, as well as to the rhythms of our own fallen bodies.
We are to be on guard against Satan’s attacks because, as Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”—1 Peter 5:8 (ESV). Satan desires to destroy us and we must not be ignorant of his schemes. It’s a lot like being a quarterback on a football team. The quarterback must be vigilantly on guard for whatever the defense throws at him. Imagine for a moment being a quarterback against the Chicago Bears. Brian Urlacher is on defense and he can totally destroy what you are trying to do. As a quarterback, you must be aware of him, but he must not consume you. That’s what we are trying to communicate. We must be aware of what Satan is doing, although not consumed by it (cf. Ephesians 6:11).
While Satan is trying to tempt us, we must also deal with our own fallen bodies. We are at war against the flesh, as Jesus said: “the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” We must be aware of our surroundings, our own rhythms and tendencies and then devise a strategy to fight against them. When I was younger, I noticed a pattern of sin that developed on certain days of the week. Once I realized that it was a pattern, I changed my schedule so as not to continue in that pattern of sin.
We are all susceptible to sin, none of us is immune, but the first step to preventing sin is to watch and pray. We pray that we may not enter into temptation (Matthew 6:13), but we need to be on guard so that we know when it does come, we are ready to get away from it (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Are we watching and praying? Are we mindful of the sins that so easily entangle us (see Hebrews 12:1)? And are we forsaking them on a daily basis? May we do so, knowing that as we do, we are living lives worthy of the Kingdom of God (Philippians 1:27). Amen.
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