Tuesday, December 28, 2021

#31 Jesus, A Man of Prayer

 

   Alvin Vandergriend-  No person ever prayed as Jesus did. Prayer was absolutely central to everything in Jesus' life. E.M. Bounds says of Jesus, "Prayer was the secret of His power, the law of His life, the inspiration of His toil, and the source of His wealth, His joy, His communion, and His strength." The gospels contain no less than 18 actual prayers.  (Google image, Jesus, man of prayer)

   In some ways it is surprising to think that prayer was necessary for Jesus. After all, He is the Son of God, the very One who today hears and answers our prayers. But prayer was necessary for Jesus during the days of His ministry on earth because He was truly human and shared wholly in our humanity, except that He did not sin.

   In taking our limitations on Himself, He accepted even the limitation of depending on the Father and having to communicate with God in prayer. Jesus clearly loved to pray.

   For Him it was a lifestyle. He prayed at every major milestone of His life: at His baptism in the river Jorden, before calling His disciples, before being transfigured, before the Lord's Supper, before the cross, on the cross, as He died, and before He ascended into heaven.

   Jesus prayed at moments of joy (Luke 10:21) and when His heart was troubled (John 12:27-28). He gained victories in advance through prayer (John 11:41-42) and averted temptation after His victories through prayer (John 6:15). He prayed so much that He had a reputation as a man of prayer (Matthew 19:13).

   Jesus' prayer life was full of variety. He prayed early in the morning, at the end of a long day, and often in between. He prayed in solitary places, on mountainsides, in the wilderness, in a garden, and indoors.

   One time He is described as kneeling in prayer (Luke 22:41), at another time prostrate (Matthew 26:39), and at another time standing with eyes fixed on heaven (John 11:41). He prayed in private (Luke 9:18) and in public (John 11:41-42).

   Jesus also knew how to listen in prayer: In John 7:16 He says "My teaching . . . comes from him who sent me." And later He noted that the Father commanded Him "what to say and how to say it," and that whatever He said was just what the Father had told Him to say (John 12:49-50).

   Jesus' prayer life did not end with His earthly journey. Today He "is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us" (Romans 8:34). And "because he always lives to intercede" for us, He is able to save us completely (Hebrews 7:25).

   Do you want to be like Jesus? Then learn to pray like Jesus! There is no better way to pray.

(pp. 82, 83 in Love to Pray- 40 Day Devotional for Deepening Your Prayer Life by Alvin Vandergriend)


Let's pray-

     Father, let it be said of us, that we have a history of prayer being a prominent theme in our lives. We pray today that You'll reveal the areas of our prayer lives that most need improving, so we can become more like Jesus.

   We praise Jesus for His exemplary example of a man who prays. We see it as a positive pattern of prayer for us. We confess our shortcomings in prayer, that we are aware of, by comparing our prayer lives to that of Jesus.

  Our desire is that Your Holy Spirit enables us to have a willingness to purify our prayers, and to help us when we don't know how to pray very well (Romans 8:26).
 
   This is our prayer today in the name of Jesus. Amen


Today's Bible verses-

       Mark 1:35 "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark: Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

       Luke 5:16 "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

       Luke 6:12 "Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God."


Quote for today-

 F. B. Meyer- "Paul himself would never have known what Jesus could be unless he had been beset by that thorn in his flesh. There was a phase in the Savior's grace which he would have never known unless that infirmity had befallen him. Then he realized that his sufferings had provided a new angle of vision, a better platform for God's saving help. Therefore he was willing rather to suffer, that the power of Christ might compensate for his deficiency; for when he was weak the strength of the son of God was more than enough."


Today's Popular post-


Fanny J. Crosby leads us in a
song:
1. Jesus, keep me near the cross;
   there a precious fountain,
   free to all, a healing stream,
   flows from Calvary's mountain. . .



Today's question-

             Do you want God to do something big for you?

     Young Mary was challenged to believe something big! She was told that she had been selected to carry the Son of God in her womb! Nothing bigger could have happened for her, from all she knew about the Scriptures. Thankfully, Mary agreed to follow through with what the angel told her, though she did have some questions.

   She was told not to fear, but to trust God to enable her to birth His Son, and to name Him Jesus. To encourage her to believe, she was told to go and visit her cousin some 90 miles away, who was 3 months pregnant, though she was old and had never had a baby!

   Mary must have been excited to go and get confirmation of the message of the Holy Spirit overshadowing her to be pregnant with God's Son! Upon arriving at Elizabeth's home, the babe in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy at Mary's presence, as she had the Lord Jesus growing within her!

   The mystery today is that Christ Jesus lives within us as born again believers! As we get around other believers, we tend to get excited, too! Lets expect big answers to our prayers, folks. God loves to do big things for His kids, as He's a Mighty God and longs to prove it to us. What is your need today? Tell Him! Then trust Him to get involved.  

   Let's tell of His moving in situations that seem impossible and improbable. He knows what needs to be done, and how to do it! May we ask big, and then expect big outcomes, all for His glory and our good! I know I am!


Upcoming posts:

#32 Paul, the Man Who Prayed Continually
   Alvin Vandergriend

No Impossible Obstacles
   Xochitl Dixon

#33 Elijah, An Ordinary Man Who Prayed Powerfully
   Alvin Vandergriend

#34 Jehoshaphat: Victory Through Prayer
   Alvin Vandergriend

 

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The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,

located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,

broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15

You can view past services too.

Sermon listing:https://www.cfconline.org/sermon-library

 

 



1 comment:

  1. Early this am i got up to pray. I wept as Gods goodness filled the room. His peace overflowed me as I said now my will but yours, then this message came in. Thank you Jean.

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