(Mark 1:35 NIV) 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.
This morning we get back to our series entitled, “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life.” It’s been a few weeks and I trust you enjoyed the teaching on purpose and vision. The last thing we covered in this series, before Christmas, was 10 Steps to Preparedness in Prayer. This morning, as we get reassociated with this series we will once again look at our ultimate example, Jesus.
While Jesus was God-in-the-flesh, as He operated in the earth He did not operate as God, He operated as a man. This being the case, Jesus needed to hear from the Father, just like we all do. This need for intimacy and direction led to His lifestyle of prayer and I am convinced that His prayer life was the key to His success in His earthly assignment. I also believe the disciples came to the same conclusion. After carefully watching Jesus for three years, one day, after one of His countless prayer sessions, one of the disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). This unidentified disciple was no doubt speaking for the group. They were there when Jesus fed a crowd with a little boy’s lunch, when He stopped a funeral precession in order to raise a young man back to life, when He touched a man with leprosy and the leprosy ran from the power, when He caused blind Bartimeaus to see at the amazement of all who were there, when He cast our a legion of demons out of a man, and when He healed a man who had been crippled for 38 years. Why didn’t they ask Him to teach them to perform miracles? Why didn’t they ask Him to teach them to feed the multitudes? Why didn’t they ask Him to teach them to cast our demons? Maybe it was because they connected all those things to prayer. I believe the disciples figured out the fact that Jesus’ prayer life was what enabled Him to do what He did. If they learned to pray, then everything else would fall in place.
Jesus did not do what many of us do. We come up with plans and then lay them before the Father, asking Him to bless what we came up with. Or we go out and do things and then ask God to bless what we did. But Jesus actually found out (first) what the Father wanted to bless and then sought to do that! He received His marching orders IN PRAYER and He then went out, in an act of obedience, to do what the Father was leading Him to do. Our focus text tells us that Jesus would get up, early in the morning, go off to a solitary place, and pray. Jesus would come back from these prayer sessions with direction for the day. Jesus would spend hours in prayer, and then a few seconds healing a leper or casting out a demon. Today most of us have the ratio backwards. We spend a few minutes in prayer and then hours trying to deal with our challenges. If we would spend quality time in prayer we would be better equipped for the challenges when they come!
So what does this mean to you today? It means that you must take the time to pray. Martin Luther once said, “When I have a lot to do in a day, I spend more time in prayer, because more work is done by prayer than by work itself.” Dr. Myles Munroe said, “We can never really be too busy to pray because prayer makes our lives much more focused, efficient, and peaceful. Learning this principle has been essential in my life. When I have many things on my heart and mind, a lot of confusion in my life, or overwhelming circumstances to face, I don’t try to tackle these problems myself. I go to God in prayer, and He gives me the wisdom and guidance I need to address them.” So instead of simply asking God to automatically bless whatever you’re doing, first find out what He’s blessing and then do that.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for giving me the greatest example for success in life in Jesus the Christ. Jesus thought it important to pray, so there is no way I am going to succeed in life without it. I get past every hang-up and hindrance in my life concerning prayer. I declare, by faith, that 2012 will be the best year of my life, because I will develop my prayer life and take it to another level. I am not going to lazily ask You to bless whatever I come up with. I am going to put in the effort to find out what You are already blessing and I will align my life and actions with what You desire to do. This way I will walk in the Blessing daily and experience supernatural success. I am excited about this year and about my prayer life! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
