"But he (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16 ESV).
Jesus prayed. Nineteen times the Gospels record instances where Jesus prayed. Prayer for Jesus was not some routine tucked on the periphery of his life; prayer was at the center of his life. Jesus made a habit of prayer. It was his vocation.
Glenn Hinson was a professor of church history and spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for many years. Once he took a church history class to the Abbey of Gethsemani at Trappist, Kentucky. Their host was Thomas Merton, a Trappist Catholic monk who wrote more than 60 books on spirituality. To Hinson's horror, one of his students asked why someone with Merton's intellect would waste his life in a monastery.
Hinson said that, rather than rebuking the student, Merton smiled and answered: "I am here because I believe in prayer. That is my vocation."
"You could have knocked me over with a feather," Hinson said. "I had never met anyone who believed in prayer enough to think of it as a vocation."
Jesus looked at prayer similarly. Prayer was not just a part of his life; it was his life. It was not a hiccup; it was a habit. It was not a little thing; it was a lifestyle. It was not an exercise; it was his everyday life. Jesus prayed, plain and simple.
Biographies of great people are often read to learn the secrets of their success. Reading Jesus' biographies, the gospels, one learns his secret: He prayed.
Obviously and practically, Jesus prayed because he believed that prayer works. Jesus experienced prayer's effectiveness and power because he knew the heart of his Father.
I imagine that when Jesus came into God's presence, he didn't present a list of needs. He just basked in the presence of his Father in much the same way a sunbather basks in the sun's rays. And, my guess is, God wasn't anxious for Jesus to leave nor was Jesus watching the sun dial to see if he had spent his allotted time. They enjoyed each other's company. They knew each other's heart.
I remember as a teenager wanting to ask out the prettiest and the most popular girl in my class, but I was unsure she would go out with me. I lacked the confidence to ask, fearing rejection. So I asked my best friend to ask her best friend to see if she would say yes. To my great surprise and delight, the pretty girl said she would go out with me. Then, rather than fearing and trembling, I asked her out with confidence, knowing that she would say yes.
Likewise, you can approach God with confidence when you know Jesus' heart, understanding what he will say yes to. Once you know his plans, his desires, and his wishes, like I knew the pretty girl would say yes, then you can claim the prayer promises, asking boldly.
Jesus believed in prayer. He knew the secret. Jesus wants to answer your requests that come from his heart. Answers to your requests come when you pray for what Jesus prayed for: his will to be done, his name to be famous, his joy to overflow, his children to be as one, his message to be sent out, his presence to abide.
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