The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Temples of the Teacher"
Having witnessed the Lord Jesus Christ pray, one of His disciples asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray " (Luke 11:1). Little did the disciples know how monumental would be His answer.
"God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
The Lord Jesus first provided a model of prayer for His followers. "Our Father, which art in Heaven…". However, after His death, resurrection, and ascension, He would come to dwell within them through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Thereby, the Teacher would not only instruct the student. He would also inhabit us to motivate, guide, and empower us in prayer. Indeed, His promise to enable us in all things must surely include our fellowship with God. Who among us believes we possess the inherent knowledge, understanding, motivation, and ability to commune with an infinite, eternal Being? "Without Me, ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
This reminds of my college statistics professor, Dr. Shah. If only his brain could have gotten inside mine! Sadly, that did not happen. I struggled through to pass the course. I never really got statistics, and I don't remember a useful thing about the subject all these years later. Of far greater challenge and consequence, however, my prayer Professor not only calls me to a privileged responsibility far beyond my capacities. He also came to dwell within my heart in the new birth to empower my praying. The promise of "I will dwell in them and walk in them" surely includes this most blessed and vital aspect of our relationship with God (II Corinthians 6:16).
What God enjoins, He enables. He never calls His children to make bricks without straw. This especially includes the very heart of our relationship with Him, namely, to commune with His heart. No less than the Apostle Paul confessed, "We know not what we should pray for as we ought" (Romans 8:26). Our Lord knows, however. Yes, the praying Christ knows. Moreover, He lives within us to lead us in the wonder of fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We therefore do well to pray about our praying, that is, to trust the Lord to remind us, motivate us, guide us, and empower us. Long ago, disciples who sought guidance about prayer became living temples of the Teacher who does so much more than instruct. He inhabits, and He leads us in walking with His Father, and our Father.
"And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me."
(John 17:22-23)
Weekly Memory Verse
Pray without ceasing.
(I Thessalonians 5:17)
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