21 Days of Drawing Near 2024-Strengthened in Prayer

When we begin to think about the life of Jesus here on earth we often think first of His many miracles.  People who don't regularly attend a church could probably tell you that Jesus walked on the water and He fed the multitudes with a little lunch.  The miracles of Jesus drew the crowds of people as He healed, raised the dead, calmed the storms, and cast out demons.  They wanted to witness and to have the benefit of Divine intervention into difficult or impossible situations.  The people heard the teachings of Jesus that often accompanied the miracles and they heard the Good News of the Kingdom of God here on earth as in Heaven.
The words of Jesus brought instruction, correction, hope and life to ordinary people like us and His Words that we now have in written form continue to instruct, guide, shift our perspective, and give us hope in our circumstances.

Jesus had a group of close followers (that we call disciples) and when they had time with Jesus they didn't ask Him to show them how to do miracles, to preach, to teach or how to heal.  Those disciples asked Jesus with a purposeful intent:  "Lord, teach us to pray . . ."(Luke 11: 1).  Apart from all the notable things that Jesus demonstrated and taught, the disciples recognized that
the real power in Jesus' life sprang from His prayer time and His connection with the Father.
We should also with purpose and intent ask Jesus to teach us to pray.  Despite what we think is prayer or patterns or words of prayer we need to know the real source of life and power from connection and communion with God.  

God has always been interested in and in pursuit of connection with His Creation or His Family.
From the first chapters of Genesis we know that God walked in the Garden (the dwelling place of His created man and woman) and God wanted to talk with them and spend time with them.
He wanted to communicate with them and hear their heart and to give them further instruction and direction.  The disconnect of the relationship between God and man because of sin and the reconnect of that relationship by the sacrifice of Jesus has always been so that the connection and communication between God and Creation be restored.  He wants to hear our heart and give us instruction and direction.  Our life and circumstances are not at all as glorious as the Garden where God and man first met but God has solutions, comfort, instruction and life for us in every season of our life.  He just wants us to talk with Him and that's the simple description of prayer.  

When we have made prayer complicated, confusing, and ineffective, we just need to ask Jesus to teach us to pray. When we feel bored or bothered or frustrated by prayer we just need to ask Jesus to teach us to pray.  We have His Words and His model of Prayer (Luke 11: 1-4). We have examples of prayer in the Scriptures from Old and New Testament and we have the Words of God to effectively pray in agreement with His Will.

I encourage us all to take some quiet moments and picture walking with God in a garden.  Share your thoughts and listen for Him for He wants to talk to you.  Ask God to teach you to pray in a particular situation or in your general life rhythm.  Comment and share what you feel God is speaking, showing and teaching you about prayer.