Becoming Like Jesus: PrayerSample

The Spirit that Empowers

Pray…

God, thank you for giving us your Spirit. Thank you for giving us the power to know how much you love us and share that love with others. I am who I am because of what you’ve done. Everyday, you’re making me more like Jesus. For this reason and so many more, I worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. Acts of the Apostles 4:8-13 NLT

Consider…

In this passage, Peter boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus to the very people who had him killed. This takes ridiculous courage! Because if these people were able to get Jesus killed, it probably wouldn’t be an issue to get Peter killed too! This was a very different Peter than the one we read about denying Jesus to a servant girl earlier (Luke 22:56). What happened? He had been with Jesus. He had been filled by the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit that transforms us to become more like Jesus and empowers us to live more like Jesus.

How has the Holy Spirit changed your life? What parts of you are more like Jesus and less like who you used to be? Are there places where you still want the Holy Spirit to transform you? How has your own transformation increased your adoration for God?

Practice…

Pray to God with adoration. Start with the words that Jesus taught us to pray. As you do, focus on the ways God has transformed you. Think about how you are a more loving, joyful, patient, gentle, kind, and self-controlled person. Thank God for those things.

As you do, imagine you are talking to God face-to-face. Because, at its most basic level, that’s really what prayer is: talking to God.

When you’re ready, pray to your Father using Jesus’ words, “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9 NLT

Listen…

Create space to experience God’s presence by getting quiet, getting alone, and asking Him to speak. Start by setting a timer for five minutes.

Next, ask God to speak to you.

When you get distracted, because you will get distracted, bring your focus back to God by repeating the first words of this prayer: “Our Father…”

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you got to spend with Him, then head into your day looking for opportunities to better serve Him and serve others.