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Your Nature ~ The Belonging Co. Featuring Kari Jobe
Then he said to them, “… Stay here and keep watch with me.” ~ Matthew 26:38 NIV
I have been thinking a lot, lately, about the legacy of my grandfather, Lyle Hayes. Most people wouldn’t recognize his name. While most of his grandchildren—and possibly even great-grandchildren—remember him as a quiet, gentle man who loved to sneak his sweets, (and then share them with us), I also know another side of him.
As an adult, my grandpa told me that he prayed for me every day, just as he prayed for all his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Most of the time I thanked him but didn’t really think about it. But in later years, after seeing some of the fruit of his labor—at least 3 relationships restored, physical health restored, mental and emotional health restored, strong marriages, jobs found, etc.—I was in awe of his labor of love.
I don’t know when he started praying for his family. I never thought to ask. Regardless, the power that one man’s prayers had in so many lives was more than he could imagine. Whether he prayed at church or home, I know he knew that Jesus was praying with him.
In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus takes the disciples with Him to Gethsemane and asks them to keep watch with Him, (v. 38). Later, Jesus told them to, “Watch and pray,” (v. 41). According to Bible commentator David Guzik, Jesus told them to watch and pray, because they needed to combine spiritual power with their physical action to be effective, (Blueletterbible.org). Guzik also suggested that many spiritual battles are fought and won long before we see the crisis.
Looking back at his life, my grandpa was always a fighter. Physically, he fought as a bombardier in World War II, serving and protecting his country and family. Through his prayers—a soldier for Christ—he has fought and won many spiritual battles on behalf of his loved ones. I’m proud of his service in the military. I am forever thankful for the decades he fought as a soldier for Christ.
Jesus calls us all to keep watch with Him, to watch and pray. Though we don’t know the battles up ahead, we’d like to have the victory even before the crisis arrives. Today, I implore you, do not leave to chance the protection of your family. Keep watch with Jesus, watch and pray!
©Heather Potts 2022
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