By Waylon Bailey
Jesus was a man of prayer, and He left His church to be a people of prayer.
One of the many things that stand out about Jesus was His devotion in prayer. Mark noted how Jesus prayed. At the beginning (Mark 1:35), middle (Mark 6:46), and end of the Gospel (Mark 14:32), Mark showed that Jesus prayed. He prayed with intensity and purpose.
The first reference sets the tone for the prayer ministry of Jesus: “And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.”
Jesus often talked about prayer and modeled it for His disciples. Mark 11:20-26 seems to particularly teach us about prayer.
Three takeaways from what Jesus said about prayer in Mark 11:20-26.
First, prayer is essential for the church and the mission God has given us. The only thing limiting us is our prayerlessness. Notice how the early church prayed, and notice how the early church carried the gospel to the lost world. Within 300 years, the early church reached millions of people so that the Roman world could be called Christian.
Second, we cannot pray without faith in God. It simply is not possible. You cannot have prayer without faith in God. What would prayer be without faith? Empty rhetoric? A practice of foolishness?
Scripture tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is more than a giant leap. It is the settled knowledge that our Father knows us and cares for us. It is the quiet understanding that we can never get away from the love and kindness of our Heavenly Father.
Third, God has given us all we need to carry out His plan. We will face mountains of difficulty. We will experience persecution and difficulty. Many will ridicule and oppose, but God has provided everything we need to have a mountain moving prayer life.
We simply must be a people of intense, urgent, believing prayer.
Have a great week!
Waylon Bailey is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Covington. This editorial first appeared on his blog.
