Watching
Carefully and Prayerfully
Jesus said "watch and pray" (Matt 26:41) – be alert
spiritually. Are you?
Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may have strength to
escape... (Lk 21:36).
The above
scripture, Luke 21:36, is one that has been very misunderstood. The
NIV misrepresents it thus:
Be always on the watch, and
pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen.
It gives the impression that you
should pray a selfish prayer, asking God to help you to escape the
troubles about to come upon the whole earth. Being a physical being,
you tend to think in terms of physical protection or physical
escape. That’s what I used to think this meant many years ago.
The New King James Version gets
closer to the true meaning of the Greek:
Watch, therefore, and pray
always that you may be counted worthy
[alternative meaning: have
strength] to escape all these things that will come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of
Man.
The rendition of “have strength to”
is closer to the meaning of the Greek.
The Concordant Literal Translation
has this:
Now be vigilant, on every
occasion beseeching that you may be prevailing to escape
all these things which are about to occur, and to stand in front
of the Son of Man.
“To prevail” means “to be victorious
or gain the mastery over”. In true prayer – not the useless ritual
of unbelief spoken in many churches, where it is merely going
through the motions – you have union with God through His Spirit. In
this union with Him, His Spirit gives you a spiritual enabling. He
enables you to prevail against anything that is against your
spiritual success.
Remember that the promises of the
Bible are SPIRITUAL promises, not physical ones. (This is where so
many go wrong!) Jesus is giving you an assurance that, if you stay
in union with God, He will enable you to succeed spiritually, even
in dire situations. Jesus reiterated it in different words in John
15:7.
‘Watching’ is a metaphor for being
spiritually vigilant.
However, prayer is not the only
aspect which is vital to your spiritual success. There are other
things you need to perceive (watch or see) and respond to in the
correct way. And, to all of us – who are errant, sinful human beings
– nothing is more fundamental than correction. You may not like it,
but you need it!
The Medicine Nobody Wants
On 28th October 2005, Mila Thompson
was given this highly significant dream:
Steve and I were doing something.
[This symbolises spiritual activity, helping prepare the Bride.]
Then I saw some words that were appearing in the air:
|
§
1.
Instruction,
§
2.
Interpretation,
§
3.
Action,
§
4.
Result. |
} |
This
is the first phase of spiritual progression. It
depicts the current situation. Most believers need
to accept correction and move on. |
| Then
there appeared a set of new words: |
|
§
5.
Correction,
§
6.
Accepting,
§
7.
Growing. |
} |
God wants to take
you further with Him. But stubbornness and pride
hold most back. |
Meaning:
I understood the message as follows:
The instruction comes from
Above. It is always flawless and perfect. However, the
interpretation and the following action are done by
us. One of them or both can contain mistakes, due to the
limitations of our understanding, or because of the impurity of
the motives of the human heart. Thus, the result may be
a failure, or something very different from what God originally
intended.
Yet, we are not to despair. We
must seek God’s correction, accept it, and act
accordingly. This way we grow in our faith and in the
image of God. Mila T
They are the 7 stages in your
development. The list summarises how God deals with us all.
1. He instructs
He does this through the Bible, through dreams, visions, prophets,
teachers, and prophetic revelations.
2. We interpret what He says
What you are willing to accept depends upon you. Most people don’t
accept all God says. They reinterpret what God means, so we have
ended up with a church at large that has a whole variety of
different persuasions than what God meant originally.
3. Action
God means you to live by His word, not just hear it. His Holy Spirit
helps the contrite.
4. Result
If you live it, you are blessed (Ps 1).
5. Correction
Correction is not welcome, but you need it.
Prophets bring it; it’s part of their remit, to help you see what
God approves or disapproves. So, don’t ignore the dreams He gives
us. They are for your good! Repent!
6. Accepting
Accepting correction is hard, but necessary.
7. Growing
Growing spiritually is the beautiful outcome.
Malcolm B Heap
|
