February 23: A Lifestyle of Prayer
Of all the things Jesus’ disciples observed Him say and do, the Bible records only one thing they asked Him to teach them – how to pray the way He prayed. (see Luke 11:1). We might wonder, “why should the disciples ask to learn to pray instead of how to do ‘big things,’ like feeding multitudes, calming storms, casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, or walking on water?” it is because they saw Jesus pray more than anything else.
The disciples lived with Jesus. They went everywhere He went and observed Him for three and a half years. The Scriptures suggest that Christ prayed for hours every morning. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark [rising up a great while before day KJV], Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where He prayed.”
Jesus would get up while the disciples were still snoring and slip off by Himself to pray for hours. The disciples would wake up and ask, “Where’s the master?” when they found Him they would see Him praying. Jesus would spend up to five hours with God, His father, then travel somewhere to spend a few minutes healing the blind or casting out demons. Pay attention to the ratio: he spent hours praying and a few minutes ministering. The disciples probably said, “That’s impressive. This must mean that what Jesus does in the morning in prayer is even more important than everything else He does during the day!” Note: The secret to Jesus’ success in ministry was a lifestyle of prayer. My question to you now is: What is the most important thing you will do today? Will it be spending time in prayer before the Lord? Shouldn’t it be? How regularly do you spend time praying and interceding?
Let’s pray: Father, please forgive me for not placing the right priority on prayer. Thank you for Jesus’ example that prayer is the primary thing (the master key), and that we can walk in a lifestyle of prayer. May You, my Lord, continue to teach me how to pray like You did Your disciples, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Today’s reading: Numbers 5 – 6; Mark 4:1-20
We Should Pray Without Ceasing.