Lord Teach me to Pray. Day Two (2)

Lord Teach me to Pray. Day Two (2): “Grace and peace be unto you, from God our Father and from the LORD Jesus Christ. Beloved today is day number two(2). This is a reason to celebrate. You have made it to today. One of my young people was in the car with me on the way to church on last night, and another young member of the church was at work. She texted him that someone has just placed on the desk in front of her a bowl of chocolate bars. On day one, this is happening. It’s funny, because it was probably innocent. That person may not have had any idea the she was fasting, but it still hurts. Ouch!!!
Beloved, this journey we are on holds the key to getting your prayers answered. We are fasting for 21 days and committing to prayer during this time for at least one hour a day. Prayer and fasting go together. We have done a lot in our churches to discuss how to fast. What about how to pray? Even Jesus’ disciples posed the question. Let’s look at the text.

Luke 11:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Jesus, our great example was praying. He is the word in flesh and he was praying. Also note that Jesus found a ‘certain place’ to pray. It suggests that where you pray is important, not to be seen, but to facilitate an opportunity for intimacy with Christ. The portion of this text that captured my attention is that one of Jesus’ disciples asked the question, Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. This is intriguing. None of Jesus’ disciples were gentiles. All of them were Jewish believers. There is no evidence in Holy Writ that any of the disciples were irreligious. Yet although there very existence is defined by their faith in God, this one disciple asked the question. It suggests to me that prayer should be taken seriously. I believe it is Dr. Cornel West who once said ‘we talk around a thing, because we don’t define said thing’. Prayer is a dialogue with God. Prayer is how you speak to God; also it is an opportunity for you to hear from God. Now think about it, if all your help comes from God, if the very fabric of who you are comes from this sovereign God, and your needs are met by him, wouldn’t you want to make sure you get it right. This disciple seems to have his head on straight. He did not want his life to rest on the fact that he made it into the exclusive group called the disciples, he wanted results. Do you want results? So let’s ask the question. How do you pray? Is it a one-way conversation? Do you simply talk to him when you need something? Is prayer something you do when trouble arises?
I need to make sure I first of all pray correctly. This is what defines my relationship. The question really speaks to more than just logistics. Think about it, prayer is the way to strengthen your relationship with God. In every relationship, the cornerstone of the relationship is communication. Suppose in your every day relationships you notice that there is a problem with a friend because of the way you talk to him or her. Everyone wants to be spoken to in a certain manner, with a healthy respect for who they are. How much would you move mountains for that friend who only calls when they need money? When you needed something, you could not find them. Or when they called you, their resolve was to say you have got to do this, or that, as if to force you into action. Suppose your friend refused to believe in you if you did not perform the miracle the way they thought it should be done. I could read this text to be asking Jesus the question from this perspective, Lord how would like me to speak to you. Lord you are valuable enough to me that I want to speak to you on your terms. Lord I love you enough to make sure that my conversations with you honor you. How do I do that? Help me talk to you the right way. Help me know that right way to speak to you, because I do want to get the results I pray for. Not just having my request honored, but I need our relationship to be on the right footing.
As we take this journey of fasting for 21 days, take the time to invest in your relationship with God. Value him enough to talk to him, on his terms.

Remember; pray for your leaders, your Pastors, pray for their families. They love you, and are concerned for you. Remember, do not try to do the whole 21 days today, just do today.

Yours Because I am His
Leo Colon
pastor@ihpfwc.org
leocolonwordpress.com
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(Via .)