After a very busy, draining day of ministry, Jesus rose up very early for a time with the Father in prayer. Jesus sets the example for prayer. We know that He frequently spent time in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Before choosing His first ‘ministry team’ He spent the night in prayer. For Jesus, prayer was as natural as breathing. He was never in the wrong place praying. Whether at His baptism or at His transfiguration, Jesus prayed.
His prayer life was so rich and fruitful that His disciples wanted to learn more about prayer. In prayer, we go to our heavenly Father, thanking Him for this precious gift of prayer. This mighty weapon of prayer caps off the believer’s armor. It’s praying that strengthens us in spiritual warfare and prevents fainting. The correct way to approach the Lord in prayer is by being clothed in humility.
Yes, because of Christ’s complete atonement for our sins, we can and should come to the throne of God’s grace boldly. But this boldness is rooted in grace through faith, and should not minimize our reverence and awe of the One in whose presence we are!
Prayer is the believer’s ‘knockout punch,’ and is much more than just a quiet time with God. In fact, it’s to be carried out everywhere, and is God’s answer to suffering. Prayer is to be the Church’s response to sickness. Petitioning God on behalf of others is a part of bearing one another’s burdens.
Prayer precedes Pentecost. Prayer is the heart of ministry. Prayer is effective from without or even within prison. Prayer subdues anxiety attacks. Prayer is where we deal with unforgiveness. Any time is the right time to be praying.
One ministry that every saint has is that of prayer. So don’t merely talk about it. Just do it!
Here are some verses about prayer:
Phil 4:6-7; Mark 11:25; 1 Thess 3:10; James 1:22, Jude 20.
In Spanish there are actually two words for prayer. One word “orar” comes from the Latin “orare” which means to speak, communicate with, ask for. The other word is “rezar” derived from the Latin “recitare” which means to recite, or formally repeat things that are memorized (e.g. a poem, or memorized speech).
Given our personal relationship with the Lord, the Spanish word that best describes our prayer is obviously “orar”. Jesus makes that pretty clear in Matthew 6:7: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetition as the heathen do, For they think they will be heard for their many words”.
The word orar also includes silent communication with the Lord. At times I feel a need during corporate prayer to “say something”. Stating something with our brothers and sisters has great value. It makes them aware of situations in need of prayer, call it a “verbal prayer request”. However, silent prayers, “oraciones”, should not feel uncomfortable to us since we are communicating vertically with the Lord which carries the highest priority.
When I go out in the streets and ask someone in Spanish “can I ‘orar’ for you?” it is usually much appreciated (not always). One time I had a slip of the tongue at Lyle Avenue and asked a person in need of prayer “can I ‘rezar’ for you?” The person said to me (translating) “Hmmm… thank you for the offer but could you please ‘orar’ for me instead? I don’t like the vain repetition”. Oops! A gentle rebuke was in order. 🙂
A lot to prayer in the “orar” sense. Thank you God for your grace giving us this unmerited privilege.
God bless,
JoseM