Watch and Pray
This may be my last recording because my tongue is on fire! While in Belize, I stopped by Victors for a little rice, beans and chicken. It was wonderful—especially with hot sauce poured on top. The combination of habanero peppers, little red peppers, green peppers, chili pepper, onions, garlic, oil and other ingredients was too much to resist.
As I poured the hot sauce upon my meal, I just gave into temptation, and paid for it later! We all have done that from time to time—succumb to temptation. I can pop a few antacids and be good as new. Most of the temptations we fall into cause us much grief and remorse.
If you have slipped up today by yielding to temptation, don’t continue to drown in the guilt. Instead, come before the Lord with a repentant heart and ask for His forgiveness. Learn from your mistake and allow Him to console you, and then move on with a resolve to not partake in that sin again.
Jesus knew that we all would be subjected to temptation in this life. When he entered into the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus took Peter, James and John a bit further into the garden and asked them to keep watch while He prayed. The first time Jesus returned to the three men, He found them asleep. In Matthew 26:41, Jesus tells the disciples:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
As long as we are living in this corrupt world, there will be many temptations that we must overcome. Jesus provided His disciples the keys to overcoming temptation—the same keys we can use today. We must be vigilant and aware of possible temptations that may come our way. Keeping a watchful eye, though, is not enough. It is equally as important for us to pray and ask the Lord to strengthen us to overcome temptation.
Watch and pray today and you will be victorious in the Lord!
