Prayer (2)
‘Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.’ Luke 18:1 NKJV
People who did not grow up in Christian homes and are told to pray to seek Jesus usually have no idea what to say or how to say it.
Even after they are saved, they still struggle with how to pray. While God hears our words regardless of how they are said, Jesus taught about how to pray because the disciples asked Him to. They may not have desired to write dissertations on it, but they wanted to know how to pray. It’s the only time in the Bible where one person clearly teaches another person how to pray, and all because of a request from the disciples. ‘It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”’ Luke 11:1 NASB20). The disciples had been observing Jesus as He prayed. Apparently, the way He prayed was so distinct from the way they prayed that they said, ‘Show us how to pray the way you pray.’ Before Jesus fed the multitude supernaturally, or selected His twelve disciples, or calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, He took time to pray. And the results of His prayers were so amazing that the disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ Prayer is not primarily about telling God what you need; it’s about getting closer to God. As one pastor writes: ‘It’s almost as if God is saying, “Don’t bring me your shopping list. I already know what’s on it. We will deal with that later. Bring me your heart. Bring me your love. Bring me your undivided attention.”’ Prayer is not mainly about getting things from the Lord; it’s about spending time with the Lord.
SoulFood: Gen 20-23 Luke 8:40-56 Ps 125 Pro 4:3-4
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