Jesus: The Power and Purpose of Prayer

There is one peculiarity about the life of our Lord Jesus Christ which everybody must have noticed who is carefully read the four gospels namely that he was a man of much prayer he was mighty as a preacher for even the officers who were sent to arrest him said never man spake like this man but he appears to have been even mightier in prayer if such a thing could be possible. [00:02:52]

The whole life of our Lord Jesus Christ was one of prayer though we are often told about his praying we feel that we scarcely need to be informed of it for we know that he must have been a man of prayer his acts are the acts of a prayerful man his words speak to us like the words of one whose heart was constantly lifted up in prayer to his father. [00:03:49]

The baptism of Our Lord was the commencement of his manifestation to the sons of men he was now about to take upon himself in full all the works of his messiahship and consequently we find him very specially engaged in prayer and beloved it seems to me to be peculiarly appropriate that when any of us have been converted and are about to make a scriptural profession of our faith about to take up the soldier life under the Great Captain of our Salvation about to start out as pilgrims to Zion citybound. [00:06:04]

If you come to join the church but do not pray to God to uphold you in consistency of life and to make your profession sincere the probability is that you are already a hypocrite or if that is too uncharitable a suggestion the probability is that if you are converted the work has been of a very superficial character and not of that deep and Earnest kind of which prayer would be the certain index. [00:08:29]

Without prayer you will remain in a region that is desolate as a desert but bend your knees in supplication to the most high and you have reached the land of promise the country of benediction draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you not merely as to his gracious presence but as to the powerful and efficacious working of the Holy Spirit more prayer more power the more pleading with God that there is the more power will there be in pleading with men. [00:10:51]

Our Lord was about to extend his ministry his one tongue his one voice might have delivered his personal message throughout Palestine but he was desirous of having far more done than he could individually accomplish in the brief period of his public Ministry upon the Earth he would therefore have 12 Apostles and afterwards 70 disciples who would go forth in his name and tell out the Glad Tidings of Salvation. [00:12:54]

I think I hear Christ crying to his father that the right men might be selected as the leaders of the Church of God upon the earth I think I also hear him pleading that upon the these chosen men a Divine influence might rest that they might be kept in character honest in heart and holy in life that they might also be preserved sound in Doctrine and not turn aside to error and falsehood. [00:14:48]

Do you really desire to reach the highest possible attainments of the Christian Life do you in your inmost soul Pine and pant after the choicest joys that can be known by human beings This Side of Heaven do you aspire to rise to full fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and to be transformed into his image from glory to glory if so the way is open to you it is the way of prayer and only there will you find these Priceless bounds. [00:19:47]

I believe that we make more real advance in the Divine Life in that Hour of Prayer than we do in a month of sermon hearing I do not mean that we are to neglect the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but I'm sure that without the praying the hearing is of little worth we must PR pray we must plead with God if we are really to grow spiritually. [00:20:37]

Am I to do any great work for God then I must first be be Mighty upon my knees is there a man here who is to be the means of covering the sky with clouds and bringing the rain of God's blessing upon the dry and Barren Church which so sorely needs Reviving and refreshing that he must be prepared for that great work as Elijah was when on the top of Carmel he cast himself down upon the Earth and put his face between his knees and prayed as only he could pray. [00:23:22]

Christ is ever beforeand with us before the storm comes he has provided the harbor of Refuge before the disease attacks us he has the remedy ready to cure it his Mercy outruns our misery what a lesson we ought to learn from this action of Christ whenever we see any friend in Peril through Temptation let us not begin to talk about him but let us at once pray for him. [00:27:41]

Our lord Jesus was very specially occupied in prayer as the end of his Earthly life Drew near he was about to die as his people's shity and substitute the wroth of God which was due to them fell upon him knowing all that was to befall him he set his face steadfastly to go unto Jerusalem and in due time he endured the cross despising the shame but he did not go to Gethsemane and golgatha without prayer. [00:31:28]