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...
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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...
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