Watch For One Hour

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Matthew 26:40

It is my contention that if we are not spending an hour with the Lord every day, we will waste that hour doing other things. To think about spending an hour in prayer seems daunting if we try to do it as a religious obligation. But the Lord did not sa y"Pray one hour," he said, "Watch with Me."

Watching involves standing guard, being alert., staying focused When I was standing watch in the middle of the night as a sailor, it got a little difficult sometimes.

But Jesus does not command us to watch alone. He says, “Stay here and watch with me (Matt 26.38).” Being with Him makes all the difference.

Now we are not just babbling for one hour, nor are we praying silently, nodding off to sleep! We are enjoying the fellowship of Jesus. That means we are talking and He is listening, and He is talking and we are listening. Often, He is the one praying and we are agreeing, and adding our emphatic witness.

We follow His lead, because the impeccable timing and perfect precision of His prayers are most effective. I will watch what He is doing as the Great High Priest and Lead Intercessor (Rom 8:34; Heb 4:14, 7:24-25)

There are prayers of declarations and proclamations to be said today. There are supplications to be made. There is much intercession to be done for those in my circle, those close to me and those who I will never meet. I will let Jesus direct the prayer. There may be days when I spend the entire hour in worship.

We might sing a song; “I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding…(1 Cor 14.15).”

I will bring my Bible into the secret place. I will bring my journal. Some days I pray more; some days I read more; some days I write, but I always “watch” for one hour, lest I fritter away my divine appointment and miss an opportunity to save the day. “Watch and pray lest you fall into temptation (Matt 26.41).” “… redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Eph 5.16).”

Like Shammah, David’s mighty man, I station myself in the center of my lentil field ( my assigned area) with Jesus and our partnership creates a Presence that truly frustrates those satanic forces that are assigned to destroy me and my associates.

Today, may our priorities align with the burden of our Savior’s heart. His great love for us all compelled Him to literally laid down His life. In light of this, His request for each of us to yield one hour of our busy lives to watch with Him does not not seem burdensome.

Question: What adjustments do I need to make in my daily schedule to spend a quality hour watching with Jesus?