Prayer Is Perfectly Natural: Lord, Teach Us to Pray, Part 3

Prayer was never an act of self-discipline or duty for Jesus. Nobody had to force Him to prayer, and because He saw prayer as a necessity, it came perfectly natural for Him. The following texts give a few examples of how natural it was for Jesus to give thanks through prayer: “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’” (Luke 10:21-22) When the stone was rolled away from Lazarus’ tombs, “Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’” (John 11:41-42) Just before Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he sought God’s council through prayer: “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.’” (Matt 26:39) His prayer of intercession also flowed naturally from His mouth: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21) “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32) People are willing to spend thousands of dollars to learn how to be knowledgeable and wise; but all too often, their books, classes, etc. don’t even work. My friends, prayer is free. Through prayer, we can tap into the source of ultimate knowledge and wisdom; and best of all, prayer works! When you think about it this way, why shouldn’t it be natural for us to be in constant contact with our Life-giver, our God, the One who can foresee our future and help us avoid making terrible mistakes? Why shouldn’t we tap into this source of ultimate wisdom? Why shouldn’t prayer come perfectly natural for us, just as it did for Jesus? Part 4