Reinhard
26 ‘Could you not tarry one hour’
Matt 26:40-41 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Jesus in the garden asked the disciples to pray with him for just one hour. We too can take time in prayer. There are great testimonies of men and women who have made a point to have a regular time of prayer.
David Wilkerson, while still a pastor in Pennsylvania made the decision to get up during the night and spend time in prayer. He was led by the Holy Spirit to go to New York and start a mission work there among the street gangs. From that followed a life of ministry that included founding the Teen Challenge organization and the Times Square church.
Larry Lea started the ‘could you not tarry one hour’ movement. He encouraged thousands to start each day with an hour of prayer. He pastored several greats churches and became dean at a seminary. His ministry encouraged many pastors and churches to pray for the harvest to come in.
A number of churches have carried on this format. I have participated in Fort Worth, TX church that had early morning prayer each week day from 6 a.m to 7 a.m. The North church, near Dallas, TX would also have early morning prayer from 6 to 7. There are several formats for this. Most times, people would pray individually for half the time. The remaining time would be corporate prayer during which the pastor or leader would ask individuals to pray for given topics. Prayer for our country, our leaders, the local church, missionaries, other countries, other ministries, our children, our schools, our military and personal needs would be made. In prayer, the promises of God would be claimed that our path would be made straight for the day, that we would have favor with people we came in contact with, that our thoughts would be established and that there would be opportunities during the day to share the good News of Jesus Christ with others.
Another Dallas church would have a men’s prayer meeting every Tuesday morning. The format there would be to start, after an opening prayer, with a Bible teaching and discussion for a half hour. Afterwards, prayer requests would be taken. Then each person would have an opportunity to pray for the needs mentioned, for the local church and other ministry.
Pathway of Life would have a Saturday morning prayer service from 9 to 10 am. People would gather to pray individually for 40 mintues. The pastor or leader would then gather the people at the front and have prayer for needs and ministry. An evangelistic group would then go into the surrounding area to witness door to door at houses and apartments. Wonderfully, in the short 60 to 90 minutes of sharing the gospel, there would usually be 20 to 25 people who would pray to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.
While praying in secret individually has many blessings, there are also blessings by gathering in group prayer. As mentioned above, it is possible to have a blend of individual and group prayer at a church meeting place.
The author has found it a blessing to set aside specific amounts of time for prayer. While there are many distractions, if we will take time to pray as we start the day, we can trust God to make our path straight and that Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, will go before us, leading us into green pastures and beside the still waters.
In this age of the internet and email, it can be tempting to wake up and turn the computer on and answer emails first in the morning. This can lead to one diversion after another as articles and web links are read mentioned in the many emails.
When starting the day in prayer, a note pad can be kept nearby. While spending time in praising God, prayer and meditation of God’s Word, if a side thought occurs, then a quick note can be made and then worship can continue. Some of the thoughts that come can be divine inspiration where a new idea, a reminder or a person to contact comes to mind.
God has spared me providentially many times from taking the wrong path as time was taken in prayer. While, God hears our prayers every moment of the day, we see the example in our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would take time to pray. The Bible says that Jesus prayed all night before he chose his disciples. Jesus would get up early in the morning and pray. Jesus would pray when He knew important things were about to happen. Jesus said that the disciple is not above the master. Which is to say, that if Jesus would take time to pray, we too need to have regular times of prayer.
The Bible tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. While we can receive infilling as others believers pray for us, we must learn to be and stay filled with the Holy Spirit by having a direct relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Bible promises us that as we wait upon the Lord, He will renew our strength!
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.