Are You Watching?

By Karin Paparelli

It is a late-summer evening, the chicken is on the grill, but this time will be different. The chicken will not burn. As you're waiting you walk around the yard , having lost interest in the task at hand. You take out the hose, you might as well water the flowers you've tended to all summer. It will only take a minute. You water them and of course, your mind starts to wander. Before you know it, smoke is rising from out of the barbeque. Burnt chicken! Distraction wins!

It's Sunday morning. You have plenty of time. You think to yourself, "today I will get to church early, and pray before the service starts." Your intentions are good, but you tarry with your hair and your clothes. Then you forget that thing you promised to bring and now you're not as early as you thought. Still you arrive at church five minutes early. You can still spend some time in prayer if you stay focused. You say hello to the greeters and as you enter the building you remember you have to give something to Joe, and then you have to tell Mary something else. Oh, and there is Judy, I hope she is feeling better. The service begins. You're out of time. Distraction wins again!

We can become distracted and lose our focus in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes it will be nothing more than an inconvenience, but there will be other times when the distractions will interfere with God's plan for us. When we are distracted we can easily lose sight of the goal set before us, turning instead to the right or the left. When that happens we need to be aware of Satan's schemes to divert our attention.

We are repeatedly warned through out the scriptures to be watchful. Jesus' words to his disciples caution them about the result of not being alert, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation"(Matthew 26:41). Those words are still true today. As we watch and pray we will be better prepared to resist temptations when they come. And they do come.

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians instructs the church to, " Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful"(Colossians 4:2). Again the idea is to be praying and watching. It's safe to say we know what is meant by praying but what is meant by watching? Are we to be looking about aimlessly? Not so. Webster defines watch as: 1. be attentive, circumspect. 2. to keep vigil, keep guard. 3. keeping awake for the purpose of guarding, preserving. 4. close constant supervision. Nothing aimless here!

As we continue to search the scriptures we find reference in this New Testament letter of not only being alert (watchful) but also of not sleeping(not meant literally, but spiritually). "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled" (1Thess. 5:6). And again Peter admonishes us to, "Be self controlled and alert"(1Peter 5:8). Just in case you were unsure of why we need to be alert/watchful, in his second letter Peter elaborates, "...be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position"(2Peter 3:17). In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, our watching has more to do with spiritual warfare and the enemy's schemes when he exhorts us to, "...be alert and always keep on praying for the saints"(Ephesians 6:18). What is it we are to be watchful of? Temptation, deception, the schemes of the enemy to name a few.

We are warned to watch out, be alert, be on guard. Now more than ever this is true. We are in a season of great awakening, but beware of distractions vying for your attention. The enemy wants to steal our focus, so let us pray all the more. We need to be as watchmen.

Old Testament watchmen protected the harvest from thieves or kept watch over the city. We are in a season of spiritual harvest. The Lord of the harvest is not unwise. He has posted many watchmen to protect (through prayer) the harvest and watch over the city (or in our case Long Island).

According to Dutch Sheet's excellent resource on prayer entitled Intercessory Prayer, in the chapter on the Watchman Anointing, he asserts that, " God is raising up prophetic intercessors - watchmen - to keep the serpent out! Men and women who will 'lean forward, peering into the distance' watching for the enemy's attacks. Sentries, bodyguards, gatekeepers, boundary setters, and preservers in His kingdom."

Watchmen not only protect, they lay siege as well, taking on the offensive role when necessary. As the body of Christ learns to effectively pull down spiritual strongholds watchmen will be there helping to discern the enemy's plan and form new strategies. But the enemy is not the only one we need to be on the watch for. There is one far greater that we need to be watching out for; our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Above all we need to be undistracted and prepared for Jesus' triumphal return.

Jesus himself said, "At that time the kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

" ' No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir! They said. 'Open the door for us!

"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the hour or the day." (Matthew 25:1-13)

We do not want to be as foolish virgins. We must always be ready for our Master's return. Distractions will come in many shapes and forms causing us to be unprepared for that great and terrible day. Beware of the tyranny of the urgent. This is not the time for slumber, but let us be alert. Jesus promised that He will come like a thief in the night, so we had best keep watch!

May you walk in His grace! Thy kingdom come!

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