Another Reason to Pray

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:38

Was reading through Mark 14 this morning for my quiet time and this verse just kind of jumped out at me. Here Jesus gives us another reason/benefit for prayer. To have the strength in spirit and body to stand strong against temptation.

When you hear the word “temptation” what goes through your mind? Is it images of obvious temptation? Being tempted toward obvious sin? Those large, looming, gargantuan sins that we quickly and easily dismiss and say “Well, of course I wouldn’t do that.”

You really don’t need to keep watch for giants. They are rather apparent and are seen from a distance.

What we need to keep watch for are the subtle temptations. Those that are less obvious. You know the kind, those small, seemingly insignificant compromises we make that lead to spiritual drift.

You see, the enemy of our souls is cunning and crafty enough to know that if he confronted us with obvious, blatant temptation and sin, we would immediately recoil and turn the other way. But, if we can be lured to make small, seemingly un-noticed compromises throughout the day/week/month…if we drift just a little off course…little by little…day by day…skipping quiet times for “more important endeavors”…going forward on a course of action without prayer…fixing our gaze on things we ought not to be looking at…shading the truth for our own benefit…we soon find that over the long haul we are way off course in our lives. We become distant in our relationship with God, our marriage becomes rocky, we begin to stay away from our small groups and church friends and our attitude toward life just plain stinks.

It is because we have not been keeping watch. I have this image in my mind what those subtle temptations look like. In my minds eye, they are like Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”. Small, dark, slimy and subtle. Whispering in your ear, unrelenting, self-absorbed and afraid of exposure.

Through prayer, we can ask God to show us the areas we are vulnerable. You will be surprised at what God will reveal to you. But as He shows you the areas of your weakness, and you are honest about them, share them in confidence with a trusted friend (exposing those areas to the light) and surrender those areas to God’s control and be watchful and guard against those areas, you will find you are growing stronger in moral strength and growing closer to God as well.

“Watch and pray…” Wise words to which to pay attention.