Luke 11:1-4 (ESV)
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Question
Have you ever seen someone do something and you were just astonished at how awesome they were? We often see celebrities and are amazed at their ability to act. Or think of the athletes we hail as gods and the musicians we so esteem. We are simply amazed at the greatness of their abilities. As I get older (and I'm not that old) I often find myself being less and less amazed at peoples abilities to entertain or perform great stunts and acts. We have all seen many great feats and performances yet someone will most likely come along and entertain us more and out perform the greatest athlete or movie star of today . But, I can not even fathom what it would have been like to hear Jesus pray. I mean this is the Son talking to the Father and no one has ever seen anything like it, nor will they ever see anything like it again in this life.
Consider
If you could make one request of Jesus, what would it be? Now the disciples had made many requests. Some were foolish and self centered and none seem quite as prominent or as important as this one request they made. Lord, teach us to pray. These Jewish disciples of Jesus had prayers they were taught to recite all throughout the day, they were actually trained in prayer as young Jewish boys. They knew how to pray, but they had never seen or heard anyone pray like Jesus.
Andrew Murray, With Christ In The School Of Prayer, "Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that the feeblest child can pray, it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which man can rise. Prayer is fellowship with the unseen and Most Holy One. The powers of the eternal world have been placed at prayer's disposal. It is the very essence of true religion and the channel of all blessings. It is the secret of power and life not only for ourselves, but for others, for the Church, and for the world. It is to pray that God has given the right to take hold of Him and His strength. It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfillment, the kingdom waits for its coming, and the glory of God waits for its full revelation."
Andrew Murray, With Christ In The School Of Prayer, "Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that the feeblest child can pray, it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which man can rise. Prayer is fellowship with the unseen and Most Holy One. The powers of the eternal world have been placed at prayer's disposal. It is the very essence of true religion and the channel of all blessings. It is the secret of power and life not only for ourselves, but for others, for the Church, and for the world. It is to pray that God has given the right to take hold of Him and His strength. It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfillment, the kingdom waits for its coming, and the glory of God waits for its full revelation."
Apply
Our first two devotions focused on "What is prayer?" So, now that we have a general understanding of what prayer is, ask Jesus to teach you to pray. Don't be to quick to blow this off and say, "I already know how to pray and don't need taught." Well, I thought that also, until I started studying prayer and made the request, "Lord teach me to pray." Jesus began to show me hindrances to my prayers and how self centered my prayers really were. Ask Him to teach you to pray and follow what He says.
In Christ, Bryan
In Christ, Bryan
No comments:
Post a Comment