A Life Line

Read: Luke 22

"When He arrived at the place, He said to them, 'Pray that you may not fall into temptation.'" Luke 22:40

Examine:

This was Christ's last night of freedom. The hours that followed this one would prove to be torment beyond anything that any man should have to suffer and these torturous nights would only serve as a warm-up for the most tormenting day any man had ever or will ever endure. As Jesus stared into the face of facing God's wrath for the sin of the world there were many things He could have done on His last night of freedom; but He chose to go to a secluded place with trusted friends and pray alone to God. As I read the scriptures, I see pages upon pages of men and women who cried out to God in prayer. No man in the Bible modeled prayer more than Jesus.

Apply:

Prayer gets confusing to me sometimes. I often feel like I am informing God of something that He already knows and my honest feelings sometimes drift towards wondering what is the point? I know that this is not the feelings I should have but they are there and it is foolish to just ignore them. If I am going to move deeper into my relationship with God and get further involved with His mission on earth then I will have to see my prayer life become a life line for daily sustenance.

Pray:

Father, I am not a man of prayer. I do not have the prayers of a warrior. I do not stand boldly and ask big things of You without doubting. My deepest belief as to what is best for me is not that I should withdraw to be alone with You in prayer. An hour in prayer is a long, long time and normally I feel like my words ramble, my mind wonders, and I am more likely to fall asleep than experience some great movement of You. This is what is true about me but it is not what I desire and in my heart of hearts it is not what I believe.

I believe that the same Spirit that worked in Christ is at work inside of me today. I believe that a righteous man of prayer can pray with full expectations that the Spirit of God will be poured out. I believe that prayer is much more than a sentiment and its mission is far greater than the wish list it often becomes.

I pray that You align my experience of prayer with Your true intentions for prayer. Help me to move past the things that cause me to stumble and lead me deep into Your heart for me to live a life of prayer.