Bulletin Thought

June 5, 2016

A Thought from Pastor Bryson,

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray… Watch and pray lest, you enter into temptation.” (Mark 14:32, 38 NKJV)

One of the things that stood out about the life of Jesus was that He was a man of prayer. If Jesus saw the necessity of praying and prayed on a regular basis, shouldn’t we also?

One of the things that puzzle me is how difficult it is to get people to pray. We say we believe in prayer; we readily quote II Thessalonian 5:17, “Pray without ceasing,” but when seeking volunteers to pray, for instance on the prayer line, there seems to be deafening silence. I have heard statements such as “I’m scared to pray publicly” or “I don’t know how to pray.”

We need to remember who we are – disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ. As His disciples or followers we seek to put into practice things He did in His own life, one of them being prayer. Jesus prayed regularly. As His disciples or followers, we are aware that we have an instruction manual always at our disposal, it’s called the Bible. The Bible has “numerous” examples of people praying that can be a source of encouragement and help to us. Remember the “model” prayer (Matt. 6:5-13).

Perhaps the problem is our focus. We’re not praying trying to impress others; we’re praying to connect with God Himself. We’re praying sincerely from our hearts and prayer can be spontaneous or written, as long as it’s from our heart.

Before His disciples were “filled” with the Holy Spirit they also struggled with prayer. Before He was betrayed, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and He simply asked His disciples to remain watchful while He prayed. Jesus returned and found them sleeping. Jesus encouraged them to watch and pray. Eventually they became prayer warriors.

We are living in challenging times and there is the need for us to “watch and pray.” The enemy wants us to be timid and pray very little or not at all. But our Commander in Chief, our Advocate, our Savior calls us to pray and pray regularly. Remember, we can boldly go to God in prayer (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Lord, help us to truly be a praying church…

I must tell Jesus all of my trials, I cannot bear these burdens alone; In my distress He kindly will help me, He ever loves and cares for His own…