Be on the Watch!

“Be on the watch. Pray constantly...” Luke 21:36

It’s a challenge to be on the watch, and be attentive all the time. But sometimes your life depends upon it, especially if you’re a soldier in the danger zone. I am reading Bruce Feiler’s “Where God was Born”, which is about his journey through some of the most tension filled areas of the world. Halfway through the book, there is a story that struck me. He met Chaplain Steve Munson and his group who were part of the 607th MP Battalion. They were taking pictures at the base of the ziggurat in what used to be Ur. Bruce asked the Chaplain what passages in the Bible spoke to him the most while he was serving in Iraq. The Chaplain flipped through his desert-camouflaged Bible to Psalm 91, and Bruce noticed a small note on top of the page, “3-09-03, Arifjan”. 

Bruce asked about it and the Chaplain narrated that the Battalion was stationed at Camp Arifjan before the war was supposed to start. The Executive Officer asked the Chaplain to lead a prayer because he was afraid he would lose some men in the coming battle. “I chose Psalm 91. I call it the soldier’s psalm,” and he started to read, “I say of the Lord, my refuge and stronghold, My God in whom I trust...you will find refuge under His wings...You need not fear the terror by night...”

“Why this Psalm?” Bruce asked, and the Chaplain said, “I believe God leads through His Word. When you are in stressful situations, He will lead you to specific parts of His Word that will have meaning and will give you encouragement to make it through. In this instance, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. When we heard that first night lightning, lightning, lightning and Scud missiles were flying at us in all directions, we had the comfort knowing that, as it says here, God will cover us and the terror of the night will not destroy us.” 

“I’m not sure if this will make any sense to you,” he continued, “but as we were praying that night, we received a promise we would have no loss of life in our battalion.” He paused dramatically. “Tomorrow we will leave the country after nearly a year, the only battalion in our brigade with no loss of life.” 

We may not know it but we too are in the midst of a battle. We may not see the weapons the enemy targets at us with precision, but they are real. That’s why Jesus told His disciples to be on the watch and to pray constantly.