Matthew 14:23

"A Father Who Prays"

"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone."  Our Lord Jesus Christ is our example in all things.  He prayed; He fasted; He loved those who betrayed Him; He was quiet when He could have defended Himself; and He gave His life for His friends.  Underneath are His everlasting arms; His love knows no boundaries ... He is a Father Who Prays!

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,

Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a

solitary place, where he prayed."

(Mark 1:35)



It's the early morning vigil that grasps the attention of Almighty God.  "Why?" you ask.  The Lord Jesus Christ knows the sacrifice and essence of early morning prayer.  In the quiet, dark whispers of an ever still twilight, we sing the strains of our own invented chorus:

                                                                          You're the Holy One, the Holy One,

                                                                                    the Holy One of Israel

                                                                          You're the Holy One, the Holy One,

                                                                                   the Holy One of Israel

                                                                         I honor You, bow down to You, the

                                                                                  Lord and King of Israel

                                                                             In all I do, to be like You, the

                                                                                    Holy One of Israel. 

                                                                                               

He leans close to receive our individual offering of sleepy-eyed worship, to the love of our life.   He cherishes the scent of each created bloom in His garden of souls; the aromas of adoration rise as a sweet incense to a waiting, hungering God.  It matters not how simple the song; it's the refrain of the heart in an early morning tryst between the Creator and His creation.   

Our Lord never asks any more of us than He asked of Himself  ...  things like "preferring your brother," eating with publicans and sinners, guarding our hearts and minds against evil thoughts and evil deeds, forgiving and restoring, and reaching out to the forsaken.  Jesus prayed, because even though He was God in the flesh, He "was in the flesh" when He walked the earth.  He was human, as we are; He suffered and had pain; and He had to subdue the flesh, even as we do.  There was one thing different; there was no sin in Him.  He came to take the sins of the world upon Himself that we might have eternal life with Him.  He alone has done this for us; there is no God beside Him; He alone is God!

The angels were always close by, but there could not, and would not, be any intervention; the redemption plan had to be a solo event, accomplished by the Lord alone.  How the angels must have felt, to be so close by, but they could do nothing to help Him; all of their powers were held back, so the God of the universe could yield Himself to torture, blood, and death for the highest purpose of all  ...  salvation of all mankind.  Spirit became flesh and dwelt among us; the flesh now had to pray to the Spirit for strength, guidance and the wherewithal to endure ... because He was now human  ... but when "it was finished," He rose again, and ONE sits on the throne!  The praying one has become the prayer receiver, the prayer answerer, the miracle grantor, the sickness defyer, the soul Saver! 

What does this world need?  It has many needs, and they are fast becoming growing, haunting mountains before our very eyes.  But, the greatest need for planet earth today is ... praying fathers.  We need strong families, a husband and wife, man and woman, with children in a family undergirded with strength and power through the impenetrable fortress of an armed angelic barrier of Prayer!  Prayer completes the Spiritual circle "of God to man and back to God."  When the circle is broken; there is no power; there is no defense; there is a substantive abyss for enemy infiltration, and the enemy "does infiltrate." 

Prayer is our bomb shelter, our foxhole, our cloud by day and fire by night, our wheel in the middle of a wheel, our "in the Spirit on the Lord's day," our "be it unto me according to your will," our cast the net on the other side, and our love line to "I Am" for a lifetime.  Prayer: six letters of Glory to a "7" between the columns, in the midst of the years!  (You'll understand it better by and by).

The Spiritual legacy of Prayer continues from generation to generation: Praying sons grow up to be ... Praying Fathers  ...

                                                                                                                   By Sheryl Fowler

                                                     (Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)