The first breakthrough understanding about prayer is that there is no recipe to follow, no “ten easy steps” to power in prayer. Power praying does not require that you master a skill, but that you pursue a present-tense relationship with the living and indwelling Jesus.
Prayer marked Jesus’ life. Long, extended times of prayer. Spontaneous eruptions of prayer. Prayer in public, and with His disciples. Certainly Jesus, who only did and spoke what the Father showed Him, did not use prayer to argue, or beg, or try to change God’s mind. Then why did Jesus pray? Why was prayer such a hallmark of His life that His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray like He prayed? If He wasn’t giving God instructions, what was He doing when He rose up early to pray or spent all night in prayer?
I think we might get a hint from His time in Gethsemane, where some of His words are recorded and so we get a glimpse into the tenor of His interchange with the Father. We see Him synchronizing His heart with the Father’s heart.
I think it works like this: I have many mobile electronic devices that I use to accomplish my daily tasks, or to entertain myself, or to stay in touch with others. I do most of my work on my main desktop computer, but then I need to transfer the work I’ve done, or the information I’ve added, or the files I’ve edited from my main computer to my mobile devices. How do I accomplish that? How do I get what is on the hard drive of my computer downloaded onto my mobile devices? I link the mobile device to the computer and a program is activated that automatically syncs my mobile device to my computer. What is on my computer is reproduced on my mobile device.
In His all-night prayer in Gethsemane, we see Jesus linking His heart to the Father’s. Let me summarize the content of His recorded prayer in some new words. “Father, download Your will into my heart so that it overwrites any other desire. Download courageous faith that deletes fear. Synchronize My heart’s desire to Yours.”
What came from that heart-to-heart transaction? Observe the Jesus who emerges from His hours of agony. Courageous, forceful, marching out to meet His enemy rather than waiting to be taken. Handing Himself over to the purposes of the Father without reservation.
“The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Mark 14:41–42).
From Live a Praying Life, Anniversary Edition.
Comments
Yes Jennifer you have touched on the very heartstring of the "How" do we disconnect from technology and enter into the most powerful union with Christ in prayer.
First of all I agree- I find the more I use technology the more time I spend with it! However- I have concluded as you-OH LORD- help me connect with you! Let me taste and see how glorious it is to enter into the Holy of Holies and simply breathe and know that He is God.
Technology is a tool- and so is prayer- and we must choose to take up our cross and follow Him into the secret place of prayer. How awesome it is to be face to face with Christ through the avenue of prayer.
Balance is key- in every area of our lives. And we must purposefully "go to God and seek His face."And upon immersing ourselves-humbly- Oh we will Know He is GOD!!