January 3

“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” — Matt 26:41 BSB

We need to be just as watchful in how we pray as we are in waiting for answers to those prayers. It takes as much wisdom to pray correctly as it does faith to receive what we’ve prayed for.

Not long ago, I met a friend who had been in spiritual darkness for years because God didn’t answer certain prayers. This had led to a state of near unbelief.

It took only a few moments to show this friend that the prayers had been misguided, for God had never promised to answer them. These were things the friend should have accomplished through ordinary wisdom. The result was a deliverance from the cloud of unbelief that was almost ruining this Christian life.

Sometimes, we don’t need to pray for signs or special tokens of God’s will; we just need to act on the light He’s already given us, and more will follow when we need it.