Watch and Pray
While we are admonished repeatedly in
the Bible to pray, we are counseled
to watch. Matthew 24:42; 25:13; Mark
13:35. The reason given is:
“Watch therefore; for ye know
not what hour your Lord doth
come.”
To watch in the sense
here uses, is more than merely being
awake. It means to be alert, to scan
eagerly, to observe in order to look
after, protect, or guard.
With many, the word
“watch” has lost its
original meaning and has almost
become synonymous with prayer. Hence,
the hour of prayer is often called
“the watch hour,” and the
morning watch has become the same as
the Morning Prayer. To this there is
no objection, unless we fail to give
watching an equal importance with
prayer. There is danger lest,
forgetting that watching and praying
go together, we pray, but neglect to
watch. Both have equal claims upon
us.
In the texts mentioned
above, “watch” has special
reference to watching for the signs
of the Lord’s coming. This is
most important, but the warning
includes more than this. We are to
watch lest we enter into temptation.
Matthew 26:41. Satan has many ways of
catching his prey, and we are to be
fully awake and alert, or we may be
caught in his snare. It is not enough
to ask God to protect us and shield
us from danger. We must take proper
precautions ourselves. It should be
known that faith in God is not
inconsistent with doing all we can to
help ourselves.
Young and old need to
be on their guard. They should not
ask God to do for them what He
expects them to do for themselves.
Lack of understanding of God’s
method of work has brought confusion
and defeat to many. There are some
things God expects us to do, and when
we do our part, He will do His. God
may send bread from heaven, -and will
do so if needed, -but
ordinarily we must work for it. God
gives sunshine and rain, but we must
sow the seed and do the harvesting.
Co-operation With God
Many Christians have
been drilled in the belief that God
does it all and that there is nothing
for them to do but be pliant and
submissive and God will do the rest.
From one viewpoint, this is true, but
another it is not. There are
many things God cannot do without our
help, and He asks for our full
co-operation. “As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, except
it abide in the vine; no more can ye,
except ye abide in Me.” John
15:4. However, it is just as true
that the vine cannot bear fruit
without the branches. There is an
interdependence between the branches
and the vine that makes it necessary
for both to work together. We cannot
be separated from the source of
spiritual power and live.
We say this in all
reverence and only for the purpose of
pointing out the necessity for our
working together with God. For we
well know that, our part is only that
of a willing medium who of himself
can do nothing.
Such sayings as
“Fear God and take your own
part,” who help
themselves,” are at times used
to belittle God. However, there is a
certain amount of truth in them. God
wants us to put our trust in Him, but
not with our hands folded. If I am in
financial straits, am I to call upon
God for help, but do nothing to help
myself? I seek God for health. Does
this release me from being careful in
my habits that I might glorify God in
my body? I ask God to protect me from
danger. Does that permit me to ignore
a red traffic light? I am shipwrecked
and about to sink. Shall I refuse the
rope that is thrown to me? I pray God
to protect me from accidents. I pray
God to save me from temptation. Shall
I then walk right into it, trusting
God to save me? I fully believe that
God can save me from my own folly if
I transgress unknowingly; but I have
no right to expect Him to perform a
miracle when I insist on
transgressing. God can save me if I
ignorantly transgress; but if I
deliberately drink poison, I may
expect to reap the consequences.
Watch and Pray
Therefore, we are not
only to pray, but also to watch. We
are to be on alert for danger and
take no unnecessary risk. While we
are not to be suspicious of everyone
and everything, we are to have our
eyes open at all times. In the days
of Nehemiah when the walls of
Jerusalem were rebuilt and the
enemies of God’s people did all
they could to hinder the work and
there was constant danger of attack,
the record reads: “They which
builded the wall, and they that bare
burdens, with those that laded,
everyone with one of his hands
wrought in the work, and with the
other held a weapon.” Nehemiah
4:17. These men trusted in God, but
they also watched. With all
confidence they said, “Our God
shall fight for us,” but that
did not hinder them from having
weapons ready for an emergency.
God commands us to
watch and pray, for the two go
together. From the beginning, it was
God’s plan to place His children
in a position where they would be
compelled to watch. That is why He
placed the tree of knowledge of good
and evil in the Garden of Eden. Had
there been no tree there, Adam and
Eve could have roamed the garden with
never a thought of being careful
where they went. The placing of the
tree and the command not to eat of
it, made it necessary for them to be
on the watch. Had they watched and
not gone near the tree, there would
have been no temptation. Failure to
watch caused the first sin.
It is well to shield
children from temptation and from the
sight of evil up to a certain age.
However, it is not well to make all
decisions for them to the point where
they are not compelled to make a
decision and a choice for themselves.
The time will come when as they grow
up they will meet evil face to face.
They should be prepared for such a
time and not be left to meet
temptation alone with no one to help.
Under wise guidance, controlled
experiments should be performed that
would make them acquainted with
certain situations and conditions and
prepare them for tests that of
necessity will come. If they have not
seen evil, if they have never been
instructed to watch for its first
innocent appearance, they may be
taken unawares and caught in a snare
that may have serious consequences.
Evil does not always
appear repulsive at first sight. What
could be more attractive than an
artistically lighted room, beautiful
music, and young, lithe bodies
swaying in rhythmic motions as they
dance upon the polished floor? To the
innocent eyes, it does not appear
wicked, and they reason that it
certainly can do no harm. They do not
know that there may be the beginnings
of a train of events that lead to
blasted lives, unhappiness, divorce,
insane asylums, homes for the
incurables, and a pauper’s
grave.
The tree of knowledge
of good and evil had every appearance
of being a good tree. Eve could see
nothing evil in it, and the fruit was
inviting. However, in the eating of
the fruit was wrapped up murder in
the next generation and in seven
generations the corruption of the
whole earth.
I have seen children
permitted to run wild until they
feared neither God nor man. I have
seen other children who were shielded
from every temptation, but who, as
soon as they were relieved from
parental restraint, plunged into all
manner of evil, largely because they
were never permitted to face
temptation under wise guidance. The
parents of today need to be
remembered in prayer; they need to
pray themselves, for facing a task
that is too great for human wisdom.
Divine wisdom is needed to discern
the line of distinction between
unbridled liberty and wise restraint.
Somewhere along the line, opportunity
should be given young people for
self-directed endeavor, for a natural
introduction to the complexities of
modern society, so that when they
leave school or home they will be
able to face life with some knowledge
of the problems they will meet. They
should not be asked to meet these
conditions unprepared. Parents and
educators should give careful study
to their responsibilities, lest they
send into the world young people who
may have a good technical education,
but who are totally unprepared for
life.
The admonition to
watch has many applications. We are
to watch our religious appearance,
for there is constant danger that we
drift away from the old moorings. We
are to watch the signs of the times,
or we may find ourselves out of step
with the opening providences of God.
We are to watch our words,
appearance, associations,
recreations, habits, readings, Bible
study, church attendance, financial
dealings, and our account with God.
There is no phase of life that we can
safely omit.
As we watch, we will
discover dangers from within and
without. Watching reveals these
dangers to us, and prayer reveals the
remedy. There are no circumstances
under which we may not breathe a
prayer; for prayer is an atmosphere
rather than an appointed time and
place.
Many things are going
on in this world of which we are but
dimly aware. In the air outside my
window-and inside also there are
millions and millions of words and
pictures flying around looking for a
place to land and be transformed into
audible words and visible images.
They are as yet only electrical
impulses, and how they ever become
anything else, I do not know. I see
nothing as I look out; I hear
nothing, but by turning a little knob
on my instrument I can prove their
existence. Suddenly the room is
filled with music, and pictures
appear. I see the President
addressing a large gathering, and I
hear him speak. I see the
coronation-taking place in England,
and I hear the words of allegiance
from those who kneel before the
queen. I hear the explosion of a bomb
thousands of miles away, and I hear
and see the percussion. And I wonder,
is there any good ground for not
believing that God who made all
things may have a machine better than
anything man has made that will
record not only our words, but our
thoughts, our intentions, and visibly
reproduce every act of our lives? In
view of what men can do, prayer
becomes a reasonable possibility, and
the advice to watch and pray is a
sensible and reasonable request.
I am moving along in
my car on an excellent highway, the
weather is perfect, and there is no
other car in sight. It is perfectly
safe to exceed the speed limit, no
police are in sight, and so I go
sixty, seventy, eighty miles per hour
and all is well. However, a mile
farther on I am stopped and charged
with speeding. Who saw me? Nobody
followed me. Then I am confronted
with a radar report! Moreover, there
is the picture of the car and the
speed noted electrically. Radar is no
respector of persons. Its report is
correct, and I am caught.
I need to be careful.
I may think nobody is looking and I
can safely transgress; but somebody
is looking. God has radar whose
testimony I cannot deny. So I must
watch, whether I see anybody watching
me or not. I must watch for my own
sake, watch for the sake of those who
trust me. I must watch and pray.
I was discussing this
in class once, a student spoke up:
“Well, if God has a radar, then
I am sunk.” The class period had
not been in vain.
As God’s
watchmen, the ministry has a special
responsibility. Says God: “I
have set thee a watchman unto the
house of Israel; therefore thou shalt
hear the word at My mouth, and warn
them from Me.” “If the
watchman see the sword come, and blow
not the trumpet, and the people be
not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he
is taken away in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at the
watchman’s hand.” Ezekiel
33: 6,7.
Personal
Responsibility
The watchman’s
responsibility does not, however,
relieve an individual from his
personal responsibility. Christ,
speaking to the disciples, said:
“Watch ye therefore: for ye know
not when the master of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or
at the cockcrowing, or in the
morning: lest coming suddenly he find
you sleeping. And what I say unto you
I say unto all, Watch.” Mark
13:35-37.
While God holds the
watchman responsible, the Christian
must also watch himself. Paul said,
“Examine yourselves, whether ye
be in the faith, prove your own
selves.” 2 Corinthians 13:5.
That means that each one must
faithfully look into his own heart
and attempt to discover whether he be
in the faith. This entails more than
examining certain doctrines to see if
he is in harmony with them. It is
more than adherence to a creed. It
means at first of all that a man must
face himself with the question, Am I
a Christian. Am I truly converted?
Have I turned my back on the world?
Am I a new creature in Christ Jesus?
Am I an overcomer, or am I constantly
being overcome? These are questions
that count. Moreover, high position
or great learning does not come into
the reckoning. We shall all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ.
Such an honest
self-examination will reveal
weaknesses and faults that must be
remedied. However, no one need be
discouraged though he finds himself
far below the standard set by God,
and even below the standard, he has
set for himself. Hear Paul’s
confession: “Not as though I
already attained, either were already
perfect: but I follow after, if that
I may apprehend that for which also I
am apprehended for Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I could not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14.
Paul was a good man,
consecrated and honest; but he
confesses that he had not already
attained, that he was not already
perfect, that he had not yet
apprehended. However, this did not
discourage him. He was determined to
“follow after,” to reach
“forth unto those things which
are before,” and “press
toward the mark for the prize.”
Paul’s experience
should be an encouragement to all who
with him have been pressing toward
the mark, but who have found that
they have come short and have not
already attained or are already
perfect. The un-Biblical
“holiness” doctrine that is
popularly preached may have done some
good, but it has done much more harm.
Were Paul now living, the believers
in “holiness” would roundly
rebuke him for recording his
experience as in the quoted
statements above.
Such an inventory as
Paul made of himself, every Christian
should make. He will discover his
shortcomings and his sins, but he
will not become discouraged. With
Paul, he will “follow
after,” and at last win the
prize.
When we stated above
that the chief problem of being true
Christians cannot be determined by
adhering to certain doctrines, some
might have gotten the impression that
we are not interested in doctrine,
and that doctrine, after all, is not
important. Let us hasten to remove
such an impression.
Paul admonished his
hearers not to do or teach anything
contrary to the doctrine which they
had learned. Romans 16:17. He had a
definite “form of doctrine”
which he delivered to them and which
they obeyed. Romans 6:17. It appears
from this wording that Paul had
arranged a “form of
doctrine” which he delivered to
the Church of Rome, and that they had
accepted it and “obeyed from the
heart.” Some apparently had
deviated from the “form”
which Paul had given the churches, so
he sent Timothy to stay at Ephesus
and to “charge some that they
teach no other doctrine.” 1
Timothy 1:3. His counsel to Timothy
was, “Take heed unto thyself,
and unto the doctrine; continue in
them: for in doing this thou shalt
both save thyself, and them that hear
thee.” 1 Timothy 4:16. And in
the last letter Paul wrote to Timothy
before his death, he again referred
to doctrine, saying to Timothy,
“Thou has fully known my
doctrine.” 2 Timothy 3:10.
Having fully indoctrinated Timothy,
Paul could safely leave him in
charge, knowing that he would see to
it “that they teach no other
doctrine” than that which Paul
taught. In this view of doctrine John
joins Paul when he says,
“Whosoever transgesseth, and
abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath
both the Father and the Son. If there
come any unto you, and bring not this
doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him
Godspeed.” 2 John 9,10.
In view of these
statements, how can anyone think
lightly of doctrine? When we are
invited to examine ourselves whether
we are in the faith, this faith may
well include “the commandments
of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Revelation 14:12.
While there must
always be liberty to differ on minor
points, there must be unanimity on
the great doctrines of the Bible held
by the church.
Memory Verse:
“Here is the
patience of the saints: here are they
that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus.”
Revelation 14:12
Questions:
1. Have
you taken an honest self-examination
to find out if your standards are
God’s standards?
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2.
What is a true Christian? Explain.
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