Recovery Ministries aims to see people of all nationalities recovering from loss, in accordance with the promises they have in Jesus Christ
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TEXT: ‘One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”’ (Luke 11:1 NIV) Luke’s gospel records seven occasions when Jesus prayed. Today’s Teaching is studying each one to see why Jesus prayed and what was the result, so we can safely imitate them and enjoy a more successful prayer life! In Parts 1 & 2, we studied how Jesus prayed: to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit; to guard Himself against the dangers of pride and self-reliance; to be cautious in decision-making and to promote evangelism. In this final part, we consider three more occasions when Jesus prayed. 5. To maintain focus – ‘And as he was praying, his face began to shine, and his clothes became dazzling white and blazed with light’ (Luke 9:29 TLB) The previous time we studied Jesus praying, Peter received the revelation about who Jesus really was, the Christ of God. Now, on the mountain of Transfiguration, he sees something he will never forget. As Jesus prayed, His face began to shine like the sun and His robe became ultra-white and glistening. The divine Jesus radiated glorious light out of His human body. A. Focus on the Mission – ‘Then two men appeared and began talking with him—Moses and Elijah! They were splendid in appearance, glorious to see; and they were speaking of his death at Jerusalem, to be carried out in accordance with God’s plan’ (v30-31). Moses and Elijah could have spent their time with Jesus talking about the miracles and deliverances...
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TEXT: ‘One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”’ (Luke 11:1 NIV) Luke’s gospel records seven occasions when Jesus prayed. Today’s Teaching is studying each one to see why Jesus prayed and what was the result, so we can safely imitate them and enjoy a more successful prayer life! In Part 1, we studied how Jesus prayed and received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which enabled Him to commence His public ministry. He saw miraculous healings and deliverances, which attracted multitudes. He often withdrew to the wilderness to pray and that helped Him guard against pride and becoming self-reliant. Today’s Teaching considers two more occasions when Jesus prayed. 3. In decision-making – ‘One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles’ (Luke 6:12-13 NLT) A. The danger of rushed decisions Jesus prayed all night before He chose the twelve disciples. The Bible says, ‘Don’t appoint people to church leadership positions too hastily’ (1 Timothy 5:22 MSG). A line taken from an old play says, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure” (W. Congreve’s 1693 play, The Old Batchelour). In today’s world when everything is fast, it pays sometimes to take things slowly, ‘Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough’ (Proverbs 21:5 GNT). B. It’s difficult choosing a few when there’s many...
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TEXT: ‘One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”’ (Luke 11:1 NIV) The 100% success rate Jesus demonstrated when He ministered to the sick and demon-possessed, was largely due to His prayer life. When His disciples tried and failed to cast out the demon in the father’s epileptic son (See Mark 9:14-29), Jesus said, ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting’ (v29). He was saying they could do it but needed to pray and fast. The correct reaction to failure is a determination to succeed, not despair that it did not work. As the saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again!” Luke’s gospel records seven occasions when Jesus prayed. Today’s Teaching focusses on each one to see why Jesus prayed and what was the result. Every one of them is something we can safely imitate to enjoy a more successful prayer life! 1. To receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit – ‘When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased”’ (Luke 3:21-22). John the Baptist was reluctant to baptise Jesus, but Jesus insisted. While Jesus was praying, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove. Immediately after that...
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