‘Jesus Spoke…And Said’

‘Jesus Spoke…And Said’

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

John 17:1

Because prayer is the direct outgrowth of our relationship with God, it is a dynamic, developing enterprise. We engage in prayer over the course of our deepening, expanding relationship with God and become more intelligent regarding what we pray, as well as how we pray. We take our cues from the Scriptures, which afford us a plethora of examples which serve admirably to guide us in prayer. The High Priestly prayer of Christ is one example of many. As an example, it takes us right to the very heart of God, Himself. No one else, born of woman, knows the heart of God better than Christ. No one else, who is truly human, can pray so thoroughly in the Will of God as Christ can. As we dwell upon the High Priestly Prayer, we can learn from the Master Himself what to pray, how to pray, and for whom to pray. We want to have a mature and developed prayer life. We want our praying to be more than a mere recitation of names and phrases. We want that warm, fervent, passionate out-flowing of our hearts to ascend like the smoke of the Altar of Incense as a fragrant offering to the nostrils of God. Christ shows us the way. He does not tell us to pray without showing, by His Own Example, how to pray. This brings us to dwell upon the High Priestly Prayer as a primer for our own praying.

Our Holy and Wise Savior,
We rejoice that by Your Example,
You show us how to pray.
We praise You that You will continue to lead us
to understand both what and how to pray.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning