(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 close out the “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life” series. I hope it has been as much a blessing to you as it has to me. I have truly enjoyed teaching you on prayer and all the positive responses I have received about this series. If this series has helped one person re-energize their prayer life, then it has been worth it.
Let’s close out the series by once again looking at our ultimate example, Jesus. While Jesus was without question God-in-the-flesh, as He operated in the earth He did not operate as God, He operated as a man. That 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. Success, in God, is more about obedience than it is about achievement. But you can’t obey the instructions you don’t hear. That is where prayer comes in.
After carefully watching Jesus for three years, I believe the disciples also concluded that prayer was the key to Jesus earthly success, so 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. No, 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.
So what does this mean to you today and this year? A few things:
1. Divine success comes as a result of hearing from God and then obeying what He said.
2. You can’t obey what you have not heard. This is why prayer is so important.
3. We are all busy, but you must make time for prayer. 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.”
4. Make prayer a priority in 2012 and beyond.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for giving me the greatest example for success in life in Jesus the Christ. Jesus thought it was 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 re-energize 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 want me to do and I will then submit, in obedience, to Your direction and instruction. This way I will walk in the Blessing daily and experience supernatural success. I am excited about this year and about my prayer life! Thank You Father for teaching me through this series. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
