Week 1 (Sunday)
Preparing Our Hearts
Luke 11:1 “And it came to pass, that,
as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples
said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray…”
It’s
important to
understand that the disciple who uttered this request would not have been a
stranger to the act of prayer. From his earliest childhood, he would have been
taught the Old Testament mechanics of calling on God. History tells us that
devout Jews in Christ’s day were known to pray up to 3 ½ hours per day. So why
would he ask Christ for a prayer lesson? Surely he must have seen that no man
prayed like Jesus prayed.
The
second thing that is interesting about this disciple’s request is the
tremendous priority that this disciple placed on Christ’s prayer life.
·
Jesus was the greatest preacher
who ever lived. Yet this disciple didn’t say, “Lord teach us to preach…”
·
Jesus was the greatest leader
who ever set foot on planet earth, motivating men to drop their entire
livelihood at a moment’s notice. Yet this disciple didn’t say, “Lord teach us
to lead...”
·
Jesus was the most wonderful healer
in history- performing the miraculous wherever He went. Yet this disciple
didn’t say, “Lord teach us to heal…”
This week, we prepare our hearts and minds to receive a word from
God by following Jesus Christ’s own pattern for prayer.“Everything every man ever needed to
understand prayer is (included in the Lord’s Prayer.) That may sound like an
astounding claim, but it is true. No set of volumes, no exhaustive thesis of
great length, no series of teachings or preachings offered by men could ever
have captured the fullness of all that prayer is, and is to be, as does )this)
profoundly simple model. It sets the standard for all praying. It encompasses
all elements in prayer. It is for you, to change your praying, and more, to
change your life.”
-John MacArthur
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