‘While He prayed…heaven…opened.’ Luke 3:21
When Jesus was baptised the Bible says, ‘While He
prayed…the Holy Spirit descended…upon Him…and a voice…from heaven…said, “You
are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased”’ (vv. 21-22 NKJV). After the
crucifixion the disciples ‘prayed with a single purpose’ (Acts 1:14 CEV) and
‘the place…was shaken. They were…filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke
God’s word without fear’ (Acts 4:31 NCV). Make no mistake, prayer can be hard
work, but our most rewarding moments will come from time spent on our knees.
God uses prayer to accomplish things that won’t happen any other way.
Henry Blackaby says: ‘As we pray our attention is turned
towards God and we become more receptive to aligning our lives with His will.
He won’t equip us with His power while we’re racing off to our next
appointment! His Spirit won’t empower us if we’re oblivious to what He’s
saying. He requires our complete attention…“Jesus told his disciples…they
should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1 NIV 2011 Edition). If you’ll
commit yourself to spend sustained time in prayer…God will work in your life as
He did in the lives of Jesus and His disciples …The fervent prayer of the
people at Pentecost didn’t induce the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Prayer
brought them to where they were ready to participate in the mighty work God had
already planned.’
The Bible says, ‘Before daylight, [Jesus] went…to a
solitary place; and…prayed’ (Mark 1:35 NKJV). And before He chose His
disciples, ‘he spent the night praying’ (Luke 6:12 NCV). If it took a whole
night for Jesus to determine His Father’s will, what makes you think you can do
it in a few hurried moments?
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