WEBVTT
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Welcome to Bread and Rivers, a Bible study podcast dedicated to digging deeper into God's Word.
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My name is Gavin Rayla, and today I'd like to look a little deeper into a command given by Jesus Himself, and that is to watch and pray.
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Today I want to talk about two words Jesus gave his disciples in one of the most difficult moments of his earthly ministry.
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Watch and pray.
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Matthew chapter twenty six, beginning at verse thirty six says, Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder.
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And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
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Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here and watch with me.
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And he went a little further, and he fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
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Then Jesus comes back and finds his disciples asleep, and he says to Peter, What could ye not watch with me one hour?
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Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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There is something about that statement that I believe we need desperately in the church today.
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Watch and pray.
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See, Jesus did not simply tell them to believe.
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He did not simply tell them to have good intentions.
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He said watch and pray.
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Because Jesus understood something about humanity.
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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You can genuinely want to live for God and still have weak flesh.
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You can genuinely love God and still become spiritually careless.
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You can genuinely intend to do right and still find yourself completely unprepared when temptation comes.
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That is why Jesus did not merely say be willing.
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He said watch and pray.
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And to understand how important prayer eventually becomes to these disciples, I want to go backward for a moment.
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The disciples had to learn dependence.
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In Matthew chapter seventeen, the disciples encounter a situation they cannot handle.
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A man brings his son to the disciples, but they cannot cast the spirit out.
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After Jesus delivers the young man, the disciples came to him privately and asked, Why could we not cast him out?
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Jesus answers because of your unbelief.
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Then he says, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
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Jesus said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, that you could move mountains.
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The disciples had experienced a failure of faith.
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And this was not the first time.
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Jesus had confronted their lack of faith.
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Matthew chapter eight records Jesus and his disciples crossing the sea.
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A storm arises, the waves are covering the ship.
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Jesus is asleep, and the disciples wake him crying, Lord, save us, we perish.
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Jesus answers them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
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There it is again, he rebukes the winds and the sea, and there is a great calm.
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Later in Matthew chapter fourteen, Peter steps out of the boat and actually begins walking on the water toward Jesus.
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Think about that.
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Peter walked on water, but when he saw the wind, fear overtook him.
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He began to sink and cried, Lord save me.
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Jesus immediately caught him and said, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
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There is a pattern developing here.
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These men loved Jesus.
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They followed Jesus.
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They had been personally taught by Jesus.
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They had witnessed miracles, they had seen things that most human beings in history would never see.
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But being around Jesus did not automatically eliminate their need to grow in faith and dependence upon God.
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And Mark nine exposes that again.
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Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John.
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He finds the other disciples surrounded by a crowd and arguing with the scribes.
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A father explains that he brought his son, who has a mute spirit that throws him down, causing foaming, grinding of teeth, and wasting away.
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The disciples had tried to cast it out, but they could not.
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Jesus then rebukes the unbelief around them.
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The Father says, If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us.
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Jesus answers him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
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The Father immediately cries out, Lord, I believe, but help thou my unbelief.
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Jesus then rebukes the spirit, commands it to come out and not return, and the boy is delivered.
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Afterward, when they are alone, the disciples ask Jesus, Why could we not cast him out?
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Jesus answers them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer.
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That's Mark nine and twenty nine, and I specifically quoted the NASB version because the earliest manuscripts say this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer, and it was only in later renditions that they included the word fasting.
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But the earliest manuscripts only say prayer.
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The disciples were being taught that spiritual authority was not something they could operate independently of God.
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They needed faith.
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They needed dependence, they needed prayer.
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And I think that that is an important distinction.
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Prayer is not magic.
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Prayer is not a religious formula where we say certain words and force God to do something.
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Prayer is dependence upon God.
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Prayer is admitting I cannot do this by myself.
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I do not have sufficient strength.
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I do not have sufficient wisdom.
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I need God.
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And one of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is reaching a place where we have enough experience to operate without dependence.
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We know how church works.
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We know the songs.
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We know the terminology.
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We know the lingo.
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We know scripture.
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We know how to look spiritual, but knowing how to function around spiritual things is not the same thing as depending upon God.
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The disciples discovered that.
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There were some things they could not handle through experience alone.
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Jesus tells them if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, and I want to be careful here because Scripture does use the language of little faith.
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The emphasis of the mustard seed illustration is that genuine faith, even when seemingly small, places its confidence in a God for whom nothing is impossible.
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The power is not in the size of the person, the power is not in the greatness of the disciple, the power is in God.
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And so this is this is just the way that I see this.
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But I I don't believe that Jesus was talking about a measure of faith.
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I believe that he was saying, if you had faith, if you had genuine faith, you could say to this mountain, Be thou removed.
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Because if a little bit of faith were able to move mountains, what need would we have for exceeding faith beyond moving mountains?
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So I do believe that he was saying to them, If you had faith, even just a little, you could do this.
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So he was addressing their lack of faith.
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And we see an incredible contrast earlier in Matthew chapter eight.
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A Roman centurion comes to Jesus concerning his servant.
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Jesus says, I will come and heal him, but the centurion responds, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
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This Roman centurion he understood authority.
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He believed that Jesus did not even have to physically enter his house.
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Jesus could simply speak, and when Jesus heard it, Matthew tells us that he marveled and said, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
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Think about that.
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This was a Gentile, not one of the twelve disciples, not someone who had walked beside Jesus every day, not someone who had watched every miracle firsthand, and yet Jesus commended his faith.
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Why?
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Because he trusted the authority of Christ.
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Speak the word only.
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That is faith.
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Not confidence in ourselves, confidence in him.
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Prayer is not optional equipment.
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Now bring that back to Gethsemane.
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Jesus knows what is coming.
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The betrayal is coming.
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The arrest is coming.
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The scattering of the disciples is coming.
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Peter's denial is coming, the cross.
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And what does Jesus tell them?
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Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.
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Notice that Jesus does not wait until Peter denies him to tell him to pray.
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Jesus tells Peter to pray before the temptation comes.
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That changes how we should think about prayer.
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Too often prayer becomes our emergency button.
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Everything falls apart and then we pray.
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The marriage is struggling, and then we pray.
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Our mind is overwhelmed, and then we pray.
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Temptation has almost defeated us and then we pray.
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Our children are struggling, and then we pray.
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The situation becomes impossible, and then we pray.
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Now I thank God that we can pray in times of trouble.
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Scripture repeatedly teaches us to call upon God in trouble.
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But Jesus teaches something deeper in Gethsemane.
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Do not only pray in temptation, pray so that you are prepared before temptation.
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Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.
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Prayer is preventative.
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Prayer keeps us spiritually awake and grounded.
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Prayer keeps us conscious of our weaknesses.
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Prayer keeps us dependent upon God.
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Prayer does not make the flesh strong.
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Prayer keeps us aware that the flesh is weak.
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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Good intentions are not enough.
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Peter certainly had good intentions.
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Earlier that same night, Peter had told Jesus, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
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Jesus tells Peter that before the rooster crows he would deny him three times.
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Peter responds, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.
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Peter meant it.
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I believe Peter was sincere, but sincerity was not enough.
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Good intentions were not enough.
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A willing spirit was not enough.
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Jesus had told him watch and pray.
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But Peter slept.
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And only hours later Peter found himself standing in a situation for which his good intentions had not prepared him for.
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Three times he denied knowing Jesus.
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This is why we must never confuse spiritual desire with spiritual discipline.
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Wanting to be faithful is good, but Jesus still said watch and pray.
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Wanting to resist temptation is good, but Jesus still said watch and pray.
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Wanting to have a strong marriage is good.
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Wanting to raise godly children is good.
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Wanting to preach effectively is good.
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Wanting to live holy is good.
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Wanting to be used by God is good, but a willing spirit still lives inside weak flesh.
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So Jesus says watch and pray.
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Now I'd like to fast forward into the book of Acts.
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Something changed in Acts.
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And I want you to notice what happened to these same disciples.
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Because when we enter the book of Acts, something is different.
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The men who struggled to stay awake in Gethsemane became men who organized their lives around prayer.
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Acts 6 and verse 4 gives us one of the most important statements concerning apostolic ministry.
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It says, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
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They had learned something.
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We will give ourselves continually to prayer, not occasionally, not only during emergencies, not only when somebody is sick, not only when they need a miracle.
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Continually.
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Prayer had become part of the foundation of their ministry, and look at the result.
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Peter and Tabitha, Acts chapter nine, tells us about a disciple named Tabitha, also called Dorcas.
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She becomes sick and dies.
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Peter comes to the house.
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The widows are standing around him, weeping and showing him the garments Dorcas had made.
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Then Scripture says, Peter put them all forth and kneeled down and prayed.
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Before Speak Peter spoke to the dead woman, Peter spoke to God.
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Peter put them all forth and kneeled down and prayed.
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Before he spoke to the dead woman, he spoke to God.
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Let that sink in.
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He did not enter that room trusting Peter.
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He entered the room depending upon God.
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He kneeled and then he prayed.
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Then he turned to the body and said, Tabitha, arise.
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As she opened her eyes, the Peter who once sank when he saw the wind is now kneeling beside a dead woman in prayer.
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The Peter who once slept when Jesus told him to watch is now a man committed to prayer.
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Something changed.
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We see Peter on the house top in Acts chapter ten.
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Peter goes onto the top of this house.
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Why?
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To pray.
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Scripture says Peter went up upon the house top to pray about the sixth hour, and while Peter is praying, God begins preparing him for something Peter does not yet understand.
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He sees heaven opened.
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A vessel descends like a great sheet.
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Inside are all manner of animals, and a voice says, Rise, Peter, kill and eat.
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Peter objects because he has never eaten anything common or unclean.
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But the voice answers, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
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Peter does not understand everything yet, but God is preparing him to go to the house of Cornelius, and through that encounter, Gentiles are going to hear the gospel and receive the Holy Ghost.
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Notice where this begins.
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Peter is praying.
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The man who once slept in the garden when Jesus said, Watch and pray, is now on a rooftop praying when God gives him direction that will affect the reach of the gospel.
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Prayer positioned Peter to hear from God.
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What are we missing because we are not praying?
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And that brings the question directly to us.
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What are we missing because we are not praying?
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I am not saying every problem disappears when you pray.
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Scripture does not teach that.
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Paul prayed about the thorn in his flesh, and God did not remove it.
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Prayer does not mean God always changes the circumstance.
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Sometimes prayer changes us so that we can walk through the circumstance according to his will.
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Jesus prayed, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
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This is one of the purest expressions of prayer anywhere in Scripture.
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Prayer is not merely asking God to perform our will.
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Prayer submits us to His will.
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So when I say that answers are found in prayer, I do not mean God will always give us the answer we wanted.
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I mean that prayer brings us into communion with the one who has the answer.
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Sometimes the answer is deliverance.
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Sometimes the answer is strength.
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Sometimes the answer is correction.
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Sometimes it's direction.
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Sometimes the answer is waiting.
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Sometimes the answer is my grace is sufficient for thee.
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We need to watch and pray.
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And Jesus did not only say pray, he said watch.
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That means there must be spiritual alertness.
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Pay attention to your heart.
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Pay attention to your habits.
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Pay attention to what is slowly weakening you.
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Pay attention to temptation before it becomes bondage.
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Pay attention to bitterness before it becomes hatred.
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Pay attention to pride before it becomes rebellion.
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Pay attention to discouragement before it becomes dis despair.
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And pay attention to your prayer life before you realize you have been running spiritually empty.
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Watch.
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You cannot guard against something you refuse to notice.
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And Jesus connects watching with praying.
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Watch and pray.
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Be awake spiritually and remain dependent upon God.
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When I look at the disciples in the Gospels and then look at the apostles in Acts, I say men who had learned through failure.
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They had seen what happened when fear controlled them.
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They had seen what happened when unbelief limited them.
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They had seen what happened when they slept instead of prayed.
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Peter had seen what happened when self confidence told him I will never deny you.
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But then we get to Acts, and now they continued steadfastly.
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They prayed, they waited upon God.
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They gave themselves continually to prayer in the ministry of the Word.
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Peter prayed before Tabitha arose.
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Peter prayed when God gave him the vision concerning Cornelius.
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The church prayed when Peter was in prison.
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Paul and Silas prayed at midnight.
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Prayer became woven into the life of the early church, and I believe there is something there for us.
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We cannot expect apostolic results while neglecting apostolic practices.
00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:21.599
The early church preached the word.
00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:26.960
They lived the word, they depended upon the Holy Ghost, and they prayed.
00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:30.880
So wherever you are today, hear the words of Jesus.
00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:32.640
Watch and pray.
00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:36.240
If your prayer life has become weak, return to prayer.
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.000
If you have become spiritually lethargic, wake up.
00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:45.599
If you have been depending more on experience than on God, return to dependence.
00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:50.079
If you have been relying upon yesterday's encounter, pray today.
00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:52.480
If you are facing temptation, pray.
00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:54.400
If you need direction, pray.
00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.000
If you are carrying something you cannot fix, pray.
00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:00.319
If things are going well, pray.
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.559
Do not wait for Gethsemane before developing a prayer life.
00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:07.200
Do not wait until the temptation arrives.
00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.079
Do not wait until everything collapses.
00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:16.799
Watch now, pray now, because the spirit may indeed be willing, but the flesh is still weak.
00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:20.640
And if there is one lesson we can learn from the disciples, it is this.
00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:31.200
The men who could not stay awake for one hour eventually become men who said, We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:35.279
And God used these men to turn their world upside down.
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:50.400
And that's really one of my favorite things, is if you really dig in and look at the disciples, in the gospels, these guys struggled.
00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:59.599
As we see here, they obviously had a lack of faith and they lacked in their prayer lives.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.599
I would even go as far as to say that they were ragtag.
00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:13.039
But God just needs a willing vessel, and they go on to be the apostles.
00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:14.559
I love that.
00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:23.119
I hope that today's lesson has encouraged you, and I hope that it blesses you.
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Thank you for listening.
00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.319
Until next time.
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Welcome to Bread and Rivers, a Bible study podcast dedicated to digging deeper into God's Word.
00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:41.359
My name is Gavin Rayla, and today I'd like to look a little deeper into a command given by Jesus Himself, and that is to watch and pray.
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Today I want to talk about two words Jesus gave his disciples in one of the most difficult moments of his earthly ministry.
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Watch and pray.
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Matthew chapter twenty six, beginning at verse thirty six says, Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder.
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And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
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Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here and watch with me.
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And he went a little further, and he fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
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Then Jesus comes back and finds his disciples asleep, and he says to Peter, What could ye not watch with me one hour?
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Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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There is something about that statement that I believe we need desperately in the church today.
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Watch and pray.
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See, Jesus did not simply tell them to believe.
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He did not simply tell them to have good intentions.
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He said watch and pray.
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Because Jesus understood something about humanity.
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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You can genuinely want to live for God and still have weak flesh.
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You can genuinely love God and still become spiritually careless.
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You can genuinely intend to do right and still find yourself completely unprepared when temptation comes.
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That is why Jesus did not merely say be willing.
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He said watch and pray.
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And to understand how important prayer eventually becomes to these disciples, I want to go backward for a moment.
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The disciples had to learn dependence.
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In Matthew chapter seventeen, the disciples encounter a situation they cannot handle.
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A man brings his son to the disciples, but they cannot cast the spirit out.
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After Jesus delivers the young man, the disciples came to him privately and asked, Why could we not cast him out?
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Jesus answers because of your unbelief.
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Then he says, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
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Jesus said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, that you could move mountains.
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The disciples had experienced a failure of faith.
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And this was not the first time.
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Jesus had confronted their lack of faith.
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Matthew chapter eight records Jesus and his disciples crossing the sea.
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A storm arises, the waves are covering the ship.
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Jesus is asleep, and the disciples wake him crying, Lord, save us, we perish.
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Jesus answers them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
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There it is again, he rebukes the winds and the sea, and there is a great calm.
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Later in Matthew chapter fourteen, Peter steps out of the boat and actually begins walking on the water toward Jesus.
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Think about that.
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Peter walked on water, but when he saw the wind, fear overtook him.
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He began to sink and cried, Lord save me.
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Jesus immediately caught him and said, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
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There is a pattern developing here.
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These men loved Jesus.
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They followed Jesus.
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They had been personally taught by Jesus.
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They had witnessed miracles, they had seen things that most human beings in history would never see.
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But being around Jesus did not automatically eliminate their need to grow in faith and dependence upon God.
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And Mark nine exposes that again.
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Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John.
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He finds the other disciples surrounded by a crowd and arguing with the scribes.
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A father explains that he brought his son, who has a mute spirit that throws him down, causing foaming, grinding of teeth, and wasting away.
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The disciples had tried to cast it out, but they could not.
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Jesus then rebukes the unbelief around them.
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The Father says, If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us.
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Jesus answers him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
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The Father immediately cries out, Lord, I believe, but help thou my unbelief.
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Jesus then rebukes the spirit, commands it to come out and not return, and the boy is delivered.
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Afterward, when they are alone, the disciples ask Jesus, Why could we not cast him out?
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Jesus answers them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer.
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That's Mark nine and twenty nine, and I specifically quoted the NASB version because the earliest manuscripts say this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer, and it was only in later renditions that they included the word fasting.
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But the earliest manuscripts only say prayer.
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The disciples were being taught that spiritual authority was not something they could operate independently of God.
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They needed faith.
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They needed dependence, they needed prayer.
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And I think that that is an important distinction.
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Prayer is not magic.
00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:58.160
Prayer is not a religious formula where we say certain words and force God to do something.
00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.879
Prayer is dependence upon God.
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Prayer is admitting I cannot do this by myself.
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I do not have sufficient strength.
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I do not have sufficient wisdom.
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I need God.
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And one of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is reaching a place where we have enough experience to operate without dependence.
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We know how church works.
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We know the songs.
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We know the terminology.
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We know the lingo.
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We know scripture.
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We know how to look spiritual, but knowing how to function around spiritual things is not the same thing as depending upon God.
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The disciples discovered that.
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There were some things they could not handle through experience alone.
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Jesus tells them if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, and I want to be careful here because Scripture does use the language of little faith.
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The emphasis of the mustard seed illustration is that genuine faith, even when seemingly small, places its confidence in a God for whom nothing is impossible.
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The power is not in the size of the person, the power is not in the greatness of the disciple, the power is in God.
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And so this is this is just the way that I see this.
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But I I don't believe that Jesus was talking about a measure of faith.
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I believe that he was saying, if you had faith, if you had genuine faith, you could say to this mountain, Be thou removed.
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Because if a little bit of faith were able to move mountains, what need would we have for exceeding faith beyond moving mountains?
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So I do believe that he was saying to them, If you had faith, even just a little, you could do this.
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So he was addressing their lack of faith.
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And we see an incredible contrast earlier in Matthew chapter eight.
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A Roman centurion comes to Jesus concerning his servant.
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Jesus says, I will come and heal him, but the centurion responds, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
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This Roman centurion he understood authority.
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He believed that Jesus did not even have to physically enter his house.
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Jesus could simply speak, and when Jesus heard it, Matthew tells us that he marveled and said, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
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Think about that.
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This was a Gentile, not one of the twelve disciples, not someone who had walked beside Jesus every day, not someone who had watched every miracle firsthand, and yet Jesus commended his faith.
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Why?
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Because he trusted the authority of Christ.
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Speak the word only.
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That is faith.
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Not confidence in ourselves, confidence in him.
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Prayer is not optional equipment.
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Now bring that back to Gethsemane.
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Jesus knows what is coming.
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The betrayal is coming.
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The arrest is coming.
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The scattering of the disciples is coming.
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Peter's denial is coming, the cross.
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And what does Jesus tell them?
00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:39.200
Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.
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Notice that Jesus does not wait until Peter denies him to tell him to pray.
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Jesus tells Peter to pray before the temptation comes.
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That changes how we should think about prayer.
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Too often prayer becomes our emergency button.
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Everything falls apart and then we pray.
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The marriage is struggling, and then we pray.
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Our mind is overwhelmed, and then we pray.
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Temptation has almost defeated us and then we pray.
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Our children are struggling, and then we pray.
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The situation becomes impossible, and then we pray.
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Now I thank God that we can pray in times of trouble.
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Scripture repeatedly teaches us to call upon God in trouble.
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But Jesus teaches something deeper in Gethsemane.
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Do not only pray in temptation, pray so that you are prepared before temptation.
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Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.
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Prayer is preventative.
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Prayer keeps us spiritually awake and grounded.
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Prayer keeps us conscious of our weaknesses.
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Prayer keeps us dependent upon God.
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Prayer does not make the flesh strong.
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Prayer keeps us aware that the flesh is weak.
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The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
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Good intentions are not enough.
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Peter certainly had good intentions.
00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:25.200
Earlier that same night, Peter had told Jesus, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
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Jesus tells Peter that before the rooster crows he would deny him three times.
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Peter responds, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.
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Peter meant it.
00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:42.240
I believe Peter was sincere, but sincerity was not enough.
00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:44.320
Good intentions were not enough.
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A willing spirit was not enough.
00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.639
Jesus had told him watch and pray.
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But Peter slept.
00:12:53.279 --> 00:13:01.120
And only hours later Peter found himself standing in a situation for which his good intentions had not prepared him for.
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Three times he denied knowing Jesus.
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This is why we must never confuse spiritual desire with spiritual discipline.
00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:17.279
Wanting to be faithful is good, but Jesus still said watch and pray.
00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:23.200
Wanting to resist temptation is good, but Jesus still said watch and pray.
00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.519
Wanting to have a strong marriage is good.
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:28.000
Wanting to raise godly children is good.
00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.399
Wanting to preach effectively is good.
00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:32.799
Wanting to live holy is good.
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:39.519
Wanting to be used by God is good, but a willing spirit still lives inside weak flesh.
00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:43.200
So Jesus says watch and pray.
00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:51.120
Now I'd like to fast forward into the book of Acts.
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Something changed in Acts.
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And I want you to notice what happened to these same disciples.
00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:01.360
Because when we enter the book of Acts, something is different.
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The men who struggled to stay awake in Gethsemane became men who organized their lives around prayer.
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Acts 6 and verse 4 gives us one of the most important statements concerning apostolic ministry.
00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:20.559
It says, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:22.639
They had learned something.
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We will give ourselves continually to prayer, not occasionally, not only during emergencies, not only when somebody is sick, not only when they need a miracle.
00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.360
Continually.
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Prayer had become part of the foundation of their ministry, and look at the result.
00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:47.679
Peter and Tabitha, Acts chapter nine, tells us about a disciple named Tabitha, also called Dorcas.
00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.679
She becomes sick and dies.
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Peter comes to the house.
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The widows are standing around him, weeping and showing him the garments Dorcas had made.
00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:02.720
Then Scripture says, Peter put them all forth and kneeled down and prayed.
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Before Speak Peter spoke to the dead woman, Peter spoke to God.
00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:12.240
Peter put them all forth and kneeled down and prayed.
00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.200
Before he spoke to the dead woman, he spoke to God.
00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:16.559
Let that sink in.
00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:19.200
He did not enter that room trusting Peter.
00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:21.759
He entered the room depending upon God.
00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:23.759
He kneeled and then he prayed.
00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.840
Then he turned to the body and said, Tabitha, arise.
00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:35.039
As she opened her eyes, the Peter who once sank when he saw the wind is now kneeling beside a dead woman in prayer.
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The Peter who once slept when Jesus told him to watch is now a man committed to prayer.
00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:42.639
Something changed.
00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:46.720
We see Peter on the house top in Acts chapter ten.
00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:49.600
Peter goes onto the top of this house.
00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:50.320
Why?
00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:51.600
To pray.
00:15:52.559 --> 00:16:04.320
Scripture says Peter went up upon the house top to pray about the sixth hour, and while Peter is praying, God begins preparing him for something Peter does not yet understand.
00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.159
He sees heaven opened.
00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:09.120
A vessel descends like a great sheet.
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:15.360
Inside are all manner of animals, and a voice says, Rise, Peter, kill and eat.
00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:20.240
Peter objects because he has never eaten anything common or unclean.
00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:27.120
But the voice answers, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:37.919
Peter does not understand everything yet, but God is preparing him to go to the house of Cornelius, and through that encounter, Gentiles are going to hear the gospel and receive the Holy Ghost.
00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.600
Notice where this begins.
00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:41.360
Peter is praying.
00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:51.600
The man who once slept in the garden when Jesus said, Watch and pray, is now on a rooftop praying when God gives him direction that will affect the reach of the gospel.
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.039
Prayer positioned Peter to hear from God.
00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:59.440
What are we missing because we are not praying?
00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:02.720
And that brings the question directly to us.
00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:07.119
What are we missing because we are not praying?
00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.680
I am not saying every problem disappears when you pray.
00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:13.680
Scripture does not teach that.
00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:20.000
Paul prayed about the thorn in his flesh, and God did not remove it.
00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.319
Prayer does not mean God always changes the circumstance.
00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:31.200
Sometimes prayer changes us so that we can walk through the circumstance according to his will.
00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:37.519
Jesus prayed, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:42.240
This is one of the purest expressions of prayer anywhere in Scripture.
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.920
Prayer is not merely asking God to perform our will.
00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.039
Prayer submits us to His will.
00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:56.160
So when I say that answers are found in prayer, I do not mean God will always give us the answer we wanted.
00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:01.759
I mean that prayer brings us into communion with the one who has the answer.
00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.319
Sometimes the answer is deliverance.
00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.799
Sometimes the answer is strength.
00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:08.880
Sometimes the answer is correction.
00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.279
Sometimes it's direction.
00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:14.000
Sometimes the answer is waiting.
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Sometimes the answer is my grace is sufficient for thee.
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We need to watch and pray.
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And Jesus did not only say pray, he said watch.
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That means there must be spiritual alertness.
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Pay attention to your heart.
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Pay attention to your habits.
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Pay attention to what is slowly weakening you.
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Pay attention to temptation before it becomes bondage.
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Pay attention to bitterness before it becomes hatred.
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Pay attention to pride before it becomes rebellion.
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Pay attention to discouragement before it becomes dis despair.
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And pay attention to your prayer life before you realize you have been running spiritually empty.
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Watch.
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You cannot guard against something you refuse to notice.
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And Jesus connects watching with praying.
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Watch and pray.
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Be awake spiritually and remain dependent upon God.
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When I look at the disciples in the Gospels and then look at the apostles in Acts, I say men who had learned through failure.
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They had seen what happened when fear controlled them.
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They had seen what happened when unbelief limited them.
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They had seen what happened when they slept instead of prayed.
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Peter had seen what happened when self confidence told him I will never deny you.
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But then we get to Acts, and now they continued steadfastly.
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They prayed, they waited upon God.
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They gave themselves continually to prayer in the ministry of the Word.
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Peter prayed before Tabitha arose.
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Peter prayed when God gave him the vision concerning Cornelius.
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The church prayed when Peter was in prison.
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Paul and Silas prayed at midnight.
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Prayer became woven into the life of the early church, and I believe there is something there for us.
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We cannot expect apostolic results while neglecting apostolic practices.
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The early church preached the word.
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They lived the word, they depended upon the Holy Ghost, and they prayed.
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So wherever you are today, hear the words of Jesus.
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Watch and pray.
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If your prayer life has become weak, return to prayer.
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If you have become spiritually lethargic, wake up.
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If you have been depending more on experience than on God, return to dependence.
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If you have been relying upon yesterday's encounter, pray today.
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If you are facing temptation, pray.
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If you need direction, pray.
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If you are carrying something you cannot fix, pray.
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If things are going well, pray.
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Do not wait for Gethsemane before developing a prayer life.
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Do not wait until the temptation arrives.
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Do not wait until everything collapses.
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Watch now, pray now, because the spirit may indeed be willing, but the flesh is still weak.
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And if there is one lesson we can learn from the disciples, it is this.
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The men who could not stay awake for one hour eventually become men who said, We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
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And God used these men to turn their world upside down.
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And that's really one of my favorite things, is if you really dig in and look at the disciples, in the gospels, these guys struggled.
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As we see here, they obviously had a lack of faith and they lacked in their prayer lives.
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I would even go as far as to say that they were ragtag.
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But God just needs a willing vessel, and they go on to be the apostles.
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I love that.
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I hope that today's lesson has encouraged you, and I hope that it blesses you.
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Thank you for listening.
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Until next time.
