Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear people.

Becki and I did our walk/jog in light rain earlier. It’s still doing that. Oh well. It’s spring…and this is Oregon.

Lots going on…with lots needing to go on. I need to give some attention to organization and coordination so that those lots don’t get too damaged by banging into each other. Know what I mean?

Blessings on your day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

If it is so well established that Jesus prioritized prayer, shouldn’t we? Or how much more should we? We only need to be reminded that prayer is not so much something we say or do, but something we are. It is a medium of fellowship, the human heart outflow side of relationship with God.

I’ve decided here to just copy an excerpt out of my Full Life Study Bible, notes written by Donald Stamps. “Luke stresses more than the other Gospel writers the place of prayer in the life and work of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at the Jordan, he was ‘praying’ (3:21); at times he withdrew from the multitudes ‘and prayed’ (5:16), and he ‘spent the night praying’ before choosing the twelve disciples (6:12). He was ‘praying in private’ before he asked his disciples an important question (9:18); at his transfiguration he climbed the mountain ‘to pray’ (9:28); the actual transfiguration occurred while ‘he was praying’ (9:29); and he ‘was praying’ just before he taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer (11:1). In Gethsemane he ‘prayed more earnestly’ (22:44); on the cross he prayed for others (23:34); and the last words he uttered before his death were a prayer (23:46). Luke also records that Jesus prayed after his resurrection (24:30).”

I don’t really enjoy going on guilt trips any more than you do. But how can I avoid re-evaluating my lifestyle against this standard? Please join me in doing what we can (not what we can’t) to fine-tune our practical following of Christ as our Supreme Role Model.