[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-about-prayer-from-the-master-teacher":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-about-prayer-from-the-master-teacher-surround":180},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":18,"columnName":160,"date":163,"description":24,"extension":164,"image":165,"meta":166,"minRead":167,"navigation":168,"path":169,"postType":170,"publication":171,"publicationUrl":165,"seo":172,"stem":173,"topics":174,"__hash__":179},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-about-prayer-from-the-master-teacher.md","Learning About Prayer from the Master Teacher",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17],"John","Revelation","2 Corinthians","Luke","Mark","Matthew","Romans","Hebrews","1 John",{"type":19,"value":20,"toc":159},"minimark",[21,25,28,40,48,51,54,57,63,69,75,81,87,93,96,99,102,108,114,120,126,129,132,135,138,141,144,147,150,153,156],[22,23,24],"p",{},"I like the way children pray. They don't spout pious platitudes and fancy phrases. They're honest, forthright, plainspoken—whether praying about a profound spiritual truth or about today's lunch menu. \"Thank you, God, for the pizza,\" my children would pray at the table when they were young, \"and for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us. Amen.\" They had no trouble understanding that God cares about the ordinary details of our lives while he also fulfills his larger plan.",[22,26,27],{},"And they loved that word, \"amen.\" They said it with extra emphasis: sometimes letting it reverberate with extra stress on the second syllable the way they'd heard people say it in church: \"a-MEN!\"",[22,29,30,31,35,36,39],{},"I think they were onto something important. The word ",[32,33,34],"em",{},"amen"," does deserve some extra emphasis. It isn't merely a holy-sounding add-on that means something like \"the end.\" The Hebrew people used it to express confident assent or confirmation. Taken directly into the Greek New Testament and then into English, \"amen\" literally means \"truly\" or \"so be it.\" It's translated \"verily\" in the ",[32,37,38],{},"King James Version"," where Jesus frequently says, \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee.\"",[22,41,42,43,47],{},"When we say \"amen,\" we are affirming the truth. We agree that God's promises are trustworthy and reliable, and we affirm that the words we have spoken in prayer are accurate and honest. Since Jesus himself is the truth (John 14:6), the word should also remind us of him. He is \"the Amen, the faithful and true witness\" (Revelation 3:14). The apostle Paul said, \"through him ",[44,45,46],"span",{},"Christ"," the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God\" (2 Corinthians 1:20).",[22,49,50],{},"Jesus set the example for us in numerous ways, and that certainly includes our prayer lives. We can learn much about prayer at the feet of the Master Teacher.",[22,52,53],{},"Prayers Jesus Prayed",[22,55,56],{},"The Gospels tell about at least 15 different occasions on which Jesus prayed.",[22,58,59,62],{},[32,60,61],{},"His ministry began with prayer."," Luke 3:21 tells of Jesus praying when John baptized him in the Jordan River.",[22,64,65,68],{},[32,66,67],{},"His ministry continued in prayer."," Early in the morning and late at night, he would slip away from the crowds and find a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16).",[22,70,71,74],{},[32,72,73],{},"His church's leaders were chosen in prayer",". Before selecting the 12 apostles, Jesus \"spent the night praying to God\" (Luke 6:12, 13). Luke, whose book has been nicknamed \"the Gospel of Prayer\" because it includes so many details about Jesus' prayer life, notes that Jesus asked his men the crucial question \"Who do you say I am?\" after a time of private prayer (Luke 9:18-20).",[22,76,77,80],{},[32,78,79],{},"Jesus' miracles often included prayer",". He didn't beg the Father for power; he simply \"gave thanks\" and broke the loaves when he fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-23; John 6:11). When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he calmly thanked the Father in advance for hearing his prayer (John 11:41, 42).",[22,82,83,86],{},[32,84,85],{},"His times of suffering included prayer."," As the day of his crucifixion approached, Jesus prayed, \"Father, glorify your name!\" (John 12:28). On the night before he died, he uttered the \"high priestly\" prayer recorded in John 17—the longest prayer of Jesus recorded in the Gospels—in which he prayed earnestly for the unity of his first-century disciples. And he prayed for us: \"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one\" (John 17:20, 21). In the Garden of Gethsemane, he poured out his heart in physical and emotional anguish, saying, \"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done\" (Luke 22:42). Even when he was nailed to the cross, Jesus still wasn't finished praying. Three of his seven statements from the cross were prayers: \"Father, forgive them . . .\" (Luke 23:34), \"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\" (Mark 15:34), and \"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit\" (Luke 23:46).",[22,88,89,92],{},[32,90,91],{},"His ministry through prayer didn't end when he died."," After Jesus rose from the dead, he gave thanks while breaking bread (Luke 24:30). And when he ascended back to Heaven he lifted his hands in a prayer of blessing—a memorable parting glimpse of the Master (Luke 24:50-53). Even now his ministry in Heaven includes intercession as Jesus speaks to the Father in our behalf (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).",[22,94,95],{},"Lessons Jesus Taught About Prayer",[22,97,98],{},"Not only did the Lord set a flawless example through his personal devotion to prayer, he also had much to say about this important subject, including what we should do, and what we shouldn't do in prayer.",[22,100,101],{},"What not to do?",[22,103,104,107],{},[32,105,106],{},"1. Don't pray to impress others."," Although there are times when public prayer is appropriate (Jesus himself prayed in public many times), we should never make lengthy prayers \"for a show\" (Luke 20:47). Instead of conducting our personal devotions in a public place, we should cultivate our prayer lives in private (Matthew 6:5, 6).",[22,109,110,113],{},[32,111,112],{},"2. Don't pray with empty, vain repetition."," Prayer doesn't mean engaging in senseless babbling or working ourselves into an emotional frenzy. Those who serve false gods do such things (see 1 Kings 18:27-29 and Acts 19:28, 34), but Jesus told his disciples not to \"keep on babbling like pagans\" who \"think they will be heard because of their many words\" (Matthew 6:7, 8). The Lord isn't pleased by meaningless formality or by repetition of trite phrases. Prayer should come from the heart.",[22,115,116,119],{},[32,117,118],{},"3. Don't give up too quickly."," It's tempting to grow discouraged when God doesn't answer prayers the way we had hoped. But Jesus taught parables specifically designed to show his disciples that \"they should always pray and not give up\" (Luke 18:1-8, see also 11:5-13). Our heavenly Father doesn't mock the sincere requests of his children. If we ask, seek, and knock, we'll receive, find, and walk through open doors (Matthew 7:7, 8).",[22,121,122,125],{},[32,123,124],{},"4. Don't pray with self-righteous pride."," Instead of acting like the Pharisee whose prayer was marked by boastful self-absorption, we should have the attitude of the tax collector who humbly cried, \"God, have mercy on me, a sinner\" (Luke 18:13).",[22,127,128],{},"What should we do, then?",[22,130,131],{},"Jesus offered many practical ways we can become more effective in prayer:",[22,133,134],{},"• Pray as a healthy alternative to worrying (Matthew 6:25-34; 7:7-11).",[22,136,137],{},"• Pray for workers in God's harvest field of world evangelism (Matthew 9:38); and if you pray for workers, be willing to be a worker too.",[22,139,140],{},"• Pray with others, for there's a special sense in which the Lord is present when even two or three gather in his name (Matthew 18:19, 20).",[22,142,143],{},"• Pray in faith. You're talking to a God who can do amazing things (Matthew 21:21, 22).",[22,145,146],{},"• Pray as a safeguard against temptation (Matthew 6:13; 26:41).",[22,148,149],{},"When we heed the words of the Master Teacher and follow his example, our prayers will come alive. All of us can say \"amen\" to that.",[22,151,152],{},"Different Kinds of Prayer",[22,154,155],{},"Because there are many things to talk to God about, prayer can take different forms: praise, petition, thanksgiving, intercession, confession—even complaint (See Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:1; and Habakkuk 1:2-4.)",[22,157,158],{},"Jesus' prayers included praise (Matthew 11:25), thanksgiving (Matthew 26:27), petition (Matthew 26:39), and intercession (Luke 22:31, 32). Since he never sinned, however, he didn't need to pray a prayer of confession; but he did ask the Father to forgive others (Luke 23:34).—DF",{"title":160,"searchDepth":161,"depth":161,"links":162},"",2,[],"1999-03-07","md",null,{},7,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-about-prayer-from-the-master-teacher","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":24},"articles\u002Flearning-about-prayer-from-the-master-teacher",[175,176,177,178],"Spiritual Formation","Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Intergenerational Ministry","gD7bdymDd5effcxoyKK76azUDL0TA1szlomqa31iCPE",[181,186],{"title":182,"path":183,"stem":184,"description":185,"children":-1},"Learning About Fatherhood from Jesus","\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-about-fatherhood-from-jesus","articles\u002Flearning-about-fatherhood-from-jesus","Father’s Day brings to mind the ancient admonition to “walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous” (Proverbs 2:20, *New American Standard Bible*). If you want to “walk in the way of good men,” it makes sense to follow the best man of all—Jesus Christ.",{"title":187,"path":188,"stem":189,"description":190,"children":-1},"Learning the Hard Way","\u002Farticles\u002Flearning-the-hard-way","articles\u002Flearning-the-hard-way","Most of the e-mail I receive is business-related, but I enjoy receiving personal messages from my daughter Melinda. She is 20 years old and entering her junior year in college. The other day, she sent me the following message, which I share with her permission:"]