Could You Not Pray With Me One Hour?

"Could you not pray with me one hour?" -Mark 14:37

Although the Bible never tells us how long we should pray for, or when we should pray, nevertheless Jesus does call us to pray and to stand with Him, (to watch with Him).

When I was only twenty, about eighteen months after I was filled with the Spirit, when prayer had already developed into an established part of my discipleship, there was a week in which I sensed the Lord speak this word to me, "Could you not pray with me one hour?" I told the leader of the Christian group I was part of, and he affirmed me in my decision to give an hour of every day to the Lord in prayer. Through God’s Grace and the Empowering of the Spirit I have over the years kept this commitment with the result that prayer has become the central backbone of my service to Christ. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for putting burdens on people that were hard to bear so perhaps I should add what Jesus taught about celibacy, "This is a hard saying but the one who can receive it should" (Matthew 19:11-12).

But look at the power of prayer.

Recently a speaker from IJM (International Justice Mission), told our church that they begin every working day with an hour of prayer. So if you’re employed by IJM the first hour of every working day is spent praying with your colleagues. IJM is involved in a hard tough ministry fighting for justice in an evil world but look at the effect that IJM is having. Look at the way Jesus is being honored and the Kingdom is advancing through that ministry.

The website of John Tyson’s church in New York states that the church prays at 6.00am for an hour, at 7.00am for an hour, and again at 12 noon for an hour. Look at how God is using John Tyson across the worldwide church.

And in the city where I live, there is a man who early in his life was called by the Lord to pray for three hours a day. The church and network established under his leadership have grown in different ways throughout Bristol and beyond. Even the City Council has adopted the slogans and phrases, such as "City of refuge", and "City of hope", that the Lord spoke to Rob as he "stood in the council of the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:18 & 22).

My friends let us "devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Colossians 4:2).