READING: 1 Samuel 7-9, Luke 9:18-36
“Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.”
Luke 9:28
I don’t think anyone has ever taken me to a mountain to pray. Sure, I’ve hiked hills and mountains over the years, but I did that for the exercise and the fun. I’ve even prayed occasionally on a mountain (sometimes because I was out of breath and thought I was dying . . .), but never have I gone there because somebody invited me there just to pray.
You see, most churches – including mine as I grew up – are guilty of telling people to pray, but not teaching them to pray. We preach prayer, but don’t help believers know how to pray. When we follow that unhelpful pattern, we set believers up for defeat. They know they need to pray, but they genuinely don’t know how. We then get frustrated with them for not listening to us, failing to see that our unwillingness to teach them is one reason they did not pray in the first place.
You would think we would know better. If we simply determined to follow Jesus’ model, we would do differently. Luke 9 describes for us a magnificent event when Jesus took three of His disciples to a mountain, where He was changed gloriously in front of them, and Moses and Elijah miraculously joined Him for a conversation. It’s no wonder that Peter said, “Master, it is good for us to be here” (Luke 9:33). What we often miss, though, is the purpose for which Jesus took His disciples there in the first place: to pray.
There, prayer would put them in a position to see a miracle. There, they would learn again that they were praying to a God who communicates with His people; even God the Father spoke on that mountain, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” (Luke 9:35). There, they would through prayer experience something they would never forget.
There, Jesus took them to pray. Later, He would teach them again about prayer (Luke 11:1-4), and He would model a powerful prayer life throughout His ministry. The disciples learned to pray at the feet of Jesus because He intentionally chose to teach them, show them, and challenge them to pray.
Maybe you have never been to a mountain to pray. Or, perhaps you’re a church leader who has never taken someone else on a retreat just to pray. Either way, we need to change our patterns. Getting alone with God and teaching others to do the same are too important not to prioritize them.
ACTION STEPS:
- Study Jesus’ prayer life in the gospel of Luke. The final point on this blog will help guide you.
- Plan to get away with other believers just to pray. Let the only agenda be getting alone with God.
PRAYER: “God, thank You for being a God who hears me when I pray. Help me never to take that gift for granted.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Samuel 10-12, Luke 9:37-62