iPray

In every account I can find in scripture, God’s leaders lead in the area of prayer. Consider Moses, Noah, Isaiah, Paul, Peter, James, or John. They all had a distinctive prayer life. They were the first to seek after God and the last to leave the late night visits with the Heavenly Father. How easy is it to miss this fact. Leaders listen to God. The Bible says this of Jesus:

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16 NIV

Two words in this passage jump off the page like neon in church. The words “often” and “lonely”. The word “often” lets us know that prayer was the habit of Jesus, it was the norm not the exception. More regular than an oil change is the Son’s conversations with the Father. It seems Jesus just couldn’t get enough of those discussions, day or night He would be found by the waters edge, or in the olive grove talking, laughing, and communing with God. It reminds me of when I first met my wife, I couldn’t get enough of talking to her. If we weren’t together we were talking on the phone. That’s how it is when you love someone. So what did the Son get from Dad as they spoke? He got the same things your Heavenly Father is offering to you:

1. The Gift of Calm. Leaders are nervous. Parents are nervous. Moms are nervous. Men are nervous. By nature we are nervous, scared and stressed. It is a natural part of who we are as fallen people. This nervous apprehension drains our spiritual, emotional, and relational batteries. Have you noticed when you are in a high stress, fearful circumstances they drain you? Ever waited at the hospital for critical news? Ever noticed that after that moment is over how exhausted you are? That is because the absence of calm is the presence of draining fear. Many of us walk around exhausted because we have not picked up on the habit Jesus mastered. The habit of receiving from God His gift of calm.


2. The Reward of Reassurance. Prayer reminds us that what we do, who we are, and even where we are going is in much more capable hands than our own. Jesus Himself at his final prayer time in the garden reminds us all that it isn’t “His will” but God’s will. It is liberating to be reminded that it is God whois our resource.


3. The Help of Hope. It has been said we can last a month without food, a week with water, five minutes with out air, but not one second with out hope. Many times the evidence around us wages war against our hope. We can start the day with every intension of remaining positive and before breakfast is over news can come in or a set back can arrive and out the widow flys our best efforts. Jesus often got alone with God because life can be depressing. It can steal our hope. Prayer is the fuel for our hope tank. Jesus never got far from the filling station.

Then there is the other indelible word: Lonely
Why a lonely place? It almost sounds sad. No one wants to be lonely. Some of the most down cast people I have met are those who are consumed with their loneliness. As we look at this word we discover it doesn’t imply a place void of conversation, or companionship but it is a place where we can focus on the One who can make a difference when no one else can. Jesus needed to be with the Father and the Father alone. If there is one thing absent in this world filled with noise, activities, music, work, cell phones, and ipods it is quiet time, alone time. God speaks but He isn’t willing to speak over the things that have your attention. We are reminded it is the “still small voice” it is in a whisper God speaks. Too much noise, too many distractions and you will miss Him. This seems to be a trend of God. The scripture says that there was nothing in Jesus’ appearance that would cause you to want to be near Him. The King of Kings didn’t appear in royal apparel, or with the pomp and circumstance He was worthy of. Instead he came in the womb of a little teenage girl, married to a common carpenter. At His birth Jesus wasn’t surrounded by royalty, or the privileged. No, it was in a stable filled with the stench of manure and the audience was the blue color workers of His community. God many times disguises Himself in common packaging. If God choose to be delivered in a sack He most likely would choose for it to be brown paper. God doesn’t try to out shine or drown out His competitors for our hearts. Instead He whispers, and he appears in the common, because He wants you to come close and put your eyes on Him. When Jesus prayed, He knew something that we have forgot. It is a privilege to take to God. It is worth turning everything down, and getting alone so we don’t miss one thing God wants to give to us.