The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-12-06

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sWMN teacher in prayer,
to their petition, Lord, teach us to
pray"
He prayed as he was being baptized.
And it came to pass that Jesus, also
being baptized and praying, the heaven
was opened and the Holy Spirit de-
scended upon him." Baptism Is a
sacred sacrament, but it was not so
much the water that John admins
tered as the prayer that Jesus uttered
that opened the heavens and brought
down the gift of the Holy Spirit.
He prayed as He chose His disci-
pies. HE went up into a mountain to
pray and continued all night, and
when 1t was day He called unto Him
His disciples and of them He o
twelve" Whom shall He honor?
Shall He choose Matthew, the unpopu-
lar publican? Shall He choose Thomas?
Thomas will doubt Him. Shall He
choose Peter, that ignorant, swearing
fisherman who will deny Him? Oh,
what agony of heart He must have
suffered as He prayed over Judas,
whom He knew must betray Him!
He prayed at the hour of His great
est popularity. He had gained great
prestige when He fed the five thou
sand. But "when Jesus perceived that
they would come and take Him by
force and make Him king, He departed
again into a mountain himself alone"
Alone on His knees he struggled to es-
cape the f1attering temptation of the
multitude.
He prayed at the time of His great
est unpopularity. He had an unpleas-
ant announcement to make to His dis
ciples. They had left all to follow
Him, with the hopes that eventually
He would proclaim himself as King
and sit on His throne in Jerusalem.
But the time had come for Him to pre-
dict that sthe Son of Man must suffer
many things and be rejected and
slain" How would the disciples ac-
cept such an announcement? Would
they then and there forsake Him? And
so, when that fatal day arrived, we
read that "as He was praying His dis
ciples were with Him." They must
have witnessed the struggle going on
within His breast. Prayer was to pre-
pare them for that most undesired an
nouncement.
He prayed at the hour of His great
est glory. "As He prayed the fashion
of His countenance was changed and
His raiment was white and glistening."
He prayed himself into His transfig-
uration. 1t was prayer that revealed
to the discouraged disciples the trans
figured Lord as prophet, priest and
king.
He prayed at the time of His great
est agony. 1t was the night before the
great tragedy. Alone He must face it.
Men would forsake Him. Angels would
desert Him. God would hide His face.
But He went through this hour of
agony upon His knees and by prayer
He was strengthened for the trying
ordeal.
He prayed in the hour of greatest
pain. 1t was when they were mailing
His hands and feet to the cross and
putting it in place with a jolt that or
dinarily made the victim scream with
pain. But, to the establishment of all,
the suffering Saviour prays! Was 1t
for himself? No. He. prayed for His
murderers! "Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do" No
wonder the unbiased Roman centurion
is moved to comment, "Truly this was
a righteous man."
He prayed at the time of His death.
His last words were "Father, into my
hands l commit my spirit" A thou
sand years before, the inspired psalm
list had prophesied hat these words
would be on the dying Savior's lips
A few years later they were to consti-
tute the last prayer of the martyred
Stephen.
He prayed at the time. of His ascen'
sion. "He led them out as far as
Bethany and He lifted up His hands
and blessed them" No longer need he
pray for himself. His mission was ac'
complished. Glory and honor awaited
Him. But, praying to the last, he
spreads out His hands in loving bene'
diction upon His disciples as He is
parted from them.
Do you think those disciples who
had seen their Lord so much in prayer
and even thus engaged at their parting
glimpse could ever forget the impor
lance of prayer? No wonder they
prayed. And what they did we can do
we must do, If we follow the praying
Christ.