Why we all ought to pray

By Eunies Kitchen

Why we all ought to pray

Mark 1:35…” Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

“Our praying needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage that never fails”
? E. M Bounds

We are all familiar with the fact that Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, is God! He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the ruler of this world. He calmed a storm, walked on water, turned water into wine and multiplied bread to feed thousands. He is the image of the invisible God and the first born of all creation. He is the soon coming king, and he was there at the creation of the world. The world was created in Him, through Him and for Him, and yet He prayed! Wow! Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that God; this God-prayed? Jesus Christ, who is God, prayed. He took time often, very early in the morning while it was still dark, retreated to a quiet place and prayed. Someone once asked;…“why did Jesus pray?” And another answered…“Being in the human body is not easy. So He had to pray.” This, my friend was a brilliant answer. Our Lord, full of all the power on heaven and earth knew that human life is not that easy, so He prayed. I found this writing in one living room…“Life is fragile, handle it with prayer.” And I couldn’t agree more. Child of God, I do not know where you have put your trust, but I want to challenge you today to get into the habit of daily prayer, and I would recommend you do it first thing in the morning. Get to know God’s mind in all the day’s activities before you attack the day. Life is sure too fragile; handle it with prayer. Take time to ask God for wisdom, strength and direction. Do not handle things on your own when you have one that is watching over you and can handle them for you better than you can. Remember as you go through this day; IF GOD PRAYED, WHO ARE YOU NOT TO PRAY?

We are meant to be imitators of Christ as dearly loved children. When I consider that, I realize that the bar is really high. However, I am glad that Jesus came to the earth and lived like we live, to show us that it is possible. There are several instances in the bible where Jesus separated himself and took time to pray. In this particular portion of scripture Jesus was busy as He had just healed a leper and the news about this had spread, resulting in so many people bringing the sick and desiring to hear what He had to say. But at that same point, it is recorded: “BUT Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Notice the emphasis “OFTEN”. This means that it was His routine. Jesus must have had a particular time when he would pause all he had to do and have quality time in prayer to be refreshed and refilled.

I would like us to draw lessons from Jesus. He knew the importance of prayer. While He could have gone on and on preaching and healing the sick, He knew where His strength came from. My sister do you know where you derive your strength? Being a mother, wife, worker, counselor, preacher, choir member…..extra is all full time demanding. Many times we are tempted to go on and on because we do not have the time to pray, to read the word, to listen to God or to just have quality time with the lover of our souls.  But like Jesus, it’s mandatory for us to pause the whole activity and pass by the fuel station and refuel our souls otherwise we will run out of gas and we won’t be able to move on.

Things to reflect on and consider

·         As fuel is to the car, so is quality time with God to our souls.

·         Do you have a specific place and time daily that you withdraw to pray? Recall the childhood song “Read your, Bible and pray every day if you want to grow.”

·         Make a deliberate decision to set aside time daily to spend time with Dad. And ask God to help you on this journey.

·         If God needed to pray, we cannot live our lives any less.

·         Take time to list down the attributes you see in Jesus that make Him God. Make a comparison with your own life to check if you measure up.

·         Repent of any form of prayerlessness. Ask the Holy Spirit to enable you wholly lean on God in prayer from now henceforth by reminding you of your frailty each day.