How Do I Pray?

Because Jesus willingly died for our sins, God “raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Eph. 1:20-21).  Now Jesus reigns until He destroys every other rule, authority, and power – including death (1 Cor. 15:24-26). Following Jesus is choosing to recognize that and submit to His reign now.  It is voluntarily putting His will first instead of rebelliously seeking our own.  Yet, that can be so difficult when we still have to deal with the daily worries, fears, and dangers that sin and death cause.  How can we live each day like God reigns when so much of the world around us does not?  Like Jesus did:  pray!  “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Heb. 5:7). 

Many of us pray – but do we pray like Jesus?  Jesus prayed before meals like we do (Mt. 14:19).  Yet, He also prayed “very early in the morning, while it was still dark”, at the end of long days, and all night before making big decisions (Mk. 1:35, Lk. 5:15-16, 6:12-13).  He prayed with his closest friends on mountaintops and in valleys – literally and metaphorically (Lk. 9:28-29, 22:39-46).  Sometimes, His prayers were so long that His friends fell asleep (Lk. 9:28-32, Mt. 26:39-45).  Other times, He prayed single sentences (Lk. 23:34).

When Jesus prayed, He “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” as He thanked the Father (Lk. 10:21-24).  He prayed for God to help His future followers “all be one”, both so that “the world may believe” and so that God’s love for Him “may be in them” (Jn. 17:20-26).  When He prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” as He faced incredible suffering, it was not the last-minute caveat we sometimes pray:  Jesus truly wanted God’s will (Mt. 26:42).  Teaching His disciples to pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done” or to “pray earnestly” for laborers, Jesus clearly expects the same from us (Mt. 6:10, 9:37-38). 

So, we should ask ourselves:  how do I pray?  If we will learn to pray like Jesus – learning from when He prayed and who He prayed with, from what He prayed and why He prayed it – our lives will be transformed as we submit more and more to His reign right now.

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