WITH THE MASTER IN THE SCHOOL OF PRAYER
I greet you, friends. Today, I want us to examine the topic and prayer, and the title of the message is, With the Master in the School of Prayer.
With the Mater in the School of Prayer
And you know who the Master is: the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to read two short scriptures. The first one is in St. Luke Gospel Chapter 11:1
Luke 11:1
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
The second one is even shorter – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
PRAYER:
Father, thank You for this time, when we want to reason with You in Your Word. Lord, this topic is so important; and we pray that You would speak to our hearts. Turn our lives around, O God, by the agency of this most important force in the universe…in Jesus Name we pray. Amen!
To whet your appetite, let me start with the observation that Samuel Chadwick made – one of those powerful men of God that the Lord used yesteryears. Commenting on the power of Prayer, Chadwick said: “In the estimate of God, prayer is more wonderful than all the wonders of the heavens, more glorious than all the mysteries of the earth, more mighty than all the force of creation. Who can measure the influence of an hour a day spent alone with God? Prayer changes things. Prayer makes all things possible; for it links the praying soul to the omnipotence of God.”
I love that! For the minister out there, fellow ministers, Chadwick gives us this challenge. He said, “Is there any proof that a man is a man of God like the fact but he is a man of prayer?”
With the Master in the School of Prayer
What is prayer? I find in the hymn by James Montgomery (1818), a beautiful and comprehensive definition of prayer. James Montgomery said in his hymn:
1. Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
2. Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.
3. Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.
4. Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heav’n with prayer.
5. Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry, “Behold, he prays!”
No prayer is made by man alone – the Holy Spirit pleads, and Jesus on the eternal throne for sinners intercedes.
And finally, he says, and this is prayer now:
O thou by whom we come to God:
The Life, the Truth, the Way, the part of prayer thyself has trod.
Lord, teach us how to pray.
With the Master in the School of Prayer
O thou by whom we come to God, Lord Jesus Christ, thou the Life, the Truth, the Way – the part of prayer Yourself You trod. Lord, teach us to pray.
I have a little definition of my own, the way I understand prayer. And I said that, “Prayer is harnessing or taking control of my thoughts; and deliberately directing them towards God, in the expression of gratitude, worship and presentation of people’s needs as well as mine.”
No one ever prayed or will ever pray like the Master. No wonder the request that one of His disciples made in the text that we read at the beginning of this message:
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
They were moved – or this particular disciple was moved by the prayer life of the Master. They’ve watched Him – how He prayed. But why did He pray the way He prayed? He prayed the way He prayed because prayer is an expression of dependence; and that was the only way that the Master lived. He lived a life of dependence – and that’s why He said in John 5:30 expressing this life of dependence:
John 5:30
30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Jesus never did anything except He heard from the Father. He said, the Word that I speak to you are not mine. His messages – His sermons are secondhand. He heard from the Father, and He spoke. When Lazarus was sick, the sister came to Him and said, The one You love is sick. And the bible said instead of Jesus getting up and following the emissary, He stayed where He was two more days. Why? Because He was waiting to hear from the Father. And the moment He heard from the Father He went – though Lazarus was decaying in the grave. But because the Father sent Him, at that particular time Lazarus came out of that grave alive. A life of dependence! And that’s the way Jesus wants His followers to live. That’s the way He wants His disciples, every Christian, to live. That’s why He said, I am the Vine, and you are the branches. Abide in Me and I in you. Apart from Me you can do nothing. That ‘abiding’ is a life of dependence.
Jesus prayed the way He prayed because He lived a life of dependence upon the Father. And prayer is expression of dependence.
Some Christians will rather learn to pray from people who know little or nothing about prayer. I’ve read some of the books they have written; and I’m sorry that so many have been taken captive by men who know little or nothing about prayer. These people pray with themselves and to themselves like the Pharisees in Luke 18:7.
If we will learn to pray – and we must learn to pray, let us learn from the Master.
How did the Master pray? One thing about the prayer life of Jesus is that He prayed often in solitude.
Mark 1:35
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He [JESUS] went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Luke 5:16
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Luke 6:12
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
He prayed in solitude: solitude of the soul, alone in the inner-man with God; solitude of time, early in the morning and all night; solitude of space. He went to a quiet place. The Master prayed also in fellowship. He prayed with His disciples. He prayed in public, also. The Master prayed with focus.
When Jesus was facing an important decision, in Luke 6:12-16, He spent a whole night praying.
When He chose the twelve, Jesus prayed with focus. He confronted temptation with prayer, in Luke 4:1-2.
Jesus prayed when He was facing death.
Remember, friend, He entered into heaven with prayer. His last Word on the cross was prayer.
And the Master prayed with results. The fullness of the Holy Spirit was in the place of prayer. Luke 3:21-22. The transfiguration of Jesus was in the place of prayer. Luke 9:28-29. His miracles were answers to prayer. Feeding the multitude Jesus took bread, looked up into heaven and gave thanks; and the food multiplied. Raising Lazarus Jesus looked up into heaven:
Father, thank You that You hear me. I’m even saying this just because of these ones who are here, because I know that You always heard me.
And after that, He said: Lazarus come forth.
He prayed with results.
With the Master in the school of Prayer
Friend, prayer is the most important tool God has left in your hands and in my hands.
Let us pray.
PRAYER:
Father, thank You for this short time we have spent around Your Word or in Your Word. And I am praying for my friends, asking, O God, that You will awaken in everyone this desire, this hunger to pray – so that the enemy will not take advantage of us any longer – for when we pray we are linked to Your omnipotence. Thank You for this privilege….in Jesus Name. Amen!