Watch and pray
Jesus in Gethsemane
In Gethsemane, with the cross hours away, Jesus found his disciples sleeping and gave them a charge that exposed their — and our — weakness: watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. The defense against the coming temptation was not willpower but watchful prayer; and the disciples, who slept instead, would scatter when the test came.
Two things stand together: watch and pray. Watchfulness is staying alert to the temptation you are likely to face; prayer is seeking the strength to withstand it. Leaders fall to temptation most often not in a sudden ambush but in a drowsy unwatchfulness — not seeing it coming, not having prayed for strength against it. Jesus names the gap between the willing spirit and the weak flesh, and the bridge across it is watchful prayer. The leader who watches and prays is fortified before the test; the one who sleeps is overrun by it.
“Be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.”
— Peter, on sober prayer — 1 Peter 4:7 (WEB)
The defense against temptation is not willpower but watchful prayer. The willing spirit and the weak flesh are bridged by watching and praying before the test.
“Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Jesus named the gap between willing spirit and weak flesh. A leader formed here stays alert to likely temptation and prays for strength against it in advance. The inner work is watchful prayer, not self-confidence.
Identify the temptations you are likely to face and pray for strength against them before they arrive. Stay alert rather than drowsy. Fortify yourself and your team through watchful prayer, not willpower alone.
Leaders rely on willpower and are overrun by temptations they never watched or prayed against. The blind spot is the drowsy unwatchfulness that does not see the test coming.
Name the temptation you are most likely to face this week. Watch for it, and pray now for strength against it.
Leaders fall to temptation most often not in a sudden ambush but in drowsy unwatchfulness — not seeing it coming, not having prayed for strength. The willing spirit needs the bridge of watchful prayer.
What temptation should you be watching and praying against now, before it finds you unprepared?