*image from Faithgateway

Of all the things Jesus’ disciples could have asked of Him, it was prayer that they wanted to know how to do the most. And there was no greater teacher. Jesus’ life was a display of what it meant to be in tuned with God. It was intentional. It was humble. Jesus often sought solitude in order to be alone with God. He used prayer to regain strength and resolve. If prayer was so essential in the life of the Messiah, so to it must be in His followers. If we are to walk as He walked, it all starts with prayer.

Have you ever stopped to study the prayer that are in the Bible? There are so many great examples from the patriarchs, the prophets, king David, Jesus, and His disciples. I truly believe that they are in the Bible for us to learn from. They show us a heart devoted to a calling. They show us people in love with God. They show us desperate need for the One who saves. They are anything but a rudimentary activity worked in as part of the Christian’s day.

When we pray, our soul connects with our Maker. When we pray, spiritual forces are put into motion that we struggle to comprehend. When we pray the depth of who we are and what we stand for is laid bare before God. When we pray our love for others is proved genuine or superficial. Take a look at this prayer from a Christian woman who was confined to a labor camp in Siberia:

O God, accept all my sufferings, my tiredness, my humiliations, my tears, my nostalgia, my being hungry, my suffering of cold, all the bitterness accumulated in my soul. Dear Lord, have pity also on those who persecute and torture us day and night. Grant them, too, the divine grace of knowing the sweetness and happiness of your love.

Let’s pray with more passion and power brothers and sisters!