Let your imagination soar! The Eiffel Tower is in Paris, France, and is one of the most famous structures in the world. Sherrie and I had the privilege of visiting it early on in our 35 years of marriage, and it is one of the most brilliant experiences of our lives. A delightful memory that directs us to the following Wonderfully Weird Command: Watch and Pray.
The Eiffel Tower stands 1,063 feet tall, about the same as an 81-story building, and is the tallest structure in Paris. Standing on the tower’s observation deck allows a person to watch over the entire neighborhood of Paris and focus on the splendor of the city nicknamed The City of Lights. From this advantage point, one can easily picture and imagine the importance of the teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 26:41, where Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Until recently, 200 years ago or so, the only way to understand the command “Watch and pray” was understood from a grounded position. With the invention of the skyscraper, we can understand the command by standing on the observation deck of one’s imagination, a deck much like the Eiffel Towers. By visualizing, one can get over their life and watch the lights of their neighborhoods, such as thinking, feeling, and behavior, to ensure the glow of Jesus illuminates it. The remarkable ability any person can have is “Observation.” Every Christian should have an imagined observation deck they can step onto daily to watch and pray over their lives. An example of such a deck would be when one stops long enough to get above and think about their thinking (Proverbs 23:7).
What would this look like in your life? Let’s say you decide to step onto your proposed observation deck and consider your thoughts. As you watch or observe, you notice tendencies like victim thinking. Because you want to think like Jesus, you pray to God by naming the destructive thinking pattern and ask Him to replace it with a good one, such as grateful thinking. If you get above your thoughts, watch them, name them, pray over them, and even write them down, your thinking patterns begin to transform for the betterment of life. This practice happens when someone decides to use their imaginary observation deck of life and pray to change their thoughts toward Jesus.
It’s been many years since Sherrie and I stood on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It’s a great memory I’ll likely never forget because it’s the brilliant experience that reminds me daily to watch and pray on my imaginary observation deck of life. A life I get to witness the shining lights of Jesus with the people I love and adore.
With a Watchful and Praying Heart,