Prayer is Preparation by PastorJeff Steele

Power from Prayer

After Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John, He came upon a scene where his disciples we’re trying to cast a demon out of a man’s son, and were unable to do it. When Jesus saw what was happening, He called for the boy to brought to Him and promptly cast out the demon. Later, when Jesus was inside a house alone with the disciples, they wanted to know why He could cast out the demon and they couldn’t. So Jesus gave the answer that this kind only can be driven out with prayer.

“When He came into the house, His disciples began to question Him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ And He said to them, ‘This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.’” Mark 9:28-29

Prepare For Each Day with Prayer

What struck me as I read this is that Jesus didn’t know what He would encounter when He came down the mountain. He expected to meet the rest of His disciples and continue his itinerant ministry. Instead, He encountered the helpless disciples. This story tells me is that Jesus made it a point everyday to pray, to spend time with His father to make sure He was prepared for whatever He might encounter. He didn’t wait until He confronted a problem, but instead knew He would need His Father’s strength for any problems He encountered. So when He met the young man with the demon, He was ready and drove it out.

We need to pray every day, recognizing that prayer is preparation. Don’t wait to hit a problem before you pray. Pray daily, asking God to give you grace for the challenges you will face. Prayer is preparation, so make it a first priority, not a last resort.

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