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Friends, greetings in Jesus Name! Today, I will be sharing with you what I titled, “Watch and Pray.” While at Gethsemane, Jesus spoke to his disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthews 26:41). Currently, our church has just embarked on a daily morning prayer all through the month for the year, and I heard some brethren saying that it will be burdensome. Really, I almost aligned with their thought or opinion, but the Lord gave me a sharp rebuke and said, “Son, you cannot over pray or pray too much. If you don’t pray you become a prey.” The bible declares in Mark 1:35, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, Jesus went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” If consistent daily morning prayer was the lifestyle of Jesus, then we must do likewise if truly we are His disciples. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29, “Learn of Me.” One major thing we’re to learn from the life of Jesus is a lifestyle of prayer. Now, let me lay an emphasis or foundation by saying that you can never over pray or pray too much. Oh yes, there’s nothing like praying too much in the bible. As a matter of fact, the Lord admonishes us to, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The Psalmist cried out saying, “Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).

Recently, I was listening to a popular gospel preacher on YouTube, and he emphatically said that there are three categories of people that Satan is afraid of: Those who pray midnight prayer; those who pray long hours of prayer; and those who pray intermittently all through the day. In summary, what he was communicating is that Satan gets troubled by those who pray without ceasing. In the season we are in currently, you cannot afford not to pray. Yes, with the current onslaught of satanic attack on nations and individuals, if you do not pray you become a prey. While speaking to His disciples, Jesus said to them that, “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). With these few scriptures in mind, we can understand that the place of prayer in our lives should not be taken lightly. Hear me, men who possess cities do not sleep their way into possessing their possession. They tarry in the place of prayer to be able to pull down strongholds and cast out the territorial spirits governing the city or an area. Psalm 2:8 declares, “Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” Until you tarry in prayer by asking, you cannot take over a nation. Really, this is evident going by John Knox, a foremost leader of the Scottish Reformation, who set the austere moral tone of the Church of Scotland and shaped the democratic form of government it adopted. He was known for his famous prayer, “Give me Scotland or I die.” Indeed, God gave him Scotland, and the fruit of his prayers is what Scotland is enjoying today.

As a believer in Christ, there are two things you cannot delegate. You cannot delegate your study of the word of God or your duty to pray to someone else. Nobody will grow or increase in knowledge on your behalf. The scripture said, “Study to show yourself approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15). If you do not take time to study the word, you die of ignorance. Remember, ignorance is the absence of knowledge. And the Lord said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). In the same vein, people may pray for you, but it’s your duty and responsibility to rise to pray. You cannot tell someone, please pray on my behalf, the weather is cold, I need to catch some sleep. No! You can’t afford to do such, especially when the enemy is lurking around. If I may ask: Is anything wrong with your mouth that you cannot open it to pray and issue a command to the devil to get his filthy hands off your life, your family, your business, your health, and your peace of mind? Listen, the disciples of Jesus saw a distraction looming before them when there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:1-4).

In the above scripture you can see a phrase, “continually to prayer”. Listen, until you give yourself continually to prayer, you cannot operate in certain dimensions in the realm of the spirit. Before His earthly ministry began, nobody knew about Jesus. In fact, he was just a common carpenter on the streets of Galilee. But at age 30, something significant happened that made a huge difference for the next three and half years of his life on earth. He dropped his carpentry business, got baptized by immersion, and headed straight in the wilderness for 40 days without food. What was Jesus doing there in the wilderness? To read novels or watch Telemundo? No! He went to pray for the task ahead. There he engaged in spiritual warfare with the devil. Yes, he got tempted and overcame all the temptations by the devil. And the bible declared in Luke 4:14 that, “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding regions.” Hallelujah! Listen friend, you cannot press into prayer and remain the same. Yes, there will be evidence of God’s power and authority in your life when you gather momentum in prayer. People around you will observe a sharp difference when you consecrate yourself to pray (Mark 1:35). I pray beginning today, your altar of prayer will be revived, and your life will never remain the same again. Hallelujah! Have a Blessed and Fantastic Week. With Love, Elvis!