“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”

“being vigilant”

Several passages in the New Testament connect prayer and vigilance:

Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The Lord Jesus linked the ideas of prayer and watching in this verse.

It is abundantly clear that the flesh is weak when it comes to our prayer life!

Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

1 Peter 4:7, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”

Watch that you do not fall asleep while you pray. Keep alert that your mind does not wander.

Principle:

God wants the believer to be vigilant in prayer.

Application:

When a believer goes to prayer, he becomes a particular target of the devil. This foe will suggest evil thoughts while you are in prayer. The devil does not want us to pray, so he will cause us to fall asleep in prayer. He puts anxious thoughts in our minds while we pray. We can fret, stew, and worry in prayer, although that is what prayer is supposed to alleviate (Phil. 4:6,7). The devil is a supernatural foe to prayer.

One of the earmarks of carnality is prayerlessness (James 4:1). Carnality is a disease that only a Christian can catch. We are perfunctory in prayer until some crisis comes along. No one is sick, and our finances are in place, so why should I pray? When the crisis comes, we can pray very eloquently! Because we are reluctant to pray, God may bring adversity into our lives.