Some of you may be wondering, “How did Jesus pray?” Below are a few events and times that the Bible describes Jesus praying to His Father in Heaven.
• Jesus prayed for guidance in places of quiet solitude - “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35)
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16).
• Jesus prayed for His disciples and for all believers -“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11).
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:20-21).
• Jesus prayed in praise to God, the Father - “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure’” (Luke 10:21).
• Jesus prayed prayers of thanksgiving - “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body’” (Mark 14:22).
• Jesus prayed in a posture and with an attitude of reverent submission - “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39).
• Jesus prayed in times of anguish – “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:46).
Another example of how Jesus prayed may be found in “The Lord’s Prayer” located in Matthew 6:5-15. This is the time when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray.
Jesus loved His Father and communicated with Him often. He prayed for wisdom and guidance in His earthly ministry. He prayed for others to come to know Him as Savior and Lord. He prayed for the twelve disciples, that God would protect them from “the evil one.”
Jesus prayed for God to strengthen their ministry once He departed from them. He prayed with honesty and reverence. He prayed with joy and praise.
But most of all, Jesus prayed with expectation. He knew the Father heard His prayers and would respond.
This should be our goal as believers: Pray as Jesus prayed.
Monday Wash Day Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve You with perfect humility through the week ahead.
Tuesday Ironing Day Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles of prejudice I have collected through the years so that I may see the beauty in others.
Wednesday Mending Day O God, help me mend my ways so I will not set a bad example for others.
Thursday Cleaning Day Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many faults I have been hiding in the secret corners of my heart.
Friday Shopping Day O God, give me the grace to shop wisely so I may purchase eternal happiness for myself and all others in need of love.
Saturday Cooking Day Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly love and serve it with clean, sweet bread of human kindness.
Sunday The Lord's Day O God, I have prepared my house for You. Please come into my heart so I may spend the day and the rest of my life in Your Presence.
The biblical strategy for choosing a life partner is to seek God's will in prayer and then trust Him to lead. His Word says, ". . . in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).
It is your choice, but please remember to always make God part of your decisions.
You may be pleasantly surprised where He leads you in your faith, in your choice of a mate, and in all your relationships. I pray you find the happiness God gives us in loving a spouse who also loves Him.
Our Heavenly Father is far more than our earthly father. (see Matthew 7:11).
We will grow strong and when temptations and troubles come at our doorstep, we know how to handle them.
We'll grab our Father's hand and let Him lead us and care for us, just as an obedient child can expect support from his earthly father.
When you are hot from being in the sun and you are near dying from thirst you better walk to the water tap for a cool drink. The water tap will not walk to you. So, if you stay where you are you will not get anything done. That is how it is with the Word of God, we have to read, believe it, obey it and then we will profit by it.
Develop your Faith. Faith comes by hearing of the Word. Faith is active, it is not acquired by wishing, but through practice: by acting upon God's Word. For example: a pianist has to practice to develop her skills, just looking at the piano does not do her any good.
Please your God by faith. The rest is His responsibility. Whatever work needs to be done HE will guide you, NOT your own thinking. He will bring the people, He will show you places, He will provide the opportunities. You just need to be ready for His direction.
You must abide in Him, obey His word and walk by faith, not by sight.
Exercise your faith and allow it to develop into maturity. Establish a deeper bond with the Lord, let holiness be your partner. Be in constant communication with Him and have your mind set on Him. Whatever you pray for, walk by faith in the direction of your prayer. Be encouraged for a closer walk with Him, get saturated with the scriptures, dwell upon Him and discipline yourself to praise Him at ALL times.
For the Lord dwells on the praises of His children. To do God's Will and to please Him we cannot do on our own. The Lord has provided the Holy Spirit as our Helper, He will do it in us as we allow Him to.
Therefore be patient: He will let go and give us the desires of our own heart.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.
Don't look back at past failures, pick yourself up, square your shoulders and march on as a true soldier of the cross.
Our Father will never give us a task we cannot accomplish.
Remember.... He is more than our earthly father.
You might have tried your best, but the results haven't exactly graceful.
But with the hand of the Master, our life's work truly can be beautiful.
The Holy Spirit is the helper that Jesus has sent To those who accept Christ as Saviour and repent The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart with your soul It fills a place that has long been empty and makes you whole
When you accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour Many life-altering changes will quickly occur You will have a desire to do what God asks of you An overwhelming feeling of peace will consume you
As you study His Word, even more will be revealed He will provide you with protection, your armour and shield God will also empower you to complete His task If you have any questions, simply turn to Him and ask
You will have to submit your life to God, which may seem tough Don’t be afraid to let God know if you have had enough God will never give you more than He knows you can bear He cheers with you in triumph and hurts with you in despair
The Holy Spirit is your guide, but also your conscience Follow God’s statutes and commandments with self-confidence This means sharing God’s promise of salvation with the Lost With help from the Holy Spirit they received at Pentecost
The Holy Spirit affects all senses and it is real And since you have accepted Christ, it is something you can feel May you abide in Jesus and Jesus abide in you Through the Holy Spirit there is nothing you cannot do.
Use your words as building blocks not battering rams.
Every word you say will have an affect on others. Positive words will encourage and strengthen other people, but negative words will tear down and harm them. You must decide whether to speak positively or negatively. Please understand that speaking positively requires a deliberate decision, whereas speaking negatively comes easily—for it is human nature. Therefore, actively strive to speak positive and encouraging words to others.
It is no surprise that the Bible instructs us to say beneficial things about others: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29).
Furthermore, Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt ..." Speaking positive, uplifting words is extremely important. Indeed, Proverbs 25:11 says, "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."
In Psalm 19:14, David prays, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." David clearly knew the importance of words, and so he prayed that he would speak words that were pleasing to God.
We must deliberately choose to speak positive words; otherwise, we will instinctively complain and be negative—for that is human nature. Thus, it is no surprise that Ecclesiastes 5:2 tells us, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few."
Similarly, Proverbs 10:19 says, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Usually when you "hold" your tongue, you'll catch yourself before you say nasty things about others and cut them down with your words.
Lastly, it is important to understand that whatever you say is a reflection of your heart attitude. Matthew 12:34 says, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (also see Luke 6:45). In other words, your words are simply an overflow of what's in your heart. If you think poorly about others, you'll speak poorly about them. On the other hand, if you think positively about others, as the Bible instructs us to, then you'll speak positively about them.
Since words carry power, make a decision to use your words as building blocks not battering rams.
A breakthrough requires a trial to break through.
It would be nice to simply wake up one day and suddenly be a mature Christian, but in order to grow up in God, we will have to go through trials. There is no other way to grow strong spiritually than to go through trials.
1 Peter 5:10 says, And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. You may not like trials, but this verse says that when you are going through trials after you have suffered a little while, you will grow to be firmly rooted and grounded (strong, firm and steadfast) in God.
Similarly, James 1:12 says, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. Here again, you don't get the rewards (the crown of life) until you have persevered under trial and stood the test.
So, learn to be thankful in your trials, because in order to get your breakthrough, you need a trial to break through.
Therefore, don't be discouraged during times of suffering. Know that after you have suffered a little while, God himself will make you strong firm and steadfast.
