Let the
Light of the Cro
“Now in the morning, having
risen a long while before daylight,
He went out and departed to
a solitary place; and there He
prayed.” (Mark 1:35) “So He
Himself often withdrew into the
wilderness and prayed.” Luke
6:12. “Now it came to pass in
those days that He went out
to the mountain to pray, and
continued all night in prayer to
God.” (Luke 5:16)
J
Jesus prayed daily and sometimes
all night to His Father because in
His humanity while on earth His
dependency was on His Father
and to be in His will. So when
situations in our lives happen on
whom do we depend? Are we
looking to what Jesus would do?
Would we follow His example or
that of the world?
Situations
arise
such
as
sickness, indebtedness, divorce,
unemployment, a broken home,
turmoil, discomfort, persecution,
loss of a loved one, depression,
sadness and many others. How
can we follow Jesus’ example of
praying in situations that often
come suddenly without warning?
How would non-Christians view
us at these times? How can we let
the light of Jesus shine to others
when life seems to fall apart
around us? This world today is so
full of confusion and conflict. Let
us examine closely our behaviour.
Scripture advises us, “when you
pray, go into your room, and
when you have shut your door,
pray to your Father who is in the
secret place; and your Father
who sees in secret will reward
you openly.” Matthew 6:6
Since Jesus took Himself away
to pray we can do the same.
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SHARE|MAGAZINE
April - June 2016
Yes, with limited times to pray
it is important that we seek the
Father’s will in ALL situations as
Jesus did. Prayer is talking to the
Father, a powerful gift that can
bring answers. Only His wisdom
brings results because His ways
and thoughts are higher than
ours.
Only God, Jesus and the Holy
Spirit can fill the deep void of
despair when we lose a loved one.
Only He can go before us to find
us favour among men to meet
our needs. Prayers are always
heard but how God chooses to
answer them is entirely up to
Him. We can only let our requests
be known to Him.
Answer to prayers could be
immediate or delayed. Some
prayers God may not answer at
all. Delayed answers could take
months or sometimes years. We
only have to read the Bible to see
how many different ways God
answered prayers. God in His
wisdom knows what is best for
us. Much later we see why some
prayers were not answered and
that it was far better for us.
However, prayer is fellowship
with God, not just requests,
but talking to Him as Jesus did
and growing in a relationship
with Him. Walking with Him in
unity asking, “What is your will
Father?” or just being still and
resting in His awesome presence
and listening to Him. Amazingly
our minds become peaceful
because He is with us in that
secret place.
When constantly bombarded
with doubt and fear, if we follow
what Jesus did, it can reflect to
the folks around us and they will
see Jesus as we reflect Him in
the midst of the circumstances.
Following Jesus and what He
taught can only bring true
contentment.
His death nailed to the cross
every circumstance we could
ever go through. His resurrection
brought life. Philippians 3:10 says,
“That I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection, and
the fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death.”
Paul began to learn who he was
in Christ. He wanted with heart
and soul to take up His cross and
truly follow Him.
Allowing God, Jesus and the Holy
Spirit into ALL our circumstances
brings us to a place of daily
devotion. Our human efforts or
the world’s persuasion cannot
achieve this! It is how we walk
with the One who so loves us. He
died for us and rose again so we
can believe in Him and have life
eternally.
The people of the world prize
what they can get out of every
situation, whatever is suitable for
the time of need through which
they are going. To Christians Paul
says, “I press toward the goal for
the prize of upward call of God
in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Yes, we all make mistakes, we
will all go through disasters, but
Paul recognised that every event
was covered with the precious
blood of Jesus. Wherever we are
Jesus is in the midst with us He
will always stretch out His hand
for us to take hold of. It is Jesus,
and will always be Jesus Who will
sustain us. He is always with us
and always will be. Life changes