Evidently so, because he did.

In Part 1, we saw that Jesus prayed in times of success.

Today, we will see that he prayed when he had to make important choices- when he needed to know God’s will.

Luke 6 tells the story about Jesus working hard at his ministry after having accumulated a large team of disciples. They were accompanying him on his ministry work. However, he needed a smaller, core team that could travel everywhere he went and intimately learn the work of the Kingdom of God in an apprenticeship format.

He needed to choose 12 apostles. Out of the large following he had, which 12 should it be?

Jesus had an important choice to make. So he did an important thing. He went on another prayer retreat and prayed there all night long.

Luke 6:12,13 says:

¹²And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

¹³And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles (biblegateway.com KJV).

Jesus prayed all night (following a lifestyle of prayer). When he came down from the mountain in the morning, he was sure that he knew God’s will for the choice of the 12 apostles.

Knowing God’s will for our choices does not come from a 5-minute request. It comes from a lifestyle of prayer punctuated by occasional intense and prolonged times of prayer.

When are the times you seek God for help with choices?

He pointed out that many of us read into that verse that we, if we are humble, will think poorly of ourselves. However, JD challenged us to think about humility in the manner C.S. Lewis explained it: “Humility in not thinking little of yourself, but thinking of your self little”.

When we are downing ourselves (creating “low self-esteem”, as it were), we are in some ways criticizing our Maker. Take a look at these New International Bible verses JD quoted from the book Living on the Edge by Chip Ingram.

Thought: We should not criticize the Appearance our Maker gave us.

Psalm 139:13-17
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,  your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Thought: We should not reject the Belongingness our Maker created in us.

Romans 8:31-32
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Thought: We should not deny the Worthiness that our Maker placed in us through His Son.

Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Thought: We should not doubt the Security of our Maker’s love for each of us.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thought: We should not forget God’s Competence in us (which makes us competent in what he has called us to do).

Philippians 2:13

For it it God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 4:13

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Lovely verses. How do we connect with God’s truth for us? Can we submit to him in prayer and ask for his help in seeing ourselves as he sees us?

Can you imagine? Jesus (God-the Son) prayed. Although he had a direct connection to his Father God, he found it necessary to pray.

In perusing this month’s Revive magazine, I saw a list of Jesus’ prayer times from the gospels of Matthew and Luke. I would like to take a few weeks and explore each of those events.

Luke 5:15-16

In this story, Jesus touched a man with leprosy and healed him. Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone except the priests what had happened, but instead show his healing by his obedient life. But the poor fellow couldn’t contain himself. He told folks.

“Soon a large crowd of people had gathered to listen and be healed of their ailments. As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.” (The Message)

So life got busy for Jesus. He was experiencing a fruitful ministry- good preaching, productive healing, large crowds.

How did Jesus handle success?

He withdrew as often as possible to solitary places and simply prayed.

He was our example of the necessity of Prayer Retreats. Hey, if it was good enough for Christ, it should be good enough for us…

“Hey, Lady! Hey, You!”

This of course, totally got Miss Bryan’s goat (which I guess was the point). She couldn’t understand why Scatterbrained couldn’t be bothered to learn her name.

Now, I know we are WAY more respectful than that when we pray. However, if we really want to know who we are praying to, it might be good to learn some of the names God calls Himself.

Why not get to know Him better through His names, then use them when you speak to Him?

Here are a few of His names from the Old Testament:

Father of the Fatherless- Av (Psalm 68:5)

The First and the Last- Rishon A Haron (Isaiah 44:6)

God- Elohim or Eloah or YAH (Isaiah 26:4, Psalm 68:4)

God Most High- El Elyon (Psalm 78:35)

God Almighty- El Shaddai (Genesis 17:1)

God My King- Elohim Melekh (Isaiah 68:24)

God the Lord- El YHWH (Isaiah 42:15)

God of Salvation- El Yeshua (Psalm 68:20)

God Who Brings to Quick Termination (He gets things done)- El Ghamer (Psalm 57:2)

Holy One- Qodosh (Isaiah 17:7)

I AM- Hayah (Exodus 3:4)

Living God- Chay El (Psalm 42:2)

Lord God-  Adonai Jehovah (Isaiah 40:15)

Lord Has Heard- Jehovah Shamah (Lamentation 3:56)

Lord of Hosts- Jehovah Tsavah (Isaiah 28:5)

Lord Provider- Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:8)

Lord Our Righteousness- Jehovah Tsedeq (Jeremiah 23:6)

Maker- Asah (Isaiah 17:7)

Mighty One-  Abyir  (Isaiah 60:16)

Lord Almighty- Adonai Shaddai (Joel 1:15)

Lord God- Adonai  (Genesis 2:4)

Redeemer- Gha-al   (Psalm 78:35)

Here are some of Jesus’ names:

Jesus Lord- Iesous Kurios  (Acts 19:5)

Just One- Dikalos (Acts 22:14)

The Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)

The Apostle and High Priest of our Confession (Hebrews 3:1)

The Author and Finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:2)

God’s names in the New Testament:

Father (endearment)- Abba (Romans 8:15)

Father- Pater (Romans 1:17)

Holy- Hagiezmos (Acts 2:27)

Mighty One- Dynatos (II Corinthians 13:3)

Do you feel you know God better?

Reading the Chronicles again, with Aslan the Lion and adventures of the Kingdom of Narnia reminds me of C. S. “Jack” Lewis’ deep faith. He was a man of prayer.

Here is what his step-son, Douglas Gresham said about him:

“I don’t know what he prayed, but it was not uncommon for me to walk into a room and to find Jack praying. And I would say, ‘I’m so sorry, Jack,” and he would say, ‘Don’t worry, I was only praying’. I saw Jack sitting at a desk in prayer. I saw Jack walking in prayer. I could tell if Jack was praying if he was walking around the garden or walking up in the woods or sitting at his desk, but I can’t tell you how I could tell. It was just something I knew. He didn’t ostentatiously get down on his knees or put his hands together in front of his face and so forth.”

His assistant, Walter Hooper, said about Lewis, “I don’t think I ever came across a person who prayed so much. Often in the morning he would get up, go outside to look at the flowers, and stand right there praying…He could pray anywhere…In a train, on a bus, on a walk, or just standing outside. And he prayed on his knees, too, beside his bed.”

(quoted from: The Magic Never Ends- John Duncan)

Lewis prayed at in many times and many places. Perhaps for him that was “praying without ceasing”.

What would prayer without ceasing look like for you?

Gray mist looms over corn and fallow field

Atmosphere crouches:

thick with heat

Yet His Golden Radiance perforates:

ubiquitous, unruffled

Sparkling up dewy weeds:

fields of sapphire, topaz, and diamond

Wrens are trilling call-and-response:

a liturgy of praise

God is in His Heaven

He is what is right in the world.

The bugs, on the other hand, are engaged in non-ending joyful pandemonium. The cicadas, crickets, and katydids are rejoicing loudly day and night.

I think that God made blasting hot weather because he loves his insects (and perhaps the reptiles, too). All year long these creatures just muddle along. Then for a few blazing weeks each summer, their body temperature hits a point where they feel fully alive.

And what do they do with all that joy?

They praise God all day and night.

So, I can be like the spoiled child at someone else’s birthday party. Or I can be happy that it is someone else’s turn.

What can you do during hot, summer days to remember God’s handiwork and be thankful for someone else’s turn?

When my firstborn was just three years old, he had a burning desire:

He wanted cowboy boots.

Those who have had three-year-old boys know that cowboy boots are an important part of developing a young man’s identity. (That is, if you are from the Deep Woods Down South.)

Every time we drove into town to the local JM Fields, he would see cowboy boots. “I need those boots,” he would matter-of-factly explain.

The only problem was that their $4 price tag was way above our budget back in those days. There was no hope for me to be able to get him those boots- kind of sad for a young mom.

So, I told him that he would have to pray about it. I sat with him while he bowed his little strawberry-blonde head and simply asked God for those cowboy boots.

Then a fun thing happened. A short time later, we were visiting a young couple from church. It was a nice visit and Micah had been very well behaved. As we were leaving, the wife handed him a gift- 4 dollar bills.

She had no idea what he had been praying, but he knew God had heard and answered his prayer. He got his cowboy boots.

I don’t think God was concerned about Micah’s prayer format. He just wanted to bless the kid.

The kid was blessed and praised God for it.

Can you think of a time God blessed you in answer to a request (“prayer of petition” is the theology word for it)? Did you feel like praising God?