April 1

Mark 14

Jesus spends His last two days in intimate communion with His closest friends.

INSIGHT

Prayer is one of the true mysteries in the Bible. It is inevitable that, as we grow in our prayer life, we will struggle with an inadequate understanding of how to pray. The example of Jesus praying in Gethsemane helps us with what we can know and understand about prayer. First, we can know that prayer does not eliminate emotional struggling. A second thing we can learn is that prayer can make us stronger spiritually and keep us from temptation. In each account of His prayer, Jesus says to His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Mark 14:38). If we watch and pray, we will be strengthened against temptation.

PRAYER

As you continue your time with the Lord, offer to Him this praise:
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all (1 Chronicles 29:11).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7).

As you confess your sins, pray this affirmation of God’s Word:
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength…
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:29, 31).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

• Greater insight into the Scriptures
• The hungry around the world
• Your activities for the day.

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).