Thread by @glprater

#GeraldsDevotional
Prayer – The Key Ingredient for Power

A few years ago I learned a very valuable lesson when it comes to cooking. I was making one of my large batches of home-made Belgian waffles from scratch. In preparing the batter, I overlooked adding one very key ingredient (salt). The end result was a large batch of waffles that

looked good but were utterly tasteless. It is ironic that they still contained the proper amounts of sugar and vanilla, but without the salt, they tasted bland (I forced myself to eat them but I wanted to throw them out). I think this was the metaphor that Jesus used when He said

that we were the salt of the earth in Matthew 5:13.

So what does this have to do with prayer? The key ingredient that can easily be left out of our prayer life (rendering it without power or flavor) is listening. I want to point you to two places where this concept is easily

seen in the bible.

First, from the model prayer that was the anchor of this series, remember the things that Jesus showed us to pray for in Matthew 6:8-13. Remember that the order in which they appear is significant. First, that our Father’s Name be holy (because we are His

representatives). Next, that His kingdom come and His will (plan) be done in everything. Next, the focus of our prayers shifts to His provision of our needs. If those first two items are really the heart of our prayers, then we will spend the majority of our time just listening.

Even in the example that Jesus used yesterday of the person knocking at the door of his friend (Luke 11:5-13), this theme of listening is prominently seen. Between iterations of knocking (asking), we have to wait and listen for an answer. Sometimes this can be a persistent

exercise, but Jesus promises that if we ask, our Father will answer our prayers. We have to be earnestly paying attention (praying attentively) and listening for that answer.

The second example of this can be seen by observing the way Jesus Himself often prayed. He did His most

powerful prayer when He went to be alone with the Father for a season of silent reflection. In one of His most memorable times of prayer, Jesus was led by the Spirit (He had to be listening in order to be led) to the wilderness to be tempted. There He spent 40 days fasting

(a picture of denying yourself and your own needs so that you can more easily hear God speak). This was a picture of Him praying and preparing to do some very powerful warfare. This was praying with power and an example for you and me today. Notice (and don’t miss) the end result

of this encounter in verse 11, the final verse of today’s scripture reading from Matthew 4.

Satan Tempts Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

5 Then the devil took Him

up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will

fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. - Matthew 4:1-11

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