Thursday, June 23, 2011

I Will Watch and Pray

It's usually in the middle of the night. I get this nudge to get out of bed and pray. If I ignore it and fall back to sleep, it weighs really heavy on me the next day. So heavy it feels like a ton of brick right there on my chest.

'What was it that couldn't wait till daybreak?' or 'Who was it that God wanted me to pray about?' These were questions that I pondered in my heart. If only I had stayed up a little bit longer. The answer usually comes a day or so after. There it is! That's who God wanted me to pray for! A friend in desperate need of strength and encouragement, or family member that was very sick and near death.

As believers, we've been called to bear one anothers burden, even in the middle of the night. God had summoned me to stand in the gap, but I loved my sleep too much to be bothered. I prayed, 'Dear Lord, help me. I know I can pray. Please don't give up on me.  You can count on me.'

Soldiers of Emmanuel, the call has gone forth, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh"(Matthew 25:13). God's Words translation of the same verse says"So stay awake, because you don't know the day or the hour".

People of God, let us awake from our slumber. It is my heart cry that I'll be sensitive to His voice, that you will be sensitive to his voice, whether in the day or night.

I still get those nudge in the middle of the night, and by His grace I get up and pray as His spirit leads, even if it's just for a minute. God is not looking for men who CAN pray, He is looking for men who WILL pray.