The disciples wanted to stay awake and pray with Jesus. They were willing in their spirits to uphold Him in this way. But they were weary in their bodies and so failed to resist the temptation to doze off at this critical moment. Jesus said that they should “watch and pray” if they would prevail against temptation and do the works to which He had called them. The first step in dealing with temptation, therefore, is to “watch,” that is, to be constantly alert to the various ways temptations might confront us, and to understand the sin to which they are trying to lead us.

What might the disciples have done to discipline their bodies to wakefulness so that they could continue in prayer with the Lord? We don’t know, perhaps build a fire or stay on their feet or some such exercise. So also with us. If we know how we may be tempted – what particular temptations lure us toward sin – then we can begin to make defenses against them, readying our bodies – eyes, ears, feet – to recognize and flee the presence of whatever entices us to sin. Watching for temptation so that it doesn’t sneak up on us suddenly is the way of prudence, but watching alone will be of no value unless we couple it with prayer.

In prayer we seek the face of the Lord, where the glory of God awaits to sustain, strengthen, and renew us (2 Cor. 4:6). In prayer we renew our minds, redirect our hearts, bolster our consciences, and thus refresh our souls. In prayer we anticipate the day ahead – the next meeting or activity, and the people with whom we will be involved – and ask the Lord to plot a course for us that will honor and glorify Him (Ps. 90.12, 16, 17). In prayer we confess our weakness and our need of the Lord, through Whose strength we can go beyond our own and do all that He requires of us (Eph. 3.20; Phil. 4.13). The more we engage in prayer, the more we may expect to know the presence and strength of the Lord, which, coupled with watchfulness, can enable us to stand against our adversary and prevail over temptation.

This is one reason why the saints of Scripture resorted to prayer often during the day, observing certain “hours of prayer” (cf. Acts 3:1) so that they might be refreshed, renewed, and ready for whatever they may face. We would be wise to emulate that practice, it seems to me, even if our “hours of prayer” are little more than a few moments of quiet escape, meditation, listening for the Lord, and praying for His presence and strength for the rest of the day.

How might you begin to establish set hours of prayer during the day? Choose three to five times when you want to withdraw from all activities for a few moments of quiet prayer. Make an appointment with the Lord, as it were, even if that means writing it down in your daily calendar. When I began this discipline many years ago, I even set several alarms throughout the day on a digital alarm clock that was in a page marker in my daily schedule. Those faithful alarms reminded me of my appointed times with the Lord and helped me to establish the rhythm of certain hours of prayer each day.

You might also prepare for those times by having a text of Scripture ready to guide your meditation or prayer, especially one from the psalms (although we apparently catch Nathanael meditating on a story from Genesis in John 1:43-51).

Having regular hours or, at least, seasons of prayer during the day can help you to realize Paul’s instruction to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). We may never achieve that ideal in this life, but the closer we can get to it, the stronger will be our walk with the Lord. And having regular times each day to retreat for prayer is certainly one way of moving toward realizing Paul’s instruction. Set times for prayer can also be useful to preview the course of the rest of your day – or at least to the next season of prayer – and begin to anticipate any places where temptation may be lurking.

Temptations must come; sin needn’t. If we can prepare ourselves day by day through the disciplines of watching and prayer, we can expect to grow stronger through temptation, rather than to find that every temptation flips us on our backs like a turtle, leaving us to flounder and struggle to get back upright again. Watch and pray, and you will be better prepared against the sin that lies behind every temptation.