The Word for wisdom:
Proverbs 7:4 (AMP)
Say to skillful and godly Wisdom, You are my sister, and regard understanding or insight as your intimate friend—
The Word for inspiration:
Psalm 148:5 (NLT)
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being.
The Word for encouragement:
Luke 22:41-42 (HCSB)
41 Then He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and began to pray, 42 "Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me—nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."
My observation:
This week we will conclude a journey we started the first Monday in January. We will complete our walk through the Gospel of Luke looking for what this writer had to say about prayer. It is fitting that we conclude this journey with the focus on the prayer life of Jesus during the last days of ministry prior to his divine appointment at Calvary.
Today we rejoin Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke writes that Jesus withdrew about a stone's throw from the disciples that accompanied him to the garden. This was far enough to be alone, but close enough for the disciples to hear him pray.
There are two things about this passage that informs my thinking about prayer. First, I note his posture in prayer; it denotes a complete surrender of his will to the will of the Father. In the face of the most severe temptation of his life, he lays his life in the hands of his Father. Here is how Matthew reported this event. Friend, this is an example of humility.
Matthew 26:39 (HCSB)
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will."
The second thing I note from this passage is the obedience of Jesus in being willing to fulfill the mission for which the Father sent him into world to do. Humility and obedience to the will of God are fundamental for an effective prayer life.
Hebrews 12:2 (MSG)
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
My prayer:
Father God, I remember the request of the disciples when they asked Jesus this question "Lord, teach us to pray".
Father, I thank you for the lessons I have learned about prayer from the journey that I have taken through the Gospel of Luke the past nine weeks.
Father, help me to learn to be humble in my praying, and enable me by your power, to learn to be obedient to doing your will. I want to learn to be obedient like Jesus was obedient.
Hebrews 5:8 (HCSB)
Though He was ⌊God's⌋ Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.
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Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.
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