Take Off Your Watch And Go "On Watch".

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

"What He wants is not the problem, you know. For most of us, it's not that we don't know what God wants. The problem with us is that we know we don't want what God wants." -Rev. Dr. Samuel Vassel

There are some prayer concerns that have so burdened us that we have opted to pray for immediate relief instead of taking time to seek out the will of God. Pastor Sam shared with us a sobering example of a prayer that was inconsistent with the desire of God: it was a prayer prayed by Jesus Himself. The agony and passion He experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane was so intense that Jesus asked the Father to exempt Him from having to go to the cross.

But, an interesting thing happens in Matthew 26:36-45. As we read, we see how Jesus's extended time in prayer serves to shift the tone of His prayer request. Let's look at the difference between Jesus's first and second Garden prayers (New International Version, italics mine).

Prayer 1 - Matthew 26:39: "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will."

Prayer 2 - Matthew 26:42: "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done."

Our pastor shared a point that I pray we will take to heart: If you don't linger in prayer, you won't close the gap between your will and God's will.

Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene, today, is on Day Seven of a forty-day period of prayer and fasting (January 1 through February 9). As we take this time to linger in prayer before God, we trust that He will turn our hearts to His perfect will.

We do have a challenge, though: not everyone in our community is opting to pray. If you are one of those persons who has not been praying, I urge you to change your mind and join with the community of faith. The Spirit of God has called us to make short-term adjustments to our normal routine in order to seek Him more earnestly. It is for our growth and for our good. Will you take a walk in the Garden?