TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! The One “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. “ Hebrews 5:7 ➢ The Prayers: Jesus offered His prayers to The Father out of respect for Him, and deference to Him. The Son gave honor where honor was due. At the very heart of prayer is a reverence and a respect for The Father. Prayerless, rebellious children have no respect for The Father, so they offer Him no prayer. Before prayerlessness can be turned into prayerfulness, it must be called by its right name, and recognized for what it is. It is a lack of respect for The Father, and it is rebellion from His direction, protection and correction. Jesus was no rebel. He was a revolutionary in the sense that He turned people around. His life revolved around prayer to The Father. His followers turn their faces to The Father in prayer, in the name of The Son. Prayerlessness is a sign of rebellion and disrespect for The One the followers of Jesus worship. Note to self: Start your own revolution. Turn around and face The Father. Stop running from Him. Start praying to Him, in the name of Jesus. Anything less is rebellion. No matter how busy you are, or how successful your prayerless efforts are in the eyes of others, your best efforts are nothing but rebellion in the eyes of The Father. ➢ The Supplications: Believing prayer is heard and answered. The essence of supplication is the supplying of what is needed to meet an expressed need. When Jesus made supplications to The Father, He expected to be heard and supplied. His followers should expect no less. When they pray in His name, and yield to the will of The Father, their prayers will be filled with expectancy. ➢ The Crying: Prayer expressed by loud crying is an explosion of passion that cannot be contained in a whispered request. Jesus prayed, knowing He was heard by The Father, and without worrying if He was overheard by others. Children cry until a parent responds to their need, and sometimes they keep crying even after their need is met. Crying out to The Father was not unusual for Jesus. It should be a birthmark on those who follow Him. ➢ The Tears: Jesus prayed with tears flowing from His eyes, not just with requests pouring out of His mouth. His prayers were in touch with His heart, and His heart longed for a touch from The Father. ➢ The One: The Father was The One who could save The Son from death. Death by crucifixion was an execution, designed to be painful, and last a long time. It was cruel and unusual, but it was not punishment, used to teach the victim a lesson. It was not an education. It was annihilation. The Son did not fear death by crucifixion. He abhorred the thought of The Cross as separation. The Father would turn His face from The Son. Death on The Cross meant the end of a relationship between The Father and The Son that had never been broken. Sin would break it. Only The Father could heal it, and make it whole again. Jesus prayed with passion for it. ➢ The Hearing: The Father hears the prayers of Jesus. His prayers of intercession go directly to The One who is able to save Him and others. The prayers of Jesus go to The One source of strength and salvation, The Father. Believing prayer is not wishing for something to be true, and wondering if it is. Believing prayer gains a hearing in The Presence of The Father, in the name of The Son. Believing prayer not only seeks to have a hearing in The Presence of The Father, in the name of The Son. Believing prayer waits, and listens to the voice of His Spirit for His answer, no matter how long it takes or whatever it may be. ➢ The Piety: Jesus is heard because He is right in the eyes of The Father. The piety of The Son is expressed by His reverence and obedience to the will of The Father. Piety describes the character and the conduct of a person who has a respect and reverence for God. Rather than rushing in where angel’s fear to tread, Jesus always got His marching orders from His Father. Fools rush in, but Jesus was no fool. His cautious and circumspect behavior, expressed by respectful prayer, was not a result of His fear of man, but His fear of God. Prayeress people may appear fearless, but they are foolish children racing ahead of The Father. Breathing their own ether, and reading their own press clippings, they make a name for themselves, but often bring shame upon the name of The Father. Prayerful people are not pious because they are perfect, but because they know their own limitations. They come to The One, The Father, in the name of The Son, to receive His Spirit’s direction, protection and correction. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! Dr. Gary and Dana L. Miller garydonmiller Twitter@garydonmiller gmillerlight@gmail To host a TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! Conference in your church, call 817-975-5054.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:40:51 +0000
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