If you want to make the best use of “the rest of your time,” live in the light of the return of Jesus Christ. All Christians may not agree on the details of the event, but we can agree on the demands of the experience. We shall someday actually stand before the Lord!

If we are sober-minded, we will “watch unto prayer.” The word watch carries with it the idea of alertness and self control. It is the opposite of being drunk or asleep. This admonition had special meaning to Peter, because he went to sleep when he should have been “watching unto prayer.”

You find the phrase watch and pray often in the King James Version of the New Testament. It simply means to “be alert in our praying, to be controlled.” There is no place in the Christian life for lazy, listless, routine praying. We must have an alert attitude and be on guard, just as the workers in Nehemiah’s day were.

An expectant attitude toward Christ’s return involves a serious, balanced mind and an alert, awake prayer life. The test of our commitment to the doctrine of Christ’s return is not our ability to draw charts or discern signs, but is in our thinking and praying. If our thinking and praying are right, our living should be right.

Verse for today: “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Other Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-24; Mark 14:37-40; Ephesians 6:18.

Action assignment: Prepare a reminder that says, “Perhaps Today.” Place it where you will frequently see it. Thank the Lord that someday He will return.