In his little book entitled Pray in the Spirit, the late Arthur Wallis wrote, “A man is no bigger than his prayer life, or as Murray M’Cheyne is reputed to have said, ‘What a man is on his knees before God, that he is – and nothing more.’” Clearly, there is a call going out today for God’s people to commit themselves to Holy Spirit led and Holy Spirit inspired prayer. All of us know that Jesus was a man of prayer, for it is recorded several times throughout the gospels that:· He “went up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (Mt. 14:23, NIV).
· He “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk. 5:16, NIV).
· He was found “praying in private” (Lk. 9:18, NIV).
The Gospel of Mark simply tells us that “Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray” (1:35). As we try to imagine what this must have been like for Jesus, perhaps we can see Him wandering through the wilderness with His hands outstretched in prayer to God. At other times, He may have bowed down on His knees in humility to ask God for guidance and direction. The important thing for us to remember is that Jesus knew that the only way He could fulfill His calling and purpose was to pray. I am struck by this, for more and more today I feel a renewed call to spend extra time in prayer.
For many church leaders today, the pressures of leading often keeps them from spending time in prayer, for as one author wrote: “most ministers pray very little or not at all. They realize that they should not forget to pray, that they should take time to pray, and that prayer should be a priority in their lives. But all these ‘shoulds’ do not have the power to carry them over the enormous obstacle of their activism (or activities). There is always one more phone call, one more letter, one more visit, one more meeting, one more book, and one more party.”
Whether it is Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Jesus, we know that these men consistently “went up the mountain” to pray. How can we do any less?
4 comments:
Good man, Bill!
I can always think of something to do...but I don't want to live my life doing just something. I want to do the only thing of real significance, the only thing worth doing - What God wants me to do.
How can I be sure to do this? Prayer!
Thanks for the encouragement that your blog continues to be!
I second Cam's comment. Great encouragement Bill...
well said, Bill. If we're too busy to pray - we're too busy.
That's Excellent Bill - God has been really speaking to us in Manchester, UK about prayer over the last 2-3 Months - God is calling his people aside to pray like they've never prayed before - to see His Kingdom come and His Will be Done on earth as it is in heaven. As Corrie Ten Boom said: 'Is prayer your spare tyre or steering wheel?'
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