The Ministry and Prayer
Jesus is our example when it comes to prayer. Rather than teaching his disciples how to preach, he taught them how to pray. If they learned to express themselves to God, they would be able to teach others. Jesus taught them to always reach out to God in prayer by praying to Him himself.
“While Jesus Christ practiced praying Himself, being personally under the law of prayer, and while His parables and miracles were but exponents of prayer, He labored directly to teach His disciples the specific art of praying. He said little or nothing about how to preach or what to preach.” E.M. Bounds
David was constantly in prayer, and many of his prayers are expressed through the Psalms, which we know were influenced by the Holy Spirit because, as he prayed for himself, he gave us the manuscript for the crucifixion in the words of Psalm 22.
In this chapter of The Weapon of Prayer, E.M. Bounds, emphasizes the importance of a praying preacher, however, most of us do not stand in the pulpit, but do have the responsibility to carry out the great commission, so we must also follow the way of Jesus in his ministry and be constant in prayer, opening up to the Father, so that we may also learn to speak to others by talking to Him.
Here is my advice on the best way to learn to pray: begin by praying the scriptures. Open up Psalms; there are many useful prayers in there. If you’re at war, start with Psalms 91. If you need a daily prayer, pray the Lord’s Prayer. Use God’s words to pray. Soon, you will learn the lingo and begin speaking to Him on your own. Start with praise, then offer thanksgiving, and then ask for what you need. The point is to reach out to God for everything; He’s the One who provides for you anyway, so you may as well express yourself to Him.
The picture is of the moon early this morning.
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