Our Examples in Prayer - Lesson 3

If you were to give a reason for not praying, what would it be? Do you think your reason could be relevant to Christians two thousand years ago? I believe most people would say they are "too busy" to have time to pray. Think for a moment of Jesus schedule when He was here. Busy? I'd say He was just as busy or more busy than any one of us are today. We tend to believe in our time we live a more busy life than any other time. Think of the demands on Jesus time. Because of these demands, He made it a priority to fellowship with the Father. He would leave the multitudes to go pray all night long. Not just for 10 minutes...all night long. He needed it...you need time alone too with the Father.


There is not a magic formula to successful prayer, but in this lesson we will look at some examples to follow as we learn more about praying. Let's begin by looking at some of Jesus teaching on prayer from the gospels.


Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, " What can you learn from these words? Pray for your enemies, love them! When is the last time you did this?


Matthew 6:5-13 "Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom comes. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom the power and the glory forever. Amen" The Lord's Prayer written as an example of how to pray not a prayer to memorize and repeat thoughtlessly. You learn from this prayer to include thankgiving, praise, confession, personal requests, intercession for others, and worship. Do you includes these in your prayers?


Mark 14:38 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Prayer gives strength to keep you from sinning.


Luke 11:9,10 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." The teaching here is to pray earnestly and God will answer.


Luke 18:1 "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart," Don't give up or lose heart when you don't see answers immediately. KEEP PRAYING!


John 14:13-15 "And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." If you love God and keep His commandments, your prayers will bring glory to God and your desires and prayers will be God-centered. You will see your prayers answered.


When do you pray? How important is it to have a specific time to pray everyday? Let's see when Jesus prayed. In Luke 3 at the beginning of His ministry Jesus prayed, and it brought great joy to the Father. John 11 at the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus thanked God before commanding Lazarus to come forth. Jesus prayed for the spiritual and physical needs of others. He prayed for the children; for Peter before he denied Christ; He prayed on the cross and before he left the earth to return to heaven. Jesus prayed before eating. He prayed early in the morning, all night long, lunchtime and through out the day. He prayed in sorrow, before his crucification. Jesus prayed for believers, that they would be kept from the evil one, that they might be sanctified. He prayed for unity among the believers and that we would be mature in our faith. He prayed that God's love would be in each believer.


As Jesus hung on the cross dying, His thoughts were on others and he prayed for them. Hebrews 7:25 is a precious passage "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." He prays for me!


Take some time and think of other examples of people in Scripture who prayed. Joseph, Moses, Hannah, Elijah, don't forget Jonah. Zacheaus, Doras, Paul and Silas. The believers prayed for one another.


Make a prayer journal. Use the examples of the Bible as a pattern of how to pray and then practice prayer. Determine to pray about every situation. Look for God's daily blessing in your life and send up prayers of thanksgiving to God. There is no magic formula, just make the time to pray, it is your communion with your Father in Heaven.


Draw Me Closer, Lord.


Next lesson we will discuss how to find the time to pray.