“Therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
Discovering the prayer life of Jesus has become one of my greatest insights into the depth of His character. Observing how intensely The Son prayed to His Father, while He was on earth, may improve my education, but it won’t improve my character until I pray. Knowing about prayer, and praying are not the same things. Can I get a witness?
“In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One who is able to save Him from death…”(Hebrews 5:7,8)
Knowledge about how Jesus prayed, and gratitude for His prayers are two early signs of education and appreciation. By themselves, they do not turn prayer enthusiasts into prayer warriors. There is a difference between gaining an education and being trained for war. The enemy knows the difference.
My father, Don Miller, has a small, wooden yoke he obtained from a farmer in Vermont, once used it to train calves for their calling. The calves existed to pull together, side by side, and carry whatever burden the farmer placed on them, and to take it wherever he wanted it to go. The earlier the calves learned the lesson of leaning into the yoke, the more productive their lives would be, for the farmer. The calves were not self-employed, or free agents. They lived to serve the farmer.
The farmer explained to my Dad that there was always a captain in any team of oxen. A younger, smaller calf would be trained by being placed side by side with a seasoned, stronger calf that had already developed the farmer’s sense of direction. The captain had learned to respond swiftly to the touch of the farmer’s hand, and to listen intently to the sound of his voice. This had been done, by learning to lean into the yoke when pulled by a former teammate that had once been the captain. The process was not easily learned, but it was not punitive. It was productive. It was also relentless.
Informing myself about The Savior’s character never transformed my character. Prayer, for me has not been a matter of learning how Jesus prayed, but learning to lean into His yoke. When I pray, I find myself yielding to His sense of direction. Prayer draws me nearer to His side, and He draws me into The Presence of The Father. His process conforms me to His Father’s will, as I begin to see more clearly in the light of His Presence, the futility of my struggle and the inferiority of my character.
The longer I walk in The Yoke with Jesus, as The Captain, the nearer He leads me to His side, in order to draw me to The Father. I am grateful for His recorded prayers on earth, but I find myself taking greater comfort in His prayers He says for me each day in Heaven. He is The Intercessor, and I am grateful he never tires of the effort or falls asleep while on duty.
“He always lives to make intercession…”
“Prayer is central in Heaven.” Dr. Herbert Lockyer
NOTE TO SELF: Through prayer, Jesus intends to draw you closer to Himself. Prayer does not bring you to your destiny, your dreams, or some earthly version of what you think is best for you. He has not given you a new life in Christ, in order for you to go it alone. Prayer draws you to His side, and Jesus brings you to The Father.
When Jesus intercedes for you at the right hand of The Father, He does not take every good idea you bring to Him, and make it look better to The Father. He brings you to closer to God, until you are saturated, and satisfied with The Presence of The Father. He lives to make intercession for you, until your will is transformed and aligned with His Father’s Will. This could take a while. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!