Covenant and Ministry

2 Corinthians 3:2-6
He has enabled us to be ministers of His new covenant This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant,
the spirit gives life.

"Covenant"means an agreement between two parties. The word in Hebrew, "berith" means "cutting" which is how covenents were made. Animals were cut in half and the person making the covenant walks between the halves of the animals.   This is the type of covenant God made with Abraham.

What does it mean to "watch" in prayer. At first I thought it means "watch God work" . But now I think it is the watch of a sentry. The Watches of the night refers to the expanse of the sentries' duty. We are to act as guardians of the Lord's interests....As such, we should have a working knowledge of current events.
A watchman must be intimately familiar with his assigned area.Do you have a place or persons whom God has assigned to you?  Is there some topic that beats on the door of your heart,....is there some person or topic that you feel heaviness over?

When you feel those pangs don't ignore them. Pray right there...and don't stop there...write it down.  I keep a pad of paper on me for that and I have an app on my tablet called, "prayer warrior"...as soon as possible, I enter that info..if you are blessed with an iPhone, you can enter it immediately.

Some suggestions:
Do not promise to pray for every Tom, Dick,and ,Harry..God has other people assigned to them.

Keep your list moderately short. If you find it getting too long, break it in half and maybe pray the other half later

Ask for updates on your list ...If it is a current event, like the typhoon in the Philippines, do research...and do not rely on one source like ABC News. Check your sources and make sure you're not getting biased information.

Sometimes God will impress on you to do more..give money, provisions, invite them to your home, babysit,  Be creative . But be sure you have been guided by God and watch out for scams. It is So important to be, wise as a serpent and as harmless as doves.
In Greek, covenant is:_"diathekev".Because God is called on to witness, it is a most serious agreement

Minister. "Meshereth." An attendant to the master. A position of some importance..like Joshua was to Moses.
It can also refer to attendants in regal court or to priests before God

In this passage the word is "diakonos"a minister or servant of the gospel. As we saw the position is important, serious and requires enabling. God had distributed this ability to Paul and to us as well.

What does this service look like? It is of the spirit...intangible,, but powerful to change us and others. It must result in life rather than condemning to death. We must take our position most seriously....after all we represent God and his path to life to those who live.

The written text (law) brings death..the law (of the new covenant ) that is lived out exudes glory...the glory doesn't fade like the glory on Moses' face..that is why the new covenant surpasses the written law.   This law (new covenant) must be lived out and be evident in us and it must speak freedom to those who see us.

All in all this short passage of Scripture contains a wallop of information. Our responsibility is great but oh how exciting to go to battle with the Lord of Lords right at our sides...and it is not only outer battling.  Our wicked hearts must be kept in check
And we are priests ministering and worshipping with the Spirit indwelling us
Prayer REAL.PRAYER IS THE MOST EXCITING
adventure you can imagine .