ESOCS Devotional 24 August 2022
TEXT: MARK 14:32-42
MEMORY VERSE: “And saith unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.”Mark 14:34 KJV
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
The concept of watching, as Jesus Christ emphasized in the book of Mark 14:34 is beyond mere prayer. To watch is to observe and to prepare – to count the cost of slumber and act according to knowledge in prayer. This watch is to pray with understanding of the season and situation; and many Christian today do not watch, and you cannot watch without having an understanding of the Father’s burden. Some people, when they watch, they would be doing so as natural man; their flesh rules their heart and mind.
The reason Peter, James and John couldn’t wait in prayer with Jesus Christ in one hour is because they didn’t understand the burden of the Father. They were still under the influence of the flesh, and that was why they slept. Never allow the flesh to control your spirit man. If you do, you will always fall into spiritual slumber. You won’t be sensitive to the things of the Spirit or alert to the tricks of the evil one. Your spiritual development and growth in the Christian race depends on your continual readiness to be alert all the time, that is, to “watch and pray always”.
Until you enter into the secret place of the Most High (Psalm 91:1) with understanding, you may not understand what too much sleep can cost you. That is why the Bible laments over the sluggard, asking, “How long will you sleep?” Spiritual and physical slumber lead to spiritual and physical poverty (Prov. 6:9-19). Let us be wise.
The danger of this too much sleep in the spirit of believers is that it has cost them the blessing of God, which can be tapped into through priesthood in prayers. Again, without this active watching and prayer, a Christian would always remain weak, and fail.
Try to make out time for midnight n prayers because it was “while men slept” that the enemy came to sow tares among the wheat (Matt.13:25). The result is usually poor spiritual and material harvests. Let the Christian be mindful of this thing.
- Dear brethren, watch and pray lest you fall into temptation.
- Oh God, grant me the grace to always watch and pray fervently, in Jesus Christ’s name.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Jeremiah 45:1-5; 2 Kings 1:1-15; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 9:46-56
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ESOCS Devotional 24 August 2022
