Prayer Paves the Way for Seeing

It bears repeating that we aren't going to see Jesus if God does not open our eyes. I am so quick to rely on my own strength and so slow to learn that I must humbly ask for help. So today I'm reminding myself how critical prayer is by reflecting on this analysis of the gospel of Luke, from David Helm's excellent book One to One Bible Reading: A Simple Guide for Every Christian:

"Luke doesn't want us to miss the fact that prayer is the instrument God uses to ready us for His revelation. ...as a consequence of prayer, people will come to recognize Jesus for who He is, they will learn what it is to be his disciple, and they will be equipped to serve him well."

Luke 3:21-22 - "The curious but not-yet-believing crowds were first told that Jesus was God's 'beloved Son' at a time when Jesus 'was praying'."

Luke 6:12-16 - "His new followers were called to him the morning after he 'went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God'."

Luke 9:28-36 - "...those whom Jesus was training for expanded roles of gospel service--Peter, James and John--caught a glimpse of his full glory at a time when Jesus had pulled them aside 'to pray'."

Luke 9:18-20 - "...when it began to fully dawn on Peter that Jesus was the Christ...that famous encounter began with these often-forgotten words: 'Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them...'"

"One could almost argue that in Luke's Gospel, whenever the gospel is seen to be taking root and growing, it does so in the soil of previous prayer."

--David Helm, One to One Bible Reading, p. 21-23

Let's keep asking, friends! Keep seeking and knocking, believing that God delights to open blind eyes and display the beauty of His beloved Son. 


[This post is part of the series "31 Days of Seeing Jesus"--click here for a list of all posts.]