Thursday, August 3, 2023

Pray like Jesus

Have you ever considered that Jesus prayed.  Many of His prayers are recorded in the gospel.  He prayed when He blessed and multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the 5000 and when the disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, but have you ever really thought about it?  Why would Jesus need to pray?  He was, after all, God in the flesh. However, He was also a man, and He was not here on His own agenda as a man.  He was here on God’s to accomplish God’s redemptive plan for the people of the world.  It is no surprise that He prayed, after all, prayer is simply talking with God.  It makes sense that He would talk to His Father to get His daily assignments and it is perfectly understandable that He would commune with His Father to get His direction continuously.

In the passage today, Jesus is praying for the last time with His disciples before going to the cross.  He talked about how glorifying God through fulfilling His purpose for coming would also glorify Him.  He prayed about the authority He had over all flesh to offer eternal life to those His Father had given to Him. Then He talked about completing His mission.  He said that His life glorified God because He completed, down to the last detail, what He was assigned by God to do.  Even at this point, we know that His mission was not done, but before He went to the cross, He had done everything that His Father sent Him to accomplish in His daily ministering to people.

Jesus depended heavily on His relationship with His Heavenly Father.  It’s the reason He was able to complete, down to the last detail, the plan that was laid out for Him.  How much more do we need God’s help to accomplish the plans He has for our lives?  I know I come back to it a lot, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to spend time with God.  Your relationship with Him needs to be growing continuously.  Not only to get the plan from Him, but also, just for your day-to-day direction and peace of mind.  If Jesus spent time talking with His Father to keep Him on track, how much more do we need to talk and grow in Him daily?

Today I want to encourage you to press into the plans and purpose God has for your life.  Spend some time praising and worshiping Him, but also talking over the day and the plans He has for you in it.  See what a difference it will make in your life when you take time to be in agreement with the heart of God.  Know that His plan is good, it is the best life you can possibly live and when you trust and acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will make the path plain and clear to you. Then when you come to the end of your time here in this world, you will be able to say: Father, I have completed, down to the last detail, the assignment you gave me here in this world.

Today’s scripture reading: John 17: 1-5

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 

2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 

3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 

4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 

5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.