08/29/2018 PRAY AND CONTINUE TO PRAY
LUKE 11:1, 5-9 Once when JESUS had been praying, one of HIS disciples came to HIM as HE finished and said, “LORD, teach us a prayer to recite just as John taught one of his disciples.” …Then, teaching them more about prayer, HE used this illustration: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would shout up to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit and I’ve nothing to give him to eat.’ He would call down from his bedroom, ‘Please don’t ask me to get up. The door is locked for the night and we are all in bed. I just can’t help you this time.’ But I’ll tell you this---though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough he will get up and give you everything you want—just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer----- [Living Bible translation]
Summary:
JESUS led a prayerful life. One reference mentions at least 27 scriptures commenting about JESUS praying: Here are a few:
Luke 5:16 But JESUS often withdrew to lonely places and prayed
Luke 6:12 One day soon afterwards HE went out into the mountain to pray, and prayed all night.
Mark 1:35 the next morning he was up long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.
Matthew 26:36 Then JESUS brought them to a garden grove, Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while HE went on ahead to pray.
See, “Jesus Praying, https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Jesus-Praying.
Luke 11 contains another verse about praying and also contains JESUS’ teachings on the importance of prayer and persistent, continuous, “not giving up” prayer. JESUS taught by giving a parable---an illustration---a story. It was an important lesson that HE wanted HIS disciples to understand.
In fact, JESUS wanted to make it plain for everyone. WHY? Because as one contemporary writer puts it, “The last thing I think of when I’m stressed out with work deadlines and complicated homework projects with the kids is to get on my knees…” See, “Spirituality and Prayer Relieves Stress,” by Therese Borchard.
Others might even add, “And, after I have already prayed, the last thing I think of when I’m stressed out with work, bills, family issues, health issues, and “everything else” is to get right back on my knees and pray again!” But that is exactly what JESUS taught! Pray, Pray, Pray and Pray again! Keep asking. Keep knocking. Be persistent. Expect an answer!
According to Borchard, quoting another writer, there are great benefits to having a consistent prayer life. Research backs up the theory that those who pray more or have a greater religious or spiritual life are better able to cope with stress, heal faster from illness and “experienced increased benefits to their health and wellbeing.” Here are some of the results of one study:
[A]… study conducted by the National Institute for Health Care Research (NIHR) illustrated that the Canadian college students who were connected to their campus ministries visited doctors less often and were less stressed during difficult times than the other students. The students who had strong religious correlations also had higher positive feelings, lower levels of depression, and were better equipped at handling stress.
See, “Spirituality and Prayer Relieve Stress, by Therese Borchard, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/therese-borchard/spirituality-and-prayer-r.
Other studies showed:
- Hospitalized people who never attended church have an average stay of three times longer than people who attend regularly.
- People who are more religious tend to become depressed less often. When they do become depressed, they recover more quickly.
Although prayer and persistent prayer (praying again and again and again and again…) may not be the first thing one thinks of in times of stress, according to JESUS and many researchers, it should be!