Peter Masters

Men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18.1).
Continue in prayer (Colossians 4.2).
Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5.17).

Alongside the exhortation to ‘continue in prayer,’ the apostle says, ‘and watch in the same with thanksgiving.’ This does not primarily mean that we should watch for the answers, although this is ­included. It means – keep alert; watch out; keep awake. Our trouble is that in prayer we very soon relax, or lose fervour, going into a kind of ­automatic mode in which we are not ­really thinking or longing for the objective. To watch, or to keep alert, means firstly that we keep a close watch on the quality, kind and range of our prayers. Are all the forms of prayer represented in our petitions? Are we praying only for ourselves and our own problems? Are we including all aspects of prayer, for example, ­praise and thoughtful thanksgiving? As we pray for our church and for its witness, do we also pray for power and strength to overcome our sins? There are many matters to pray for, and sometimes we fall into a rut, or into one little compartment of prayer, while the Lord wants us to pray about a whole range of matters.

To watch means also that the answer may bring some new responsibility, to which we must respond. God often ­answers our prayers by giving us the ­opportunity to play some part in the ­outcome. When, for example, we pray for the conversion of someone, the Lord may give us an unparalleled opportunity to speak to that person, but if we are not watching, we may not realise what is happening, and be spiritually comatose. We must never pray as though God will look after the entire ­matter without any action or involvement on our part. God’s purpose may be to make us instrumental. We cannot very well pray, ‘Lord, save all my colleagues, but please use other ­instruments, and don’t use me because I am embarrassed to witness.’

To watch is also to be diligent and ­methodical. Most people are extremely ­methodical in managing their secular ­affairs, poring over bank statements, bills and accounts, and yet, with prayer there is no ‘administration’ whatsoever. Prayer should surely be planned in some measure, that plan being reviewed from time to time, and all this is included in the term ‘watch’. Never should this greatest of all privileges, the ministry of prayer, be vague, ill-considered, casual or haphazard.

From The Sword & Trowel 2018, issue 1 by Dr Peter Masters