In the Gospels the Lord Jesus exemplifies a man of prayer. The way that He prayed and the way He taught His disciples to pray far exceed most believers’ concepts concerning prayer. Much prayer is common, asking God to take care of basic, human needs, but the Father knows our needs even before we ask (Matt. 6:8). Other prayers may be pious, godly, or spiritual in tone, but still miss God’s eternal purpose and goal (Luke 18:10-12). Still better prayers may express a genuine seeking of God and of Christ (Luke 18:13-14). Yet the Lord Himself did not pray in any of these ways; His prayer was altogether in a different realm. As a man in the flesh, He prayed to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical realm.
We often pray as those separated from God, but the Lord always prayed in oneness with the Father (John 10:30). We may pray only when it comes to mind or at regularly scheduled times; the Lord lived a life of prayer by constantly dwelling in the presence of God (John 8:29; 16:32). We might pray in doubt, begging the Father to answer, or in self-confidence, not truly relying on God but trusting in our own ability to accomplish what we pray for. The Lord prayed by always trusting in God and not in Himself, even in the midst of persecution and suffering (Luke 23:46). Finally, much of the ground in our being is still under the influence of God’s enemy, which affects our prayer. In the Lord, however, the ruler of this world had nothing (John 14:30). Jesus always prayed from the position of giving no ground to the enemy.
How can we pray like the Lord did? This is impossible in ourselves. But the Lord gives us the answer in Matthew 7. We start by asking Him, then seeking such a life of prayer, and finally by knocking that the Lord would open to us such a realm (vv. 7-8). To ask indicates that we are still praying from some distance, to seek indicates we are actively pursuing what we are praying for, and knocking indicates we have reached our goal and are simply waiting on the Lord. He is faithful to give us what we ask for, to cause us to find what we seek, and to open when we knock. If we desire to have such a life of prayer, we simply need to pray for it. Praise the Lord!
Further Reading:
Witness Lee, The God-man Living, Chapters 10-11 (Print).
Holy Bible Recovery Version, all verses mentioned in this post and their corresponding footnotes (Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Print).
(Most references in the Further Reading can also be viewed on www.ministrybooks.org.)
Dear Lord Jesus, we desire to have a life of prayer in ones with you. We want to live a life of prayer by constantly
dwelling in your present, Lord Jesus this is our prayer, we ask for this.
Nous savons que tu est dans l’esprit alors nous avons juste a parler a l’esprit et nous te demandons que nous voulons avoir une vie de prière adéquate. merci Seigneur
We know that you are in the spirit so we just talk about the spirit and we ask that we want to have a proper prayer life. Thank you Lord