The Secret to Jesus’ success in ministry was a lifestyle of prayer.
Of all the things Jesus’ disciples observed Him say and do, the Bible records only one thing they asked Him to teach them, and that was how to pray. We might wonder, “Why would the disciples ask to learn to pray rather than to do the big things like feeding multitudes, calming storms, casting our demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, or walking on water?” It is because they saw Jesus pray more than anything else.
WHAT THE DISCIPLES OBSERVED
THE RESULT OF INTIMACY WITH THE FATHER
MANIFESTING THE THOUGHTS OF GOD
HEARING FROM GOD
PRAYER DOES NOT COME AUTOMATICALLY
A PATTERN FOR PRAYER
OUR FATHER
IN HEAVEN
HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME
YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE
GIVE US OUR DAILY BREAD
FORGIVE US OUR SNS, FOR WE ALSO FORGIVE
DO NOT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION
YOURS IS THE KINGDOM, POWER, AND GLORY FOREVER
DID THE DISCIPLES TRULY LEARN JESUS’ SECRET?
PRINCIPLES
Prayer is more important the all the other activities of the day. Through prayer, God gives guidance, wisdom, and discernment for fulfilling His will and purposes.
Through His intimacy with the Father, Jesus knew the thoughts and heart of God and manifested in His ministry what God was doing in the world.
God wants the same communion with us that He had with Jesus, so that we will naturally manifest His works.
Prayer does not come automatically. It must be learned.
Prayer is asking God to accomplish His will in the earth. Christ taught His disciples how to fulfill this purpose by giving them a prayer to use as a pattern or model.
The elements of Jesus’ model prayer as the following;
Our Father; We bring to God the concerns of others as well as ourselves, acknowledging God as our Source.
In heaven; We admit we need help from outside our earthly realm—that we need God’s help. We depend on Jesus and the Spirit as our intermediaries with God.
Hallowed be your Name; We worship the Father as the Holy One, glorifying all His attributes. We honor Him in our lives and dealings with others.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: We express interest in God’s kingdom and what He wants accomplished before our own interests,
Give us day by day our daily bread: We ask God to supply the daily needs of others as well as our own and to provide for the process that makes the sustenance possible.
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us: We forgive others so that God will also forgive us and will hear and answer our prayer.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one: We are alert to temptations and weaknesses that satan will exploit to harm our relationship with God. We prayer that God will. Protect us from succumbing to them.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen: We worship the Father again, giving Him all the glory in advance for answered prayer.
CONCLUSION
Jesus wants us to operate in the way He operated: much time in communion and love with the Father, and much accomplished for the kingdom. The disciples continued the ministry of Jesus through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. The learned the secret to Jesus’ effectiveness in ministry. Now that you have learned the same secret, what will you do with it?