(Luke 11:1 ERV) One time Jesus was out praying, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “John taught his followers how to pray. Lord, teach us how to pray too.”
Today we continue our series entitled, “The Benefits of Prayer and Fasting,” with an emphasis on “The Power of Prayer.” We have been looking at the life of Jesus and the role prayer played in it. Today we will see that the disciples were so impacted by Jesus and the role prayer had in His life, that they asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
By the time we get to Luke chapter 11 Jesus had done much teaching and performed many supernatural acts. He casted out countless demons, healed people from of all sorts of diseases, fed a crowd with a little boy’s two-piece fish dinner, and even raised a young man from the dead in the middle of his funeral procession. The one consistent act throughout it all, was that Jesus often took time, alone with the Father, to pray.
The opening statement in Luke 11 tells us that Jesus was, once again, out praying. Jesus was off by Himself, away from the disciples, alone with the Father, communing with Him and receiving guidance for His life and ministry. When Jesus came back from His time of prayer one of the disciples asked Him an interesting question. Now remember, these guys had been with Jesus for a long time by this point. The disciples had a front row seat for every miracle. They participated in the miracle of the fish and loaves. They were there when Jesus stopped the funeral procession to raise the young man right out of his casket. I don’t know about you, but if it were me, I probably would have asked Him to teach me how to perform miracles. When Jesus fed a large crows with a little boy’s lunch, I would have wanted to know how He did it. When Jesus stopped a funeral procession and raised a young man from the dead right out of the casket, I would have wanted to know how He did it!
I have no doubt in my mind that the disciples wanted to know how Jesus did what He did. They wanted to know the secret to His success. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. You are a disciple of Christ and you have watched this man do the impossible day after day, week after week, and it always seemed to come after He had spent time with the Father in prayer. You see a clear connection between what Jesus was doing in prayer, with the Father, and what He was doing supernaturally with people. If you gave it some thought, I believe you would come to the same conclusion the disciples did: prayer was the obvious secret to Jesus’ success.
The disciples had never asked Jesus to teach them to do any of the miracles. But what they did ask, was for Him to teach them to pray. And after this petition, they never asked Jesus to teach them to do anything else. Prayer was the key then and it still remains the key today.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- The men closest to Jesus while He was in the earth only asked Him to teach them to do ONE THING. That one this was prayer. This petition did not come haphazardly. Prayer was the one thing they wanted to know how to do, because they believed that is was the key to Jesus’ ministry. Well, guess what? They were right!
- The disciples believed that if they could learn to pray like Jesus prayed, they would be in position to do what Jesus did. What was true back then is true today. We are called to live “As Jesus is, in this world,” and the only way we’ll ever do so is by receiving direction from the Father in prayer.
- Jesus spent time with the Father, early in the morning, all by Himself, in prayer. This was the key to His success. As He prayed, He received insight, wisdom, revelation, knowledge and understanding. When He was done praying, He knew where to go for the day and what He was going to do when He got there. This is the way we are supposed to live. If we commune with the Father in prayer, we will be able to go into every meeting, conversation an activity with the confidence Jesus had. We will be able to say, like Jesus said, “It is the Father, living in me… He gives me the words and He performs the work!” This type of confidence is not possible without a prayer life.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I raise my expectation from You, because I also raise my dedication to spend time in prayer with You. Prayer was the key to Jesus’ success. It shall be the key to my success as well. Day-by-day, I grow in prayer and in communion with You. You teach me to pray. You help me cultivate my relationship with You. I make time to spend time with You and this time is truly quality time. When I come out of my prayer session, I will know what to do and how to do it. And as I enter the day, You will give me the words and You will perform the work through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
