As we discussed previously, discipleship isn’t just a Christian buzzword. It’s the life to which Jesus calls all believers. Before Jesus left the earth, he gave his followers their primary directive. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)
What does a disciple do? A disciple follows (or imitates) the discipline of their teacher. In other words, they GROW and become more and more like their master. Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40 ESV) Let’s look at practice two of three that are essential to help us grow more like Jesus.
- Read the Bible Every Day – Read about that here.
- Pray Regularly – Jesus modeled how to be a disciple. Two important details stand out in Jesus’ life: 1) He knew the Scriptures and 2) He prayed regularly. Even at age 12, Jesus was engaging with synagogue leaders and teachers discussing God’s word and asking questions. (Luke 2:41-50) At a young age, Jesus’ knowledge of the Scriptures demonstrated His regular engagement with God’s instruction. We see this most clearly in Jesus’ conversation with Satan in the wilderness. When Satan tempted Jesus with the three most common temptations, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life as the Apostle John describes them in 1 John 2:16, Jesus rebuked Satan with Scripture. One must know Scripture to apply it. Jesus made clear the significance of reading the Scriptures and knowing them is to apply them appropriately to challenging circumstances.
Jesus modeled another crucial practice for disciples—regular prayer. While we may know the Scriptures, it’s the daily life of prayer that sets them into our hearts like a concrete form gives cement its shape. Once we know the Word, we need God to direct us about its application in our lives. As we spend regular time in prayer, God leads us in the operation of His Word and its correct practice. He also activates His Word in our lives so it is effective to accomplish His purposes. (Hebrews 4:12-13) Once the concrete is shaped and solid it’s able to fulfill the function for which it was poured. Prayer is a crucial part of forming, shaping, and setting God’s Word in our lives.
Jesus lived a life of prayer. Before and after every significant event Jesus would pray. He spent significant amounts of time in prayer intentionally engaging the Father. His practice of regular prayer made His purpose clear and effective. As a disciple of Jesus, we too must engage in regular prayer if we are to be productive in His Kingdom. Through prayer, God engages and changes us. The discipline of regular prayer isn’t easy but it is necessary to grow as a disciple of Jesus. Below is a simple model for regular prayer that may prove helpful to get us started.
The following prayer model called A.C.T.S.I. is a helpful model of prayer that’s easy to remember and effective in practice.
A — Adoration: Before we ask God for protection or provision, we must acknowledge who He is (Matthew 6:8) and what he’s done for us (Romans 6:23). Adoration is the practice of showing love and respect to the one with whom you’re engaging. When we adore God we engage our heart and mind, the intellectual and emotional, and focus them on God’s glory or greatness (intellectual) and love (emotional). We praise God simply because He’s God. We praise Jesus for His life, death, resurrection, and resulting new life in Him. We celebrate being part of God’s family both now and forever.
C — Confession: Confess your sins to God. He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse of from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) In human relationships, sin keeps us from fully engaging with one another openly and honestly. The same is true in our spiritual relationship with God. Sin always separates. In order to eliminate that separation we must confess our sins to God. Once we confess our sins, we can move into the deeper motivations of our hearts where only God can bring breakthrough and healing. Then we’re ready to move to thanksgiving.
T — Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is similar to adoration except now we focus specifically on our attitude towards God. This isn’t always easy, especially when we feel abandoned or overlooked. The key focus here is the word “feel.” As we read the Scriptures we know we are never abandoned by God. Jesus promised to be with us to the “end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) The Scriptures reaffirm God never leaves nor forsakes us. (Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:6-7) The way we overcome wrong emotions is to engage an attitude of gratitude. This practice rightly focuses our hearts on the goodness and faithfulness of God. King David once asked God to create in him a clean heart (confession) and renew a right spirit within him (Thanksgiving). (Psalm 51:10) Once we deal with these two things we can correctly petition the Lord according to His will and not ours.
S — Supplication: The prayer of supplication is the action of asking God to meet our personal needs. Whether we’re praying for patience or provision, God cares about the smallest detail. Jesus told us to ask God to provide for our daily needs. (Matthew 6:11) He also commanded us to not be anxious. (Matthew 6:25-34) Jesus expects us to trust God to meet our needs in accordance with God’s will. We can approach God with every insignificant or trivial item of our lives because he loves us and is concerned with such things. He will meet our needs and will help us at every turn, but we must trust Him and His process. (That means God’s plan may not be at all like we thought or planned.) We must also ask God to provide His direction in our lives and to live in the power of the Holy Spirit every day. We want to be sure to engage His kingdom in the fullness of His power and presence every day.
I — Intercession: The practice of interceding is praying on behalf of another. In other words, we stand in the gap asking God to provide for the needs of another person. (Ezekiel 22:30) We may ask God to meet a practical need or a spiritual need. The greatest type of intercession, though, is praying for someone’s salvation. When we pray “on mission” with Jesus we are praying for the family of God to grow. We pray for God to call people to faith in Himself. We know God cares deeply about people, so we ask Him to supply all their needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
To grow as a disciple of Jesus we need to know what He said and we need Him to form His Word in our lives through prayer. These first two practices are pivotal to our maturity.
In the next post, we’ll discuss the final practice that significantly impacts our growth as a disciple of Jesus. It may surprise you.