“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, ESV)
When Kelly and I were starting our church many years ago, I came across a teaching by Pastor Larry Lea. In it, he described three levels of prayer: desire, discipline, and delight. Yesterday I spoke about the desire to pray. The desire to pray is birthed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is the starting point of a lifelong journey of prayer. Secondly, that desire must mature into a daily discipline of prayer. It is one thing to have the desire to pray, but it is a whole other level to have the discipline of prayer. Desire will get you to the starting point, but discipline will carry you the distance. Discipline is needed when desire is not there, when other things are trying to squeeze out prayer, or when you are exhausted. Jesus not only desired to pray but also kept prayer as a number one spiritual activity daily. Third, as prayer is birthed in desire and established with discipline, the next level of prayer is delight. We delight to be in His presence. We delight in knowing His heart. We delight in being with our heavenly Father. If prayer is just religious duty, you will experience very little delight. But the more one matures in their prayer life—the more delight one has in the place of prayer. The more relational you are with God in prayer, the more delight you will experience
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"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." (Luke 11:1, ESV)
The disciples, looking at Jesus' prayer life in light of their own prayer life, finally got the courage to say, "Lord, teach us to pray." Those four words are powerful. Why don't you say them now, making them personal—"Lord, teach me to pray." The Father loves hearing from us in the place of prayer. And I know the Holy Spirit is more than willing to teach us to pray. And Jesus gladly responds to our hungry hearts' desire to pray. His first point in teaching us to pray is simply, "When you pray, say..." Prayer is, first and foremost, conversation with God. Conversation implies a relationship. The more conversation we have with the Father, the more intimate He becomes with us and we with Him. Some people like to pray silently, and there is a place for that, but I encourage you just as Jesus did, "When you pray, say..." The other thing we see in this passage is the disciple's desire to learn to pray. Their desire to pray was stirred out of watching Jesus pray. He seemed to have such a personal relationship with the Father. Therefore their desire to pray increased. Learning to pray starts with desire. Ask the Father to increase your desire to pray. What you desire to do, you most often do. It becomes your starting point. And your starting point has the potential to become a lifelong journey. “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” (Luke 18:1, NLT)
I like the fact that Jesus tells stories. It makes it easier to remember the truth He was trying to impart. Prayer is such a foundational part of the believer’s life. Jesus modeled it for His disciples continually. He was up early before the sun, praying. When the day was over, and the sun was down, He would go to a solitary place to pray; sometimes, it was all night long. One preacher said years ago, “Jesus went from one place of prayer to the next and in between worked miracles.” To the best that I can see, Jesus never got discouraged in the place of prayer. In fact, He seems to be encouraged. What would seem to be impossible if you have been in the presence of the Father? Often we face discouraging circumstances. The situation may seem bleak. And God does not appear to be interested in our prayer. But Jesus’ answer is to pray. Pray all the time, and do not let yourself get discouraged. We must be persistent in our prayer, like the woman in Jesus’ story. It is not about wearing God down until He answers. It is about knowing that God is good. And a good God is far more willing to work on our behalf than a weary judge is. So pray! Pray all the time! And do not give up. Your prayers are making a difference. |
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