Jesus' disciples of today are...
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Jesus' disciples of today are no different than his disciples of yesteryear. For most of us, prayer is not natural. In our troubled world we may find it hard to pray, and we may not know how to begin. We are searching for a model, a focal point; Jesus Christ is at the end of our search. We search for the face of God; we see this face in the face of Jesus Christ.
We pray because God has done something for us. Prayer is our response evoked by God's gift which has graced us. Prayer begins with grace; grace is a gift in the Person, Jesus Christ, who initiates a new relationship which we could not create on our own, but was given to us.
Prayer isn't Law; it is the Gospel. John Wesley came to this realization. He realized in his younger life that he was a slave. He lived his life in fear of the Master, and he tried to earn favor. He was outside of grace in his early life. The day came, however, when he understood he was a son of God. Then Wesley was inside grace and love, and prayer became a free response to this new relationship.
He found his prayer model in Jesus, who tells us we are always to be looking to God and receiving from God the fullness of the Spirit. God cares and God listens!
We pray because God has done something for us. Prayer is our response evoked by God's gift which has graced us. Prayer begins with grace; grace is a gift in the Person, Jesus Christ, who initiates a new relationship which we could not create on our own, but was given to us.
Prayer isn't Law; it is the Gospel. John Wesley came to this realization. He realized in his younger life that he was a slave. He lived his life in fear of the Master, and he tried to earn favor. He was outside of grace in his early life. The day came, however, when he understood he was a son of God. Then Wesley was inside grace and love, and prayer became a free response to this new relationship.
He found his prayer model in Jesus, who tells us we are always to be looking to God and receiving from God the fullness of the Spirit. God cares and God listens!