As we continue our faith emphasis, we now look at how our faith and our prayers coincide.  The gospels are filled with examples of the prayer life of Jesus.  He spent time alone with His Father on a regular basis.  He would rise a great while before day in the quiet of the coming of dawn and pray.  He would draw aside away from the crowds as well as from His own disciples so that He might shut out all distractions and focus on these moments. 

He prayed when he selected His disciples.  He prayed when He was about to break bread…and just before He multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed thousands.  He prayed when He was sad.  He rejoiced in prayer when He was happy and expectant about what His Father was about to do through His earthly ministry.  Jesus even prayed and communicated with His Father from the cross of Calvary!

The “how much more” principle is so very relevant in the life and ministry of Jesus.  If Jesus needed to pray, how much MORE do we need to pray?  If God cares for the birds, how much MORE does He care for us!  If we as earthly fathers and mothers know how to give good gifts to our children, how much MORE does our Heavenly Father know how to give good gifts to His kids? 

In the very middle of the sermon on the mount as recorded in Matthew 5-7, Jesus used a “model” prayer to teach the hillside listeners how to pray.  The 12 disciples would have been part of that crowd.  They had seen Jesus pray many times.  They knew it was important to Jesus to spend time talking with His Father.  Prayer was the touchstone of Jesus.  Prayer revealed where He got His strength.  Prayer revealed His total dependance on His Father.

In this lesson taken from the gospel according to Luke, the disciples saw Jesus in a time of prayer.  They courteously waited until He was finished.  Then, one of them asked Jesus to teach them to pray as they had seen John the Baptizer teach his disciples.  This has been called “the Lord’s Prayer.”  Personally, I believe the Lord’s Prayer was recorded in the red letters of John 17 as He approached the time of His betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and death. 

Jesus said, “when you pray,” which assumes that you WILL pray.  Prayer is not an option for the believer.  Prayer is our connection to the Father.  Prayer is learned as you begin your spiritual walk.  It is also a discipline that draws you closer to the One Who already knows your need and deeply desires for us to simply ask.  We speak to God as our Father.  Romans tells us that we are “joint heirs” with Jesus.  He is our elder brother!  We share the same Heavenly Father. 

We call on His name, in simple child-like trust and dependence.  We ask for what God desires about His kingdom. One day that kingdom will cover the earth.  Until then, we pray in hope and faith, trusting that God sent Jesus to usher us into that kingdom. 

We pray for daily necessities.  God knows what we need.  Just like manna in the wilderness, God will provide each day what His children need.  We ask for the forgiveness of our sins as we recognize our guilt before Him, confess our shortcomings and repent of those sins.  That is also a daily practice in our relationship with Him.  We are to forgive others AS we have been forgiven. 

We ask that He help us forsake temptation.  God will never tempt us.  He will test us through adversity, illness, trouble and various life events.  As we come to Him in prayer, He leads us to grow and develop in our relationship to Him.  We learn to say NO to sin and YES to God through our prayer relationship with Him.

Jesus then used an earthly example to teach a heavenly principle.  A friend needed bread for an unexpected visitor.  Hospitality in the Middle East at that time was a part of the greater culture, but especially important with those who loved Jesus.  A stranger would not be turned away.  This friend touched base with a friend that had already retired for the night with his family.  This man heard the need and responded to it because of their relationship as well as because the traveller needed food.  Jesus p0inted out that if a friend knows how to help a friend because of persistence, how much more would the Father know the needs of His own children. 

Earthly fathers give good gifts to their own children. How much more the the Heavenly Father sends His Holy Spirit to minister to the needs of those who are related to Him in faith through prayer.   We are to ASK:  Ask, Seek, Knock.  Those who persist (keep on) in asking and seeking and knocking on the door of the Father in prayer will receive what they ask for, find what they are looking for and gain access to the door of the heart of a loving Father. 

God will hear EVERY prayer.  He will also answer those prayers according to His love and our need.  He will answer in His own time, in the way that will be the most blessing to us and the greater glory for Him.  Even prayers that may seem unanswered to us accomplish His will for our lives. Our lives fulfilling His ultimate purpose is the goal.  As we spend time with the Father, we become more like His Son Jesus.  Our spiritual growth is stunted when we fail to develop our prayer life.  Prayer and faith are partners as we grow in our relationship with God.  Pray is a verb.  Faith is a verb.