Written by: John Sernaque
Dear Reader,
Books / Pr - Prayer (2002) / Chapter 15—Jesus’ Example in Prayer
Chapter 15—Jesus’ Example in Prayer
Jesus’ Disciples Were Impressed by His Prayer Habits —“The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” Not for Himself, but for others, He lived and thought and prayed. From hours spent with God He came forth morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. Daily He received a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the early hours of the new day, the Lord awakened Him from His slumbers, and His soul and His lips were anointed with grace, that He might impart to others. His words were given Him fresh from the heavenly courts, words that He might speak in season to the weary and oppressed. “The Lord God hath given me,” He said, “the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” {Pr 176.1}
Christ’s disciples were much impressed by His prayers and by His habit of communion with God. One day after a short absence from their Lord, they found Him absorbed in supplication. Seemingly unconscious of their presence, He continued praying aloud. The hearts of the disciples were deeply moved. As He ceased praying, they exclaimed, “Lord, teach us to pray.”(The Review and Herald, August 11, 1910.) {Pr 176.2}
The Lord’s Prayer Exhibits Beauty in Simplicity—Jesus taught His disciples that only that prayer which arises from unfeigned lips, prompted by the actual wants of the soul, is genuine, and will bring heaven’s blessing to the petitioner. He gave a brief, comprehensive prayer to His disciples. This prayer, for its beautiful simplicity, is without a parallel. It is a perfect prayer for public and private life; it is dignified and elevated, yet so simple that the child at its mother’s knee can understand it. The children of God have repeated this prayer for centuries, and yet its luster has not dimmed. Like a gem of value, it continues to be loved and cherished. This prayer is a wonderful production. None will pray in vain if in their prayers are incorporated the principles contained therein. Our prayers in public should be short, and express only the real wants of the soul, asking in simplicity and simple trusting faith for the very things we need. Prayer from the humble, contrite heart is the vital breath of the soul hungering for righteousness.—(The Signs of the Times, December 3, 1896.) {Pr 176.3}
Dear God,
We thank You for all the ways You love us. How You live, think, and pray for us. How You left the glory of heaven to minister to the human race, and not to be ministered to. All because of Your self-less love for us. We thank You for teaching us how to pray. To incorporate the principles You have taught us so that none of our words are in vain. To come to You with a humble and contrite heart, trusting and believing that You will hear and answer our prayers and bring us heaven’s blessings. As You did for Jesus, we pray that You awaken us out of our slumber so that we may commune with You day by day and receive the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that You also give us the tongue of the learned and anoint our lips with grace that we may impart to others who are weary and oppressed. As we come to you in prayer, we ourselves being weary and heavy-laden, we pray that You will grant us peace and give us rest. We pray that we may yoke up with You, as Your yoke is easy. We are sorry for sinning against You and pray for forgiveness. We seek after Your righteousness, that all these things may be added unto us. This is our prayer, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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