Part I: To Be Like Jesus
Day 1: Why pray?
âPray without ceasing.
â1 Thess 5:17
âPrayer does not change God, but it changes us.â
âSoren Kierkegaard
You want to be like Jesus.
Why pray? First of all, because you want to be like Jesus. Jesus was a man of prayer before anything else. Every response he made to the people around him was solely at the direction he received from the Father in prayer! Jesus said, âMost assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do; for whatever he does, the Son also does in like manner.â1
The victory Jesus Christ won at the cross was first won in the place of fervent prayer in Gethsemane.2 Therefore, as Dr. Cho puts it, âFor Christians, the first priority is prayer; the second priority is prayer; and the third is prayer, too.3
John Maxwell said, âThe âdetonatorâ that churches lack today is prayer. It has the power to ignite the dynamite of the Gospel and powerfully shake the world.â You should replace the word âchurchesâ to âChristiansâ and read it once more. Wow! It is a sobering fact. Remember, bombs without detonators are nothing more than dead weights.
Why pray? Secondly, because you need to have intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can bless you when you read the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit can direct you as you witness for Christ. The Holy Spirit can anoint you as you share the love of God to others. But if you want to have intimate communion with the Holy Spirit you need to pray.4 It stems from a simple principleâyou cannot have intimacy without communication. Connection is made through communication. Prayer is communication with God through the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the success of your Christian life largely depends on your relationship with the Holy Spirit. He is the Comforter our Lord Jesus promised as he ascended to heaven. Until Jesus comes back in his glory, the Holy Spirit is the God-head whom you have access to in order to communicate with God.5
Your prayer life begins with recognizing that the Holy Spirit is a person who is seeking an intimate relationship with you. Your Christian life is a life managed and led by the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, nor can you offer true prayer, genuine praise or inspired worship to God.
Who is the Holy Spirit? AW Tozer said, âSpell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything. He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person.â
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God.
The Spirit who has knowledge.
The Spirit who has emotions.
The Sprit who has a will.
The Spirit who desires communication.
After such recognition, you must seek daily fellowship with him. Why donât you pray this Prayer of Invitation now?6
O living God, we acknowledge, welcome, accept and trust the Holy Spirit who does great work as he abides in us. Fill us with the Holy Spirit this very moment, and help us so that our lives can glorify your name. Help us to live in continued fellowship with the Holy Spirit so that we may live victoriously from now until the day we enter heaven. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
For relationship sake. You can object and ask, âIsnât God omnipotent to do things for me before I ask?â Yes, but at the core of it, your prayer is not about getting things from him, but getting close to him. Also, the Word of God tells us to pray without ceasing 7 and seek his counsel daily. This is because you cannot keep a healthy relationship without continuous and open communication. In the same way, you cannot keep a good relationship with God without talking to him daily.
What is the proper motive for prayer? It is to communicate with God and express our love to him. You direct your prayers to God because your first motive is to have a relationship with him, not to get things from him.
For winning sake. Simply put, âYou cannot win without praying!â The spiritual war rages on daily whether we want it or not. It is like saying, âYou cannot win a battle if you donât fight!â âYou cannot win a swim competition without jumping into the water!â âYou cannot win a surfing competition upon the mountain!â âYou cannot win the Tour de France in Hawaii!â Should I go on? The point is that you need to do and be where it counts.
The apostle Paul said to the church in Ephesus, âFinally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil . . . praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.â 8
The world is ruled by the enemy, and the Word of God says that he seeks to devour us like a roaring lion.9 Then, how can we walk out to such a hostile environment without getting ready for it? Martin Luther, the reformer, once said that he prayed one hour a day to go through the day and three hours a day to be victorious over the devil. Conditioning ourselves to pray daily is crucial, like an athlete who is in constant training. The Bible tells us to âexercise yourself toward godliness.â 10
All the great world class achievers did not accomplish them casually or accidentally. Without discipline, you cannot really be good at anything. Ask Tiger Woods if he accidentally became a good golfer, and he would shake his head in disbelief. He wonât even answer you. You see, it is the same with prayer. You cannot casually become a prayer warriorâyou have to give yourself to prayer and discipline yourself to pray. Thatâs what our Lord Jesus did. And I want to become like Jesus. What about you?
Day 1: To Be Like Jesus
An insight to meditate on: I want to be like Jesus by praying. Godâs word to heartify: âPray without ceasing.â 1Th. 5:17
A question to ask: How can I plan my daily schedule to give more time for prayer?
Let us pray: Spend some time in prayer inviting the Holy Spirit into your life. Recognize him and honor him in your prayer. Talk to him as you would with your loved ones. Remember the Holy Spirit is a person.
Day 2: What is Prayer?
âPraying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.â
âEph. 6:18
âTo pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives.â
âRichard Foster
Prayer gives life to your spiritual body.
Prayer is your spiritual breath. Just as the Bible is nutrition for your spirit, prayer is the breathing of your spirit. You can go a few days without food, but try five minutes without breathing. Spiritually, your prayer is that much more important. Spiritual death takes place either by not eating or not breathing. Many...