Devotional: Prayer II

Like I said earlier, we will be talking about prayer in month of January. Part 1 of this series can be found here

Today, the focus is on praying because our example, JESUS prayed.

Why should we pray?

It is a way of building intimacy with GOD. Everybody knows that no relationship will survive without communication. How weird would it be if you were dating/married to someone, and you only spoke to each other in public when you went out together, at the park or at a party. However, when you are alone, you have nothing to say to each other.  What kind of relationship would that be? And how long will it last?  Now when we communicate with someone, it’s a two way thing – we make eye contact, we listen, we speak, we hear what they have to say, they respond to us, we listen to them. 

Most people do not pray because they have not yet been able to connect spiritually, so that they are not able to get that feedback to know that they are talking to a living GOD who longs to speak to us. In fact, as HE says it:

Jer 33:3

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

But many times, we walk in darkness convinced that GOD does not speak anymore, because we don’t pray.  He says

Jer 29: 12-13

 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart

But for too many of us, too often, prayer is hard because prayer is dry, lifeless, one sided. There is no connection, no breakthrough, hence no response.

And why is prayer dry, lifeless, onesided, boring and hard work? Many reasons:

a)      Too much crap on our minds. So here is what often happens – we spent the day working, then we come home and veg out in front of the TV watching real housewives, Snooki, some other reality show, or some movie or show that promotes GODlessness. When we have time off during the day, we spend it with an ipod in our ears, listening to Lady Gaga , Justin Bieber, Psquare or Dbanj. Or we are on Facebook 24/7 playing worthless games or just wasting time. There is no spare time for GOD to even get a peek in.

b)      Too little time with GOD: After all that activity, then we want to pray for 15 minutes and expect GOD to reveal the secrets of heaven and earth to us.

LOL!

How did JESUS do it?

Mark1:3

And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.

Mark 6:45-46

And immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray.

Mark 14:32-34

And they came to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed." And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began praying.)

Luke 4:42

And when day came, He departed to a lonely place; and the multitudes were searching for Him, and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from going away from them.

Luke 5:16

But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

Luke 6:12

And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Now  the SON of GOD Himself had to “often slip away”, “spend the whole night in prayer”, ‘depart to a lonely place”, and did not even start HIS ministry without fasting  and praying 40 days (Matthew 4:2).

As the writer of Hebrews says:

Hebrews 5: 7-9

 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

HE survived the days of HIS flesh, difficult though they were, because HE prayed!

If The SON of  GOD needed to pray – who are you? 

There were a lot of things that happened because JESUS prayed – most important was the HE heard the FATHER – clearly:

John 5:30

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

John 14:24

He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

HE knew the words and the will of the FATHER. Why? Because HE prayed.

If we want to live according GOD’s will and purpose,  if JESUS is our example, if we want to live as HE did, we need to pray. HE lived by prayer, we must too.

As we continue to consider this topic, enjoy this prayer by Yolanda and Donnie - my favorite version of this song:

And don't forget to make prayer a part of your life today.

Enjoy!!