Watch and Pray — TDW Kids

The Spirit Is Willing

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Twice that night Jesus told His disciples to pray so that they would not enter into temptation (Luke 22:40, 46). Matthew and Mark record the words He used when He found them asleep: watch and pray.

One hour. Jesus came back from praying and found the disciples sleeping. He said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40).

Watch and pray. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). To watch is to stay awake and alert. To pray is to talk to God and ask for His help. Jesus put the two together.

Willing, but weak. Then Jesus said, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). They had followed Him out into the night (Luke 22:39), and they wanted to stand with Him.

Wanting is not enough. Their hearts were willing, but their strength was not enough. Every one of us is like that. We want to do right, and then we find out how weak we are.

Watch with Me. Jesus took Peter, James and John farther with Him and said, “Stay here and watch with Me” (Matthew 26:38). Even Jesus wanted His friends near Him in prayer. Praying with other believers helps us stay alert.

Why prayer helps. Prayer is how weak people lean on a strong God. When we pray, we tell God that we need Him, and He gives us strength to say no to wrong. That is why Jesus told His friends to pray before the test came, not after.

He can help. Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), so He understands. And “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses” (Romans 8:26).

For the sleepers. Jesus did not give up on His sleepy friends. He went to the cross for them, died for their sins and rose again. Then He made them strong. Weeks later Peter stood up and preached to a great crowd (Acts 2:14).

What to do. When you feel pulled toward something wrong, stop and pray right then. Ask Jesus for strength. He understands, and He helps. You can also ask a friend to pray with you.

Luke records Jesus' command twice: “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (22:40, 46). Matthew and Mark add the word watch.

Watch (Matthew 26:40-41). “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” To watch is to stay awake and alert. Here it means being alert to danger while you pray.

To Simon. Mark records that Jesus spoke to Peter by his old name: “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?” (Mark 14:37). It was a sad question, not a cruel one. Jesus wanted His friend beside Him in prayer.

Prothymos. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Willing is prothymos (say: PROH-thoo-mos), eager, ready in heart. They had followed Jesus out into the night (Luke 22:39) and truly wanted to stand with Him.

The flesh. The flesh here is our human weakness, the part of us that gets tired, afraid and pulled toward sin. Paul described the battle: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17).

With Me (Matthew 26:38). Jesus took Peter, James and John farther in and said, “Stay here and watch with Me.” The Son of God wanted His friends near Him in prayer. Watching is something believers do together.

Prayer as dependence. Prayer is the weak person leaning on God. It admits what the disciples learned that night: a willing heart is not the same as a strong one.

Able to help. Jesus understands our weakness (Hebrews 4:15), and “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses” (Romans 8:26).

The same Peter. Weeks later Peter stood up in Jerusalem and boldly preached Jesus to a great crowd (Acts 2:14). The change did not come from Peter trying harder. Jesus had risen, and the Holy Spirit had come.

For you. The Savior who stayed awake went to the cross for the friends who slept, rose again and made them strong. Watch and pray, not to earn His love, but because you need His strength.

Watchful in Prayer

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Peter fell asleep in the garden. Years later he wrote letters to Christians about prayer.

Peter's words. Peter wrote, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). The man who could not watch one hour now taught others to watch and pray.

Awake and alert. Peter also wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8). Vigilant means watchful. He warned that the devil wants to pull God's people away from Him.

New strength. We do not need to be afraid. God gives strength to tired people who trust Him: “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

Nehemiah watched and prayed. Long ago, Nehemiah led God's people as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Enemies made plans to attack them. Nehemiah wrote, “Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night” (Nehemiah 4:9).

Both together. Nehemiah did not choose between praying and watching. He did both. He trusted God, and he stayed alert. Watching and praying means asking God for help and also making wise choices, like staying away from things that pull you toward wrong. If a show or a game pulls you toward wrong, pray, and then turn it off.

Praying always. Paul wrote about “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end” (Ephesians 6:18). Supplication means asking God humbly for what you need. Paul also asked believers to keep praying for one another.

God fights for His people. Nehemiah told the builders, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome” (Nehemiah 4:14). Later he said, “Our God will fight for us” (4:20).

A way out. “But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Not to earn His love. We do not watch and pray to make God love us. Jesus already died for our sins and rose again. We watch and pray because we belong to Him and need His strength. Pick a time each day to pray, and ask God to keep you and your friends alert.

The disciples slept in Gethsemane. Years later Peter wrote to scattered Christians about watching in prayer.

Watchful in prayers (1 Peter 4:7). “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” The man who could not watch one hour now called the church to watch.

Be vigilant (1 Peter 5:8). “Be sober, be vigilant.” Vigilant means watchful and on guard. Peter knew from experience how quickly an unguarded heart can fall.

Renewed strength. The answer is not fear but God. Tired disciples are exactly the people He strengthens: “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Nehemiah 4:9. When enemies plotted against the builders of Jerusalem's wall, Nehemiah wrote, “Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.” Prayer did not replace watching, and watching did not replace prayer. His “Nevertheless” sounds like Jesus' own: trusting God when things are hard.

Wise watching. For us, watching means trusting God and also guarding our hearts: knowing where we are weak, avoiding what pulls us toward sin, and asking for help before the test. It also means telling a trusted Christian when we are struggling, instead of fighting alone.

Praying always (Ephesians 6:18). Paul called believers to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end.” Supplication is humble asking. The same verse ends with prayer for one another.

Remember the Lord. Nehemiah told the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome” (Nehemiah 4:14), and later, “Our God will fight for us” (4:20). Our watching rests on God's faithfulness: “But God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

From the garden to the church. After Jesus rose and went back to heaven, the same disciples who had slept in Gethsemane met together: “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14). They had learned their weakness, and they had learned where strength comes from.

For you. We do not watch and pray to earn salvation. Christ has already died for our sins and risen. We watch and pray because we belong to Him, and we depend on His strength every day.

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