The Fourth Watch

Matthew 14:22-27 NIV

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Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.


But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Jesus went up the mountainside probably around 6 pm or so and prayed until 3am. Meanwhile the disciples, being obedient to Jesus, were on the boat far from land and their progression was hindered because the wind was against them. Sometimes we can be right in the centre of God's will and be in a squall that can scare and thwart our progression in the direction that God wants us to go.

Jesus sees what is going on in our lives and He is interceding to the Father for us. We are in the midst of the battle of doing God's work and because of the storms that we are in, we cannot see the progression we are making or notice Jesus' presence but He is there watching out for us always. This also shows us that sometimes God will let us struggle and wrestle with situations while our faith in Him expands. We need to come to the end of strength in self before we are able to grow our faith in Jesus.

The fourth watch is significant. 

The Romans divided the night into four watches, 6pm - 9pm, 9pm - 12am, 12am - 3am, 3am - 6am. These times also have a spiritual meaning as we read that the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost and He reassured them that He was not. Here is a good read on the spiritual aspect of the different watches in prayer.

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The spiritual battle that we encounter as obedient Christians is vast. We are in a war and there are people praying against Christians and they take their prayers seriously staying up late sacrificing, praying and fasting. Jesus, coming to the disciples in the fourth watch of the night shows us that during the high satanic hour, when the battle is at its fiercest, Jesus comes in and takes over by eliminating the effects of the evil one and showing us everything is in His control. Jesus is always in control and He just wants us to obey and keep the faith in Him. When the time is right He will come and show Himself and the storm will cease resulting in His will being done.



In Him,
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