He went out and departed to a solitary place and there He prayed. He prayed in the desert, cemetery, and garden. He is coequal with God, the exact representation of the Holy One, and yet He devoted himself to prayer. He is the Lord of angels and Commander of heavenly hosts, yet He prayed. He had made the planets and shaped the stars, yet He prayed. If you remain in Me and follow My teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you. “Plan and it will be given to you.” “You will get anything you work for.” Those words are not in the Bible. Jesus never attached such power to other endeavors. If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.

Might their interest have had something to do with the jaw-dropping, eye-popping promises Jesus attached to prayer?Īsk and it will be given to you. But they did want Him to do this: “Lord, teach us to pray.” But a “How to Vacate the Cemetery” seminar? His followers never called for one. They could have asked for instructions on many topics: bread multiplying, speech making, storm stilling. In fact, the only tutorial they ever requested was on prayer.

The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance. No one walked away saying, “Hey, I have prayer figured out.” When one of Jesus’ disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), none of the others objected. The sign-up sheet for Prayer 101 contains some familiar names: the apostles John, James, Andrew, and Peter.

Prayer in my pocket