Could You Not Watch with Me One Hour?
For years, I lived with a misreading that colored my understanding of prayer. My ears heard, "Could you not pray with me one hour?" and so did many others. This sparked countless teachings and practices around hour-long prayer sessions. But in that fateful verse, Jesus didn't say "pray," He said "watch."
And watching, I realized, is distinct from praying. So much so, that He emphasized it first: "Watch and pray." It made me curious – what did He mean by "watch"?
Was it a surveillance mission, scanning my surroundings for an unknown threat? What was I supposed to be looking for?
The answer came swiftly, from a prophet named Habakkuk: "I will stand my watch… and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected."
Ah, watchfulness wasn't about outward vigilance, but inward attentiveness. It was about silencing myself, setting aside an hour not for my endless petitions, but for His whispers.
Just imagine! The God of the universe, the weaver of galaxies and sculptor of stars, wants to converse with me! He has instructions, insights, perhaps even corrections, waiting to be shared. How desperately do I want to hear them?
This moment shattered the illusion of prayer as a one-sided monologue. It wasn't about bombarding heaven with my demands; it was about opening my heart to receive His directions.
The evidence is clear: prayer, at its core, is a dialogue, not a monologue. It's a dance between two souls, a quiet waiting, a whispered surrender to the symphony of His voice.
So, let us shift our focus. Let us quiet the alarms within and tune our ears to the divine frequency. Let us answer that age-old question (Could you not watch with me 1 hour?), not with petitions, but with a humble, "Yes, Lord. I'm here, watching, waiting, ready to hear your whispers."