But Be Alert At All Times
Luke 21:36 Lexham English Bible
36 But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The Lord calls us to be alert at all times. The word alert in the Greek is agrypneō and it means be alert; look after, to be alert ⇔ be awake — to beware, conceived of as staying awake . We are told in scripture to be vigilant because the enemy of our soul the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whoever he can devour. The devil never sleeps. The demonic never sleeps. They are continually putting together battle plans to destroy our lives.
But we have been called to be alert at all times. We are called to be spiritually awake. Many have allowed comfort and the pursuit of the American dream to cause them to either be spiritually asleep or spiritually dead. But we are called to be alert, and we are called to pray. Why are we called to pray? It is our connection point of intimacy with us and Almighty God. We are not called to rely on our own strength or wisdom. One of the great lies and deceptions of this age is to look to yourself. That we are sufficient in our selves. This is told to our children repeatedly in our public schools that are no different than satanic indoctrination camps.
When man looks to himself, he will fail and fail miserably. The devil is far smarter and stronger than we are in ourselves. We face an invisible enemy that if we try to take on in our own strength, we will fail. But if we will pray, if we will surrender and fully rely on God, we will find victory. Often the enemy will try to get us too distracted or too busy to pray. We must fight to make prayer a priority. We must reorganize our lives, so we have blocks of uninterrupted prayer with Almighty God.
We must pray that we may have strength to escape all these things that are going to happen. Regardless of what we will face the Lord will always give us a way out. Jesus is where true victory and freedom is found. He sets a table before us each day and bids us to come and intimately spend time with Him. In His word and in His presence. May we pray for strength. When we pray, we place the battle in the hands of Almighty God. When we fail to pray, we take hold of the battle in our own strength and we face certain victory.
Today you may be struggling with temptations of all kinds, know that there is victory found in Jesus. Regardless of your sin or your past, He wants to use your life to glorify His name. In your own eyes your life may not be worth much, but in the eyes of Almighty God your life was worth every drop of blood shed at Calvary. One of the great lies of the enemy is to convince us that our identity and value is based on our past or what we have done. But in Christ we are a brand-new creation and our identity and value is simply found in Jesus.
All of us will one day stand before Jesus. Believers and disciples of Jesus will stand before the judgement seat of Christ or the bema seat judgement (2 Cor 5:10, Rom 4:8-10, 1 Cor 3:10-15). The judgement seat of Christ is not a judgement of whether we are saved or not. Every person who stands before the judgement seat of Christ is born again. But it is a judgement where we will receive our rewards in Heaven. Our entrance is based on faith in Christ alone. But our rewards are based on faithfulness to the Lord and the works that were accomplished in our lives.
Our hope and desire should be to hear well done, good, and faithful servant. If this is indeed our desire than we should make prayer the priority and center piece of our lives. Prayer is not complicated. It is a conversation between us and Almighty God. The only way we truly grow in prayer is by simply praying and asking Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into a deeper and greater prayer life.
Prayer
Father help me this day to grow in the place of prayer. Holy Spirit teach me how to pray. Reveal to me the authority I have through Jesus and how to exercise that authority in prayer. Father deliver me from the hand and work of the enemy. Deliver me from every temptation. May my life be yielded and surrendered to your work and purpose. May your will be done. May I deny myself and pick up my cross. Father help me each day to rely on your grace for all things. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!
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