DATE: February 8, 2026
KEY SCRIPTURES: Mark 1:35, Matthew 6:9-13
MAIN IDEA: In reality, prayer is a learned, practiced rhythm that forms our relationship with the Father before it addresses our needs.
- Jesus prays early, in solitude, and intentionally (Mark 1:35)
- This reveals that prayer is a priority, not a reaction
- Prayer precedes (and succeeds) ministry fruitfulness (Mark 1:29-39).
- Prayer is a bookend to daily ministry
- Prayer (re)directs ministry focus
- Jesus teaches his disciples to pray (Matthew 6:9-13)
- Jesus begins prayer with God’s holiness and kingdom before personal requests
- “Our Father” establishes intimacy and community, this kind of praying agrees with the new nature of our “sonship” (Romans 8:14-17).
- Daily dependence or “daily bread” counters self-sufficiency, this kind of praying teaches us contentment (Proverbs 30:8).
- Jesus saw prayer as formation not formula. Posture matters to Jesus. There is a way to pray that never reaches heaven, so we must learn to truly pray (Matthew 6:5-8).
- Jesus knows that prayer aligns us with God’s will, and if we ask according to His will, then it will be done (John 15:7).
