Jesus said “watch
and pray” (Matt 26:41)
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:
The rendition of “have strength to” is closer to the meaning of the Greek. The Concordant Literal Translation has this:
“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!
On 28th October 2005, Mila Thompson was given this highly significant dream:
The above 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 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 correction is hard, but necessary. 7. Growing spiritually is the beautiful outcome.
Malcolm B Heap |
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