The Need for Prayer

The Need for Prayer

Luke 6:12 (NASB)

12 “It was at this time that He [Jesus] went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”

    Officially, church historians recognize seven ecumenical church councils held between A.D. 325 and A.D. 787. The first, the First Council of Nicaea, met to agree on the nature of Jesus of Nazareth as both Son of God and Son of Man, as both fully divine and fully human.

    The humanity of Christ, while at the same time divine, is hard to understand. But thankfully, Scripture gives us illustrations: Like us, Jesus suffered, experienced hunger, required sleep, ate food, and had limits on His knowledge (Mark 13:32). One of the most striking and helpful illustrations of Jesus’ humanity was His prayer life. We might think that, if Jesus was truly divine, He would have had no need to pray for knowledge, guidance, or help. Yet He did, following the example of godly men like Daniel in Babylon (Daniel 2:16-18). Jesus repeatedly said that He only did what the Father showed Him to do (John 5:19), and prayer was His means.

    If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to go to His Father in prayer for strengthening and guidance, how much more do we (Psalm 32:6)?

E. M. Bounds said, “Prayer and a holy life are one.”