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Luke 5: 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (NIV)
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The shortening of prayer will be the weakening of our power.* |
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If Jesus needed to withdraw from the crowds and pray frequently, then we certainly underestimate the importance of prayer. Jesus was God and he was the Word so it seems to go without saying that he prayed without ceasing. But apparently, just being in an “attitude of prayer” throughout the day is not enough. Time spent alone with God is critical or Jesus wouldn’t have bothered to set the example for his disciples – and for us.
Don’t have time to pray? Do you think you’re busier than Jesus was? He could have told himself, “These people need me. It would be selfish to go off by myself and pray.” But, “[t]he demands of life pushed Jesus to prayer, not from it.”* [emphasis added]
We aren’t always told what Jesus prayed for. In the garden, we know he prayed for deliverance from his fate - a very human prayer. In his humanity, surely he asked God for human things – direction, comfort, safety. But in his time alone with God, he communed with the Father and transcended his humanity. You don’t get to know God just by asking for stuff.
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We have much more business with God in prayer than Christ had; he had no sins to be humbled for, nor beg pardon of; no need to pray for any sanctifying habits of grace, the Holy Spirit being given to him without measure.* |
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