The Lord Jesus as Man deliberately took the place of dependence on God. With prayer He began His public service at His baptism—and with prayer He ended it at the cross. He lived praying and He died praying!
What He did for God and for man was done in prayer. He spoke with His Father in seclusion, in the presence of His disciples, in the circle of friends and publicly on the cross. He prayed for Simon Peter, for His disciples, for those who would believe in Him through their word, for His enemies and for Himself. Before and after any completed service we find Him alone in the silence before God. In addition to the times when He withdrew to pray, He lived in a constant attitude of prayer, so that He could say: “But I give myself unto prayer” (Ps. 109:4).
God calls us to pray unceasingly (see 1 Thess. 5:17). But how does this actually work? God wants us not only to get on our knees in the morning and then again before going to bed, but also to live in a permanent attitude of prayer throughout the day, in addition to the times when we speak aloud to God. This means that we include God in all of life’s situations and keep Him before us in our thoughts. This is how the Lord Jesus lived, who could say: “I have set the Lord always before me” (Ps. 16:8). What an example! How challenging in this context are the words of John: “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” (1 John 2:6).
When you consider your daily prayer life, what conclusions do you come to regarding how dependent on, or independent of, God you’re living your life? What can help you in future to go through the day with a more permanent attitude of prayer?
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