Message #4 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
"Jesus' Teaching on Prayer"

by Kaye Johns

Jesus taught that our quiet time is essential. The first thing Jesus told His disciples to do regarding prayer was "go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen." [Matthew 6:6]

Jesus wasn’t emphasizing the importance of having a room, but of getting alone with God, to give Him our undivided attention

--as was the pattern of His own prayer life [Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 5:16]. There is nothing wrong with praying when we are busy doing something that is so routine that doesn’t require total concentration. We are told we should "pray without ceasing." [1 Thessalonians 5:17] But Jesus is about to give us a pattern for our daily prayer life. He is emphasizing the importance of putting God first, making our time with Him an every day priority.

Today we have the benefit of written Scripture, and we know that as He moved through His ministry, Jesus began to emphasize the importance of knowing God in a personal way. This was a new concept. His disciples, who were ordinary men, had no experience with prayer being true communion with the living God or a two-way process of communication. Jesus is teaching that this is where such a relationship happens--in an isolated place, where you can give God your full and undivided attention. The quiet time is not an option in our prayer lives; it is the essential first step that Jesus taught.

Pray with me now -- Father, grant us the discipline to give You the time and attention You deserve. In Jesus’s name, amen.

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