Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

When we read about Jesus, we know that prayer was so important to Him, as it should be to us.

We know that Jesus prayed regularly. He took the time to pray wherever he was or sometimes He would go off to the mountains by himself to pray. Taking time to praise important, even if it’s short prayers. No matter how long our prayers are, they are vital to our Christian life.

Jesus prayed with common sense. He did not use prayer as some magical device to get some selfish wishes. I’m sure that the disciples knew about the importance of prayer in Jesus’s life as they watched Him go off to pray at times.

In the gospel of Luke, chapter 11, we can read about how one day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “ Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples”. They saw in Jesus what they needed to know about prayer just as we can also. Scripture is there for us to learn from, so from reading about prayer in Jesus, we can get some pointers about how to have a meaningful prayer life.

Everything that is worthwhile takes time. Ask any artist, Any musician, any athlete, doctor, or minister. it takes time, effort and determination. Nothing happens overnight. If Jesus felt the need to pray regularly that tells us how much more we need to do the same.

Life reminds us many times that we need to pray and remember to pray with confidence. God is always listening, call on Him. I always like to remind people that when we call upon God and lift our voices, He is never too busy to hear our prayers.