Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This passage of scripture teaches us that the work of salvation is not superficial in nature, but reaches into our innermost thoughts, desires, and motives to change us from the inside out. The word renew means that every day, before the various experiences of life come our way, our minds should be replenished with a fresh infilling of The Holy Spirit, so that ongoing change can take place. It is important for us to know that it is impossible to maintain the victory Christ has gotten in our behalf, without our hearts being renewed by His grace each day. Just as it is important to eat food daily to replenish vital nutrients, so it is important for us to have spiritual food on a daily basis so that continuous growth in grace, and also character building can take place.
No Christian falls suddenly. A long protracted process takes place in our minds before satan's temptations can assert their power over us., and that's why the habit of leaving our daily renewal for last, or having it in second or third place on our list of priorities, will set us up for failure, for the Holy Spirit does not force Himself through the door of our hearts, but rather waits for an invitation to come in and do the work that only He can do. This is what Jesus was trying to impress upon the hearts of His disciples, just before the hour of trial and temptation burst upon them. Let's read:
Matthew 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
The disciples were obviously too tired to pray, and we all know by experience how difficult it is to stay focused when we are weary. Sufficient sleep is necessary to the smooth and rational functioning of our minds, and we should not form the habit of deliberately leaving the hour of prayer for times of excessive weariness. However there are times of emergency when even sleep must take a back-seat to the more urgent issues of spiritual warfare, and therefore in times like these, we must persevere in prayer, asking God to give us supernatural power to keep on praying, until we are are fully prepared for battle. This is what Christ did whenever He perceived that an imminent attack from satanic forces was underway. He did not merely pray as usual, but rather shifted into emergency mode, in order that He may meet and defeat the hosts of evil. Let's read:
Luke 6:11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. 12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
In our day, we need to be very careful of a lax, nonchalant attitude when it comes to prayer, and the renewal of our minds, for as stated before, a degrading of our spiritual sensibilities and alertness always takes place before we fall, and thus it behooves us to cooperate with God in avoiding the multitudinous distractions which constantly beckon us to leave our devotions for last. Sleep, work, school, food, and social activities are all very important, but they are nowhere close to the importance and necessity of renewing our minds through prayer and a study of God's word.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that calls us back to the need to seek God, so that our minds may be fortified to stand against the wiles of the devil. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice.
May God enable us to see the necessity of renewing our minds, and may we ever hold in highest esteem, the sacred hour of prayer. "Good night" and God bless!