Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez, Elder, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

" The Habits of Jesus Christ - Part 2 "

Introduction: Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has the good habit of giving (Growth Digest Issue No. 32 dated September 28, 2005). He has another good habit – the habit of praying.

The Persistent Prayer Life of Jesus Christ

Jesus had a persistent prayer life. He had the good habit of praying in the morning, [“ Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. ” (Mark 1:35)] and in the evening. [“ In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God .” (Luke 6:12)]. He prayed regularly and not according to his moods.

Jesus prayed at critical moments of his life : at his baptism at the Jordan River (Luke 3:21), before the choice of his twelve apostles (Luke 6:12-13), before his confession of being the Messiah (Luke 9:18), at his transfiguration (Luke 9:29), at the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39-44), and on the cross (Luke 23:46). Jesus prayed during his ministry and at his miracles. He also prayed for the whole church (John 17:20-26) and for many others.

Jesus Taught Us How To Pray

Jesus need not pray because He is God. Yet, He wanted to manifest his good habit as an example to his disciples.

Jesus did not hesitate to teach his disciples how to pray when asked. (Luke 11:1). He taught them [and all of us] “The Lord's Prayer” – “ Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” (Luke 11:2-4), “but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

The prayers of Jesus were effective and powerful. They revealed Jesus' communion and intimate relationship with his Father. They offered thanksgiving and petitions to God. They were also intercessory prayers for his believers and followers.

Jesus warned his disciples [and all of us] against praying “like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them” (Matthew 6:5) and “like the pagans , who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:7). He asked us - “ when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret .” (Matthew 6:6).

Jesus selected solitary places to pray early in the morning. It was his practice and habit to communicate with his Father for help, guidance, and decisions. He had to meet heavy demands for his preaching and healing (Mark 1:35-45). He healed the sick, the paralytic, the crippled; He cured the lepers, the blind, the deaf and mute; He raised Jairus' daughter and Lazarus; He drove out demons from the possessed. He was always praying before each miracle. Jesus was truly a great miracle worker!

How Is Our Own Prayer Life?

How about us? How about our Community leaders and members? Do we have a consistent prayer life? Or, are we too busy that we have no more time to talk with our Lord and to listen to him?

Do we call on God and ask for wisdom every time we need to make a decision? Do we consult the Lord on different issues, small or big? Do we always ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit?

Are we prevented from praying regularly by our personal affairs, our business transactions, and even our ministry work in our Community? Do we consider these personal, business, and community activities of greater priority than attending to our business with God? Should we not give top priority to our communication with our Lord, our creator who owns us, body and soul. Why can't we talk with God before talking with anybody else? Can we not follow Jesus' example of praying early in the morning?

Are we also too busy with worldly concerns that we do not care for our fellow men? Are we too pre-occupied that we do not have time to intercede for the needs of our brothers and sisters? Are we not supposed to love one another (1 John 3:11)? Are we not commanded to pray for one another (James 5:16)? Can we not pray for others just as Jesus did? “ I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours. ” (John 17:9).

Is it difficult to “ Pray without ceasing .”? (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This manner should be our proper way of praying! This should be our habit and true prayer life!

How To Have Effective Prayers

Jesus had the habit of praying; his prayers were very powerful. His teachings and examples showed us how to have effective and powerful prayers.

1. Use the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4) as a model on how we should pray . This prayer begins with an invocation “ Our Father in heaven ”. It has six petitions – for God's name to be hallowed, for God's kingdom to come, for God's will to be done, for daily bread to be provided, for forgiveness of our debts (sins), and for deliverance from temptation (testing) and evil (the evil one). Our own prayers may include calling God (invocation), praising the Lord, and giving our requests (petitions) to God.

2. Ask the Holy Spirit for help . “ In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings .” (Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit teaches us the right words to say when we pray.

3. Pray and listen to God . Prayer is not only talking to God; it is also listening to him. It is a two-way conversation. What we tell God may be important; what God wants us to listen to is much more important.

In common conversation, the person who speaks becomes the center of attention. When he listens, the other person becomes the focus of attention. When we pray to God, we should make it a habit to listen and make God the center of our attention. God's message is of prime importance; the longer we listen to him, the more we will discover his will for us. But if we seldom talk to God, if we spare him only the remnants of our time, then we will never learn the art of listening. We will never recognize the true voice of the Lord.

Jesus always listened to his Father. He always listened to everyone who talked to him. He listened to the cry of the blind Barthimaeus (Mark 10:47); to the ten lepers (Luke 17:13); to Nicodemus (John 3:1-15); to Jairus, a synagogue official (Mark 5:22-23). He even listened to the thief who was hanging on the cross (Luke 23:42-43).

Jesus was a listener during his brief ministry on earth. He is still a listener today. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).

When we pray to Jesus, we faithfully believe that He is listening. However, let us make sure that we are listening to the answers of Jesus. We should develop fully the good habit of listening attentively to the Lord. We need spiritual concentration amidst a noisy and polluted world. God may be speaking to us through a tiny voice, through the Holy Bible, through thoughts the Holy Spirit brings to our mind, through circumstances and trials in our lives, through other persons. We have to be very sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

4. Find a quiet time and a quiet place to listen to the Lord . In addition to our regular prayer time, we should set aside a regular quiet time to listen to God. We should find this time to be still, to ponder upon the goodness of the Lord, and to wait for his answers to our earlier prayers. We wait until God tells us his instructions and will. What He says may be a reproof but we accept it because it is for own good; we are ready to be corrected.

We should also find a quiet place where we can listen to the Lord. We are literally surrounded by a noisy environment of people, cars, and all kinds of gadgets. We are confronted by distractions from TV and radio programs, telephone calls, and text messages. However, we need not go to a mountain nor to an inner room [closet] to listen to God. We can find a corner in our room or even a chair where we can sit down quietly. From this center of stillness, free from noisy distractions, we can commune with Jesus, our Lord.

The Command of Praying

For us to pray is commanded by God. To pray always without becoming weary is a necessity. (Luke 18:1). “…by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Philippians 4:6). “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 6:18).

Not to pray is a sin. “So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.” (James 4:17).