Jesus was and is a man of prayer. When He was on earth, He devoted His nights to prayer, Hebrews 7:25 also says He ever lives to make intercessions for us. Meaning Jesus is still praying in heaven. Oh what joy to know He is ever mindful of us.
Luke 22:39 (ISV): And coming out, He went to the mount of Olives, AS USUAL. The disciples went with him.
When studying the bible, take note of everything, the tenses, punctuation, every word matters. Never be in a hurry when studying. The phrase that got my attention in the above scripture was ‘as usual’. Meaning mount olive was a place Christ visited often, it was His prayer altar and He was consistent in His devotion. Mount Olive was His favourite prayer spot.
We all desire to do greater works than Jesus, we are supposed to but are we ready to imbibe the great lifestyle He had while on earth? One of it was a CONSISTENT PRAYER LIFE.
Prayer, for Him was not once in a while, it was ‘as usual’. Do not forget that He lived as a mortal man, He was 100% human on earth, so don’t think He was a super-man that had an extra-ordinary energy to have been able to do that. He had the Spirit upon Him, which you also have (If you have experienced the baptism of the Spirit).
Luke 21:37: And in the DAY TIME, He was teaching in the temple and AT NIGHT, He went out and abode in the mount that is called Mount of Olives.
Your daily activity is not an excuse for spiritual laziness. Jesus had activities he was engaged in during the day but he devoted the night to pray. He had the same 24hours. Most times, we are never busy, we just fail to plan our day and set our priorities right. Your time spent with God daily should be treasured than time spent in doing other things.
Mighty demonstration of God’s power is always wrought by people devoted to the ministry of prayer. It is good to be able to pray 4hours, 5 or 10 hours at once, but the power in it cannot be sustained if there is no consistency. Consistency has more power and gets more results than short- term extreme effort. I’d rather have you pray 1 hour everyday than 5hours done at a stretch, just once in a month and every other day passes without you praying. In consistency lies the power.
Luke 22:44: IN HIS ANGUISH, HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY and his sweat became like large drops of blood falling on the ground.
When the death and sufferings of Jesus drew near, He knew where to go, it was mount olive, His prayer altar. When he was in anguish, mental agony, rather than give up, He prayed more. He took His disciples to the same spot, as an example unto them. Jesus didn’t just teach them to pray, He showed them a consistent pattern of a praying lifestyle.
It was also recorded that Jesus ascended from mount olive, what better place to spend your last moment than your prayer closet. (Acts 1:11-12).
Prayer gives you altitude in the realm of the Spirit. Mount Olive in this dispensation does not mean ‘ori-oke tayemise’ or ‘ori-oke gbogun mi’. It is wherever you raise your voice to God. Your prayer altar could be your bed side, your living room or your closet. (Some even prefer to have their devotion in the toilet, because that’s the only place they are not distracted). It is your moment alone with the father. Mount Olive is not location- based but fellowship- based. Don’t do it religiously or to palliate your conscience. Do it for fellowship. Stay there and let it be AS USUAL (Be consistent).
