What a privilege to carry ...

"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)

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, prayer is one of the greatest gifts our God has blessed us with.  Prayer is an opportunity to communicate with the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the One True and living God, the Sovereign Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself, who is the physical image of the invisible God, prayed to the Father often.  And His prayers were not trivial, as ours can sometimes be – they were all selfless, filled with compassion, and most sincere.

Jesus prayed during His most challenging seasons. Scripture tells us that Jesus prayed and fasted for 40 days and nights when He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, defeating His foe using Scripture, the inspired Word of God, of which He is. Jesus prayed to the Father before making important decisions.  On the day before choosing His Apostles, Jesus spent the entire night praying to God.  Jesus often went off to pray by Himself. Still, He also prayed with others, such as when He took Peter, James, and John with Him up on a mountain to pray, and they were blessed to witness the Messiah speaking to Moses and Elijah, and when He prayed for Peter before Peter denied Him three times. Our Lord prayed when He was in need. His most earnest prayer to the Father occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is undoubtedly His most agonizing, knowing what suffering was to come and yet still praying that the Father’s will be done rather than His own. 

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! The Messiah has given us the ultimate example of how we, as believers, ought to pray to the Father. If God in the flesh prayed often, then we ought to follow His example and pray without ceasing. Prayer is a privilege. There is power in prayer. The Master inclines His ear to His children when they pray to Him. He invites His children to share their thoughts, needs and desires with Him. And do not worry about speaking eloquently; the Holy Spirit will clean up those prayers and present them to God on your behalf. Scripture tells us that the effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous availeth much, but to be declared righteous, you must first be declared a child of God. You must repent. You must be born again. You must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and your Savior. When you do, your new life will take on a whole new meaning because you will be accepted in the Beloved.

Peace and grace!