Jesus had many disciples who followed Him (2:15), but He appointed the 12 (corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel) so that He could train them and send them out to preach and carry on His authority over demons. Training was the major focus of His ministry at this point in time. He knew He would be leaving these 12 men to carry on His work.
Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray,
and spent the night praying to God.
(Luke 6:12)
(Luke 6:12)
Prayer was a crucial part of Christ's life and ministry. There are over 45 sections of Scripture and 30 different instances where prayer is taught or modeled by Christ.
Christ passed on to His disciples that prayer was crucial for any serious follower of Jesus! We see in Acts 2:42 that the disciples learned this because it was a cornerstone priority in the early church:
They were continually devoting themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
"The Church has many organizers,
but few agonizers.
but few agonizers.
Many who are willing to pay,
but few who are willing to pray;
Many resters,
but few wrestlers
but few who are willing to pray;
Many resters,
but few wrestlers
Many who are enterprising,
but few who are interceding.
People who are not praying are playing . . .
in the matter of effective praying
but few who are interceding.
People who are not praying are playing . . .
in the matter of effective praying
never have so many,
left so much,
to so few . . .
Brethren,
let us pray."
Leonard Ravenhill
left so much,
to so few . . .
Brethren,
let us pray."
Leonard Ravenhill
Is prayer a priority in your life?
APPLICATION
Do a mini-study on the priority of prayer in Jesus' life and ministry:
Matthew 6:5-18; 9:35-38; 14:22-23; 17:14-21; 19:13-15; 24:20; 26:30-46; 52-53
Mark 1:35-39; 9:14-29; 15:34
Luke 3:21-23; 4:1-13 (fasting and prayer are linked in the New Testament); 5:16; 6:12-16, 28; 9:18-21; 11:1-13; 19:45-48; 22:31-38, 17-20; 23:34; 46-47
John 11:40-44; 14:13-14; 17:1-26; 19:30
What Jesus Left Behind: Acts 1:12-14
If you want to do a full Discovery Study Prayer Challenge, click HERE. I did this between Super Bowl Sunday and Easter in 2014, and it was a fantastic journey of discovery and application!
"The truly GREAT people of the church today are the people who pray.
It's NOT those who believe in prayer or even those who know how to pray.
It's those who actually take the time to pray!"
S.D. Gordon
S.D. Gordon
PRAYER
Lord, teach us to pray! May we not sin against You by ceasing to pray for others (1 Samuel 12:23). Amen.
Jesus selected twelve "so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons" (Mark 3:14-15). There is a purpose behind our being "with Jesus"! Intimacy with Jesus implies that we will go out and spread that to others. Pondering that this morning.
ReplyDeleteI remember that prayer challenge so fondly! I updated the whole handout to reflect more meditation options than just writing and rewriting the passage. :)
ReplyDelete