From Watching Jesus Pray – 2
Another observation from watching Jesus pray in the Gospel accounts is from a question from the Disciple. They asked Jesus, “Teach us how to pray.”
Luke 11:1–2 (ESV) — 1 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 …”
My 2nd observation from watching Jesus pray is to do what the disciples did. Watch, learn, and do. Observe and listen to the Master and put what you observe and learn into practice.
That sounds pretty simplistic, I know. Read the life of Jesus and watch, learn, and then put into practice. The Old Testament is also full of examples of men and women of prayer. Do the same: read, watch, observe, listen, learn, and imitate.
Let’s go with an example of my point. I’ll go to someone other than the perfect Son of God to help you relate a little easier. Elijah. We read in the OT all the miracles of Elijah. He constantly defied natural laws. He experienced supernatural power. But what was Elijah’s secret? The NT gives us the secret behind all those miracles. The Apostle James tells us the secret.
James 5:16–18 (ESV) — … The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Elijah prayed. He was a man of prayer. He was just like you and me. He was a man of human passions, tendencies, and weaknesses, but the difference was he prayed. He believed in the God of Prayer and prayed. He didn’t have all the answers but he didn’t let questions stop him from the doing of praying. As Samuel Chadwick speaks about Elijah as man of prayer,
He did not argue about prayer. He prayed. Praying solves problems of prayer.
Too many of us want the answers before we step into the proverbial prayer closet. Questions are legit, but they should never be hindrances to the doing. If that is what is keeping you from entering the secret place of prayer, then you’ll never do anything great with God. From my own experience, and others throughout Church history, take what you know, even if it is simple or vague, and go meet with God in secret. The best school of prayer is praying.
The disciples saw and heard Jesus pray and they wanted that intimate and powerful bonding relationship with the Father. Jesus gave them instructions and said, “…pray like this.” In other words, now go and pray.
One last word on this. We know that prayer changes things. The largest mountain that prayer changes is us. As I step into the secret place and pray, the Spirit of God will teach me, mold me, bend me, lead me, and over time answer questions that I left on the other side of the door, outside of my place of private prayer. Watch, learn, and do