��Jesus preached forgiveness, taught about inner freedom, cured the sick, fought for the under privileged. Jesus took time from his hectic work to pray. We may wonder why Jesus had to pray. The prayer of Jesus was his communication with the Father in Heaven. Jesus sanctified his work in and through the Father in Heaven and in union with the Holy Spirit. His prayer gave him strength to overcome temptation. Jesus spend forty days and nights in the desert without food and he felt hungry.���At the end he felt hungry and Satan went to tempt him� Mt.4.1-4.� Jesus got strength to withstand the devil from his union with the Father in Heaven. That was the secret! of our Lord�s prayers.
Jesus took time out to communicate with the Father in heaven in prayer. Jesus literally prayed �One day Jesus was praying in a certain place� Lk.11.1. Jesus thus set us a role model to find time for personal prayer. Often times we don�t ask permission from God before we start certain things. I think asking permission is accepting the Father�s love. In many a culture, the parents, especially the Father of the child preserves the right to name the child, which shows leadership, authority. God named Adam and Adam named Eve and their children. Adam named all the animals too. � Adam named his wife Eve� Gen.3.20 �so the man named the birds and all the animals� Gen 2.20 Jesus prayed with his disciples and even taught the disciples to pray. One day as Jesus finished his prayers, his disciples asked him to teach them to pray. �Lord teach us to pray� Lk. 11.1 and Jesus taught the famous Lord�s Prayer.� Jesus mandated them to pray in a certain way. Jesus was aware that the Father in Heaven knew prior to us asking for our needs. �Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him� Mt. 6. 8. God knows all our needs. One day Jesus was teaching about trust in God and he concluded the session saying, � Do not be upset always. Your father knows that you need all these things� Luke12. 29. Jesus affirmed the all-knowing God and he said, �This, then, is how you shou! ld pray� Mt. 6.9 and Jesus taught the prayer, the only prayer we have as a uniform prayer, although the other prayers vividly clarify the Father image of God. The Father figure is part and parcel of the teachings of Jesus. When Simon Peter declared Jesus as the Messiah, the reaction of the Spirit filled Messiah was �This truth came to you not from any human being. It came from the Father in Heaven. So I tell you Peter you are the rock� Mt.16.17. Jesus confirmed our faith in the all-providing God the Father in Heaven. If an n earthly father in his sinfulness knows what to provide for his children �How much more then the Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him� Mt. 6 11.� Jesus taught about fasting and prayer and he asked them not to be hypocritical. Jesus asked them to have a happy heart as the! y did fast and pray. �Do not put on a sad face� Mt. 6. 16� �so that others cannot know that you are fasting except your Father in heaven� Mt.6. 18. Often times I feel that many of our pious people have the wrong notion that they need to put on a sad face as they fast and pray so they look more holy. One day Jesus was preaching to a good number of people. He might have been inside a house. Meanwhile his mother and company arrived so one of the listeners said, �Your mother and brothers want to speak to you� Mt.12.47 and Jesus responded.� � Whoever does what my Father in Heaven wants is my mother..� Mt.12. 50.� Jesus was talking about the end of times and he said the time is hidden from the Son of Man, from the angels in heaven, �It is only the Father who knows� Mt.23.36 the hour of the great! destruction. Jesus lived a life to testify to the truth. Jesus lived a life to fulfill what the Father in heaven had set for him and prior to the Last Supper Jesus offered his Messianic prayers for his disciples Jesus prayed for the Disciples. �Father the hour has come� John 17.1. The Jewish people sentenced Jesus because Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus taught his disciples that he and the Father is the same. � I and the Father are the same�.� The disciples of Jesus asked him �who are you then� John 8.25. In answer to the questions of the disciples, Jesus said, � when you lift up the son of man, you will know that I am who I am� John 8.28. This is reminiscent of the revelation to Moses. Moses asked God, what he might tell the Israelites, if they asked who send him. In answer God said, � I am who I am. This is my name forever</SP! AN>� Exodus 3. 14-15. This Father that Jesus refers to in the Lord�s Prayer is the creator God. Jesus said about himself �before Abraham was born, I am� John 8.58. This creator God is the Abba, the Father in heaven. It is to this Father that we pray always. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven Jesus said �God then, to all peoples, cities; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit� Mt.28 19. Jesus taught them about the Father for the reason � I and the father are the same�. � When you lift up the son of man, you will know that I am who I am� John 8.28. And this creator God in the person of Jesus taught the disciples � This, then, is how you should pray� Mt. 6.9. � Father your Holy name be honored� Luke 11.2.� The Father in heaven will listen to our prayers. Though very insignificant are our needs, the Father in heaven knows them and grants our requests. The best form of prayer is the prayer of Jesus and that is the Lord�s Prayer. Jesus fulfilled his mission of the earth and then on the Cross Jesus died for our sins. Just before his final breath Jesus cried aloud and said �Father into your hands I commend my Spirit� Luke. 24.46. That was the final prayer of Jesus. Jesus lived in prayer, sanctified a! nd strengthened us through his prayer, and died in prayer, uttering the name of the Father in heaven. What a wonderful death. Jesus left us a role model to pray at the time of our death. � The mystery of the Father and Son relationship was affirmed at the Baptism of Jesus. This affirmation came from God. The moment Jesus emerged from the waters of River Jordan, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came on Jesus, like a dove and there was a voice that accompanied the Spirit on Jesus. The voice said, � This is my beloved Son, I am pleased in him. Listen to him� Mt.3.17. God the Father acknowledged Jesus as his son and send him to us so that we may listen to him. Jesus send his disciples as the Father has send him. Just before he ascended into heaven Jesus said, � I will send upon you what my Father has promised� Luke 24.49 referring to the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord. Fr. Thomas Mathew USA/ June 20/2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: Click Here **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. 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