'Christian devotional' Tagged Posts (Page 4)
Prayer Life #26
Jesus was faithful to live out obedience to the Father’s agenda and many times the disciples did not understand what He was doing. These were the times that He had to rebuke them and remind them of the Father’s activity. The most memorable time was in Matt. 16:21-22 Peter actually “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him” after Jesus had told the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem to be killed and be raised again the third day.…
Prayer Life #25
As Jesus understood the plan of God for His life, He also understood that without the guidance and the strength of the Father He would not be able to carry it out. Jesus understood His need for constant intervention from the Father, and His life from the very beginning proved His dependence on the Father. The constant witness we see from Jesus’s life is a life of empowerment through dependence on the mighty power of God the Father. In…
Prayer Life series #24
John 14:116-17 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you (constantly) and will be in you.” John 14:26 “But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate,…
Prayer Life series #23
God’s Word shows us that even at the young age of twelve, Jesus was very much aware of following His Father’s agenda. In Luke 2:49 in response to His parent’s frantic search for Him, which finally ended when they found Him in the temple, He asked them: “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My father’s business?” From an early age, Jesus was following His Father’s agenda, and the Father’s will always came…
Prayer Life series #22
Jesus’s entire life was patterned by His daily adjustments to the Father’s will Jesus said it this way in John 8:29: “I always do those things that please the Father.” Obedience was an absolute for Jesus and it has to be for us too. Every time Jesus entered the Father’s presence, His understanding was opened to what the Father was doing. Having learned the Father’s agenda through prayer, and after preparing Himself through prayer for each assignment God gave Him,…
Prayer Life series #21
Jesus’s entire life was patterned by His daily adjustments to the Father’s will Jesus said it this way in John 8:29: “I always do those things that please the Father.” Obedience was an absolute for Jesus and it has to be for us too. Every time Jesus entered the Father’s presence, His understanding was opened to what the Father was doing. Having learned the Father’s agenda through prayer, and after preparing Himself through prayer for each assignment God gave Him,…
Prayer Life #20
We have to apply this lesson to our lives, or we miss the whole point of it. Does Jesus know what we are about to encounter? Does He know the temptations that we are about to experience? Yes, He does! And He wants to prepare us for them in advance through our relationship with Him in prayer. Be sensitive to the Lord when He calls you to go further with Him in prayer. In these times, expect Him to reveal…
Prayer Life series #19
The Bible clearly commands us to pray for others. ! Tim. 2:1 “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” We are told to be praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). This kind of faithful, Spirit led, persevering praying for others is a mark of the prayer life of Jesus.…
Prayer Life series #18
Luke 11:2 “And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done (held holy and revered) on earth as it is in heaven.” In Jesus’ day a person’s name carried much greater significance than in our day. The name was thought to be bound up with the person as a reflection of their personality. The name and the activity of the person were tied together. Therefore, “Hallowed be Your…
Prayer Life series #17
We have seen how Jesus had a habit of strategically going alone to a solitary place to pray and to get daily instruction. But in Gethsemane, we see that He took His closest companions to pray with Him. When God’s people pray through times of sorrow, it is important that we bring others along to help carry the load of following our Lord. Of the 12 men the Father had given Jesus as apostles, three were trusted with going deeper…
Prayer Life series #16
We have seen how Jesus, in the days of His flesh, prayed to His Father “with vehement cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7). Reading this verse, I am in awe and wonder. Just imagine the Son of God praying this way to the Father! This was intense, excruciating prayer, and we see it especially in Gethsemane. On that night in the garden, Jesus was assured of the Father’s love for Him; He knew the Father would strengthen Him for the assignment…
Prayer Life series #15
A regular place for times of prayer is also important. We read that when Jesus was in Jerusalem, the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives was His “accustomed place of prayer” according to Luke 22:39. John tells us in John 18:2 that “Jesus often met there with His disciples” presumably to pray with them and to privately teach them. Judas knew that this location was where Jesus went a lot and he led the soldiers there to…