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A SELECTED "NORTHERN LIGHTS"
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
(from Issue #477)
Sit. Stay. Watch. Pray.
by Jim Reese (from Issue #477)
The night before the crucifixion, Matthew chapter 26 tells us that
Jesus and his disciples went to a place called Gethsemane. There He gave
them four commands. The first two were "sit" and "stay."
We might associate those two familiar commands with dog obedience.
Well, this was obedience school, but for the disciples! And it is for
all of us, too, because when it comes to prayer, those two things are so
important.
The emotional tension was extremely high for the eleven disciples
that night, though they didn't realize what the next 24 hours would
bring. And though Jesus fell with his face to the ground to pray, to His
disciples He just said, "Sit."
Sometimes because of sheer desperation we know what it is to be
prostrate on the floor before God in prayer. Other times we may do that
out of sheer worship of our high and holy God, like Isaiah did.
Dr. Oswald J. Smith said that his favourite way to pray was to walk
-- he said the reason was just to keep himself awake! It's true that
some physical exercise can cause our minds to be more active and more
focussed in our prayer. And maybe you've done a "prayer walk" in
your community -- praying for the homes you walk by.
Of course, you don't have to walk. You can just stand and pray. Or
you can sit and pray, like David. But oh how beautiful it is also to
kneel and pray. Paul said, "I kneel before my God." And then you can
even, as the Psalmist said, "lie in my bed and commune with God."
May God help us to use every posture as a prayer posture.
But here Jesus gives them the word "sit." The reason was to slow
them down, and to calm them down.
The second command was to "stay." Sitting and waiting are not
easy for aggressive servants of Christ. Yes, there are agendas that God
wants us to pursue, but He also wants every one of us to wait on Him.
You know how we guys are. If there's something that needs to be
fixed, we just go ahead and fix it. But when our mentally and physically
handicapped son was born 37 years ago, God knew there was no way I could
"fix" him. What God was saying to me was "just wait." And I'm
sure everyone of you can think about your own personal situation -- things for which all you can do is wait.
But that's not all. Jesus says that while you are sitting and
staying you need to "watch" and "pray" (vs. 41). Watch simply
means keep alert. It's interesting that the disciples did obey those
first two commands, but they had trouble with the next two.
Jesus found them asleep twice and, if we're not keeping alert, we
too can fall into all kinds of temptation. Our minds can begin to wander
into sin even while we're holding God's Word in our hands. That's
why Jesus said, "Watch." Keep alert. Keep focussed in your praying.
He also said, "Pray." Jesus prayed all the time, yet there were
also some strategic times of prayer in His life. He spent 40 days in
prayer and fasting as he entered His public ministry. Then, before
choosing His disciples, Jesus spent a whole night in prayer. No doubt
many of God's servants today can tell how prayer was a vital step in
preparing them for ministry.
Do you have a habitual, regular, faithful prayer time? I know our
schedules get all mixed up, but a Christian cannot be effective in his
ministry if he is not regular in his prayer life. We all seem to be able
to carve out a time to eat, but we need to be as insistent on praying as
we are on feeding our physical bodies.
John Blanchard said that to attempt any work for God without prayer
is as futile as trying to launch a space probe with a pea-shooter! Many
missionaries today have big challenges in front of them ... bigger than
anything they can handle, and they need prayer.
D. M. McIntyre said, "Pray till you pray." We can go through
prayer, and haven't really prayed. I like the wrist bands that the
young people in our church are wearing ... "P.U.S.H." -- Pray Until
Something Happens!
In Matthew 26 we see Jesus before the greatest event of human history
-- the sacrifice on the cross for our sins. And He prays ... oh, how He
prays! And God has called us to prayer. My simple encouragement to you
is four words: sit, stay, watch, pray.
This article was adapted from a message Jim Reese gave at NCEM's
General Conference in August of 2000. Jim is a pastor at Benton Street
Baptist Church in Kitchener, Ontario.
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