The importance of keeping watch is of profound significance when lives are in danger. There is something about maintaining watch that has a built-in sense of urgency and responsibility. We see this in a nurse who keeps watch over a seriously ill patient, a forest service employee who keeps a lookout for fire, or a parent who keeps watch over small children.
When Jesus was born, angels announced his birth to shepherds watching their flocks by night. Scripture tells us that angels watch over God’s children. Hebrews 1:14 Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation. [1] Part of the responsibility of a pastor is keeping watch over the flock the Lord has assigned to him.
Jesus Asked the Disciples to Keep Watch
Jesus took disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He would pray. As Jesus contemplated dying for our sins, He also wanted the disciples to pray for Him. Not realizing the importance of their prayers, the disciples went to sleep.
Mark 14:32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. 34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 38 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”[2]
How often are we like the disciples? We may doubt the power of prayer and don’t realize how important it is to pray about a particular situation.
The Lord Wants You to Keep Watch
What if you asked the Lord, “What do you want me to keep watch over?” Whatever the Lord asks you to keep watch over is essential because danger is always lurking when we are not alert. God may be raising you to be a prayer warrior for the nation, your family, your church, a local school, your neighborhood, or something else. The Lord loves to engage His children in His work because He wants to work through you to build His Kingdom.
To learn the importance of keeping watch, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/follow-denial
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Heb 1:14). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mk 14:32–38). Tyndale House Publishers.