What I have been reminded during QT

For today's QT, I have been reminded of Abraham interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah in his talk to God. He pleaded with God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there are a certain amount of righteous people in it (starting from 50 then drop all the way to 10). When he pleaded with God, he started small, and then slowly embolden to 10. In the end God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because none was found righteous except for Lot and their family. Even his sons-in-law did not escape the destruction.

The focus was not on the destruction but rather the intercession that Abraham did. In this end times and in a wicked world, how long have we been interceding for people around us? Interceding for the country? Interceding for those countries that the gospel have not really penetrated in? Or are we still too busy to pray for them?

I believed that God reminded me of the verse in Mark 14:32-42. It talks about Jesus and the disciples in Gethsemane. During this period, Jesus was going to be captured and be crucified. Judah was already on his way to betray the Lord. The rest was following Jesus into Gethsemane. Jesus was praying earnestly to God for many things. During this period, Jesus commanded the disciples to pray and keep watch. When Jesus returned, he found them sleeping. This happened three times.

I was reminded that I was like the disciples who kept on sleeping when Jesus said to pray and keep watch. Well, we may not be in physical slumber, but rather spiritual slumber or sloppiness. We may be giving excuses that we are too busy because of this and that and have no time for prayer. Are we really that busy for God? Is not God the provider of this life and of the eternal? Who is our master? The World or God? Many times we may be conscious or unconsciously be confused about who is really our master. May God have mercy on us for sleeping may be more than three times. Sure, people may say that if the disciples have seen the risen Lord they will not have slept. Its true that after that they have not been slothful. However, before that they have seen Jesus in the Transfiguration. They have seen the Lord in His splendour. If the disciples who have seen God in His Glory and still slumber, how much more that we have to ask God to guard us from such slumber.

V.v37 " Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? v.v38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.""

How much time do we spend for prayer? 10 mins? 20 mins? In the Lord's time, He usually redraw from the crowd to pray. I don't think he prayed for 10 to 20 mins. I believed that he spend much more time than that. If our Lord our God spent so much time to pray. How much more time we must spend on prayer! We who are fallen and sinful in nature are to pray continuously so that we are not lead into temptation and also to continue to draw on God's strength. God help me for I am weak.

We are closer to the end times than our ancestors. If one doesn't believe, just look at all the end time prophecies that the bible made and what is happening now. We still have wars between nations and between brothers. There seem to be more natural disasters. We can still continue to slumber, but then when God judge, how are we going account to Him? God already said that we will know not of the time when he is going to return. Only God the Father does. We can be like the five virgins who are prepared or the five who are not. I rather become the one that is prepared. I encourage my readers to keep watch and keep praying, not just for ourselves, but also for our brothers and sisters-in-Christ, those people around us, those persecuted, those who are lost, those who are hardened, those who are weak, those who are strong, those who are our leaders, those who are not our leaders, those from our church, those from other churches... You get my point.... May God have mercy and help us in our weakness. Lets not be a lukewarm Christian or a Christian that has lost his fire. Lets be reignited by the one who is the source of everything that is good and righteous, the Alpha and the Omega, The one who was and is and is to come.

To God be The Glory