In His Life of Prayer (Luke 6:12)
Jesus lived for prayer. His public ministry began with an extended period of special prayer and communion (as we saw yesterday); and the record indicates that He returned from the experience supercharged with living power (see Luke 4:14). It would have been unnatural for Him to go a single moment without lifting up his soul to God, without experiencing that living connection between Himself and Heaven. And what we find is that although His was a life of continuous communion with His Father, before every major event or development He took time for special supplication.
How do the following passages demonstrate Jesus' reliance upon God for guidance, direction, and strength during moments of high importance, stress, or danger? In each case, note the special event in question:
Matt. 14:23 (compare vss. 24-33)
Luke 6:12 (compare vss. 13-16)
Mark 1:35 seems to be describing not just one instance, but rather a pattern, when it speaks about Jesus rising "a long while before daylight"(NKJV) and going out to "a solitary place"(NKJV) for prayer. He began each day with God. But times of special need increased the tempo. Luke 6:12 informs us that Jesus spent the entire night in prayer on a mountainside immediately preceding the selection of the twelve disciples, apparently from among a larger group of followers (see Luke 6:13). Before His jaw-dropping walk on the lake, He had taken time out for a period of intense communication with His Father. And during the Passion Week, as He faced the Cross, Jesus offered an intense supplicatory prayer, for His immediate disciples and for His people to the end of time.
Take another look at Jesus' great prayer in John 17. What elements of a deeply personal walk with God do you find there? What events drive you to your knees? What has been your experience with the power of prayer to sustain you? How might you better improve your prayer life?
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