Why would we ever separate prayer from discipleship? Before we are too quick to marry the two, let’s consider their individual meanings.
Prayer is simply communication with God. It is an opportunity to not only talk with God, but to listen to Him. I already know how to talk with God because I am in the habit of asking Him for things. But my communication part of prayer is so much more than making requests. It is adoration for who God is. It is my confession of sin. It is thanksgiving for what He has done. It is supplication or petitioning my and other’s needs to Him. So, what about God’s side of the communication? Henry Blackaby says, “God speaks to us through His Word, His Holy Spirit, through His body, and through our circumstances.”
Discipleship is simply being a learner, a student, a follower of Jesus Christ. So, as I study Jesus, I want to be more like Him in my faith journey. I want to think like Him, talk like Him, act like Him, love like Him, serve like Him, etc… In other words, I want imitate Jesus. Not so much WWJD, “what would Jesus do?”, but rather, WDJD, “what did Jesus do?” and do the same.
So then, it would stand to reason, if I want to be a better disciple of Jesus, then I will need to spend disciplined, quality time with Him -in conversation with Him. And it would also stand to reason that if I want to be a better disciple of Jesus, I will model my life after His. How could I ever expect to be like Jesus, unless I spend time with Him?
So, prayer and discipleship go hand in hand. If you don’t believe it, then consider this: Jesus prayed, He taught us to pray and how to pray.
1. Jesus modeled the need to retreat to pray
He gave the instruction in His sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:5-6)
He modeled finding a quiet place to pray alone. (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 5:16)
2. Jesus modeled just a simple prayer is enough
The Heavenly Father already knows our needs and intercedes on our behalf (Matthew 6:8; Romans 8:26-27)
Many words are not necessary (Matthew 6:7)
3. Jesus modeled the prayer
His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray and He did (Luke 11:1, 5-10)
You see, if I desire to be a true disciple of Christ, if I want to become more like Him, then I must be intentional in spending quiet time with Him in prayer and follow His model of prayer. I don’t think I can be a disciple of Jesus without prayer – or at least not a good one.
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