Just this week, I saw an interview Eric Metaxas made with Remi Adeleke, a Nigerian immigrant and an ex-Navy Seal. His story includes being ousted from the Navy Seal program for repeated failures to pass some of the rigorous skills tests required of a Seal. He confesses that he was not able to perform at a high level because of his lifestyle outside of camp. When he finally decided to rid himself of that, he was re-admitted, and he became a successful Navy Seal. In the Gospels, there are over 30 instances where Jesus prayed including the one found in Luke 9: and Jesus took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray and as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered. (NKJ) Jesus is consistent in finding time alone to be with the Father because you find that He either leaves in the evening to pray or He rises early before the sun is up. The disciples and the early Church learned this discipline well and kept it as He had commanded them in Matthew 28:20. Prayer is like a Navy Seal requirement for two reasons: 1) Jesus commanded it and 2) without it, you will drown in the sea of worldliness. As Remi kept failing to swim long distances and hold his breath in stressful underwater conditions, so a disciple of Jesus fails to mature without the holy conditioning of prayer. But it is a discipline, something that is self-imposed. Because Jesus was faithful in prayer that one night, the Father surprised Him with His glory! Who knows what holy surprise awaits us if keep praying!
See You In Church!
April 1, 2020