The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

I have been reading through the Book of Galatians in my quiet time in the morning. A strange occurrence, not unfamiliar, except in its intensity happened, having portion of scripture “jump out” at you from the page. The last part of the 6th verse of Galatians 5:6 did this morning. And I applied it to myself with great relief. I can do that, express faith through love although in incomplete and imperfect measure. I can wrap my mind around it. I understand it. To say, God willing and in His strength I will express faith through love. It fills me with peace.

What I cannot do is what the Galatians had started to do and that is to be justified by the law, or better yet by works or any other human standard whether it is mine or another. You have no idea how freeing that as for me. It lifted a burden of trying to be right in other people’s eyes. I am beginning to see myself as God sees me, through Jesus Christ.

My God has forgiven me even of anything that might have caused Him shame. He is capable of forgiving me and desires for me to walk in that forgiveness.

How about you? Are you free from trying to live by a standard instead of grace? Do you judge yourself and others by a standard that you have measured in your own mind? A friend recently told me to stop trying to figure God out, walk in faith. I think that applies here. Another friend often says to judge nothing before its time, really judge nothing because God is not finished with us and He is the judge. I think my friend is referring to Paul. He does not even judge himself.

The application here for me to begin to seek God’s will in my life, now. I think I have waited a season or two. I have begun, but not begun in earnest. Maybe because to seek God’s will for my life will encourage dealing with difficult situations, relationships and the mess of accumulated judgment I have stored inside of me that really, really, really is not of God.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Apostles of Christ So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Opps! Did I Say That!!???

People come into the print shop and with an expectation that has been cultivated by a long history with my boss Terry. Terry is a copier genius. I mean that. If it can be done on a copier, she knows how, there is a real art here. And I am not Terry.

Too often that makes people angry like a lady today who wanted hand written notes copied onto stationary. I can do it, but I have to take my time and it makes me nervous. If I mess up I have ruined expensive paper that the customer bought elsewhere. Terry can run it in her sleep with one hand tied behind her back while she talks to a customer on the phone about the price of two colors on linen. OK.

So I tell the lady, "it will take 20 minutes. Are you going to come back?" [insert adult temper tantrum].

Now I want to say, "I am the graphic designer, I can find a font and make a pdf print BLACK. OK. But this will take me 20 minutes." I am glad I can do it with a little trial run on copied stationary cut to fit and lots of trial and error.

I tell her I am not Terry… during the adult temper tantrum. This makes me nervous. I may ruin your paper.

She leaves in a fit. Tom tell my other boss tells me, I don’t have to run it.
But I decide to. I also decide to be nice when the adult temper tantrum returns although I think she is REDICULOUS.

I am sweet. It works. The stationery gets copied and she is happy. She runs into Terry and her mom as they return from lunch. Terry’s mom, former owner of the shop says to me, “Do you want an aspirin?” and smiles.

I just want to get back to the Menu I am updating in my office.

I ask myself and Jesus, “Do I ever act that way?” You would have thought she was our most profitable customer. I think her bill was under $10.00.

I get impatient with fast food people. No adult temper tantrums, but I am think ugly things. To make it worse, I hate fountain sodas. I often I just get a sandwich so I am this under $ 3.00. Big spender and I want million dollar treatment. Reality check here. Why do we do that?

I know I am not the only one. It is Wendy’s not Turtle Creek.
I joined a site on Facebook this week a kindness awareness type thing particularly for women. YEAH!

Let’s be kind to each other. Most of us aren’t the Bank president, but a mom, an administrative assistant, a Customer Service Person, hair stylist, teacher. I am not saying if we were a bank president we would get a pass, but I can see we might think we were above it all.

What does the Bible say? I will make this very, very simple.

Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Convince Me

Early in March when Sarah was in third grade, Mrs. Lorenz her teacher read a chapter a day from the book A Secret Garden. It was on one of those days while the air was still crisp and the sky gray that Sarah slipped out of her house and walked in the snow covered backyard to see if she could see any signs of spring. There in the snow she found the tips of the crocuses that were fooled into believing that spring was near, just a few days before while the sun had shown and promised better days.

Seeing the first sign of spring that day was the first indication to Sarah that she was a watcher of the seasons. That spring she taught herself to be carefully observant as she went out to the garden to look for the subtle changes that took place over night. She was pleasantly surprised as new flowers in her mother’s garden came to life and brought their own color to the garden each in their turn; Crocus, Daffodil, Tulip, Lilac and the Iris. On the side of the house were the Lily of the Valley and the Violet, wildflower her mother had taken from the wooded land by her grandmother’s house.

Sarah’s neighbor Mrs. Myers was an artist and a gardener. She won awards for her landscape and beds of all sorts of plants and flowers. Sarah found the gardens around her house enchanting. There were rock gardens and stone pathways with bird baths that Mrs. Myers labored over. Mrs. Myers was very proud of her yard and welcomed neighbors to view her lovely work. She told Sarah she could visit anytime. There was only one rule, “please don’t walk in the flower beds,” Mrs. Myers would say.

In the summer while the sky was blue and the days grew longer Mrs. Myers hung Japanese lanterns on her patio lattice. Lights illumined the garden pathways and neighbors often strolled through her gardens as the sun set. Sarah would go there too just before the street lights came on, then she would run home. The most wonderful thing about the garden at Mrs. Myers house was the goldfish pond in the front yard by the garden entry way.

Sarah as by nature a shy child, but she liked Mrs. Myers. When Mrs. Myers discovered Sarah was an artist too she invited her to work in her garage on the potter’s wheel. Sarah learned to cut the clay and kneed it, cut the clay and kneed it until the air bubbles were removed and the clay was safe in the kiln. “Air bubbles will cause your pot to explode in the kiln.” Mrs. Meyers warned. Sarah spent many hours that summer in the garage with mounds of wobbly clay she carefully pulled into a pot or a bowl or maybe a cup.

Sarah took to sitting by the goldfish pond watching the goldfish waltz in the water. She studied the rocks and the plants and the garden around the pond. It seemed to transport her into another world. One day she was lying on her stomach in the grass looking at the goldfish when she caught her first glimpse of the fairy. Frozen with awe Sarah lay there for a long time barely breathing. She hoped if she lay still enough she could see the fairy again.

Sarah returned to the goldfish pond faithfully every night just before the sunset and the street light came on, the exact time she had first seen the fairy. She would wait as the fireflies flitted about for the fairy to return.

Sarah saw the fairy several times before the days changed and autumn came and she returned to school as a fourth grader. Every day as she walked home she passed the goldfish pond she thought of the fairy and wanted to speak to her if only once. If she spoke to the fairy would she answer? Sarah often wondered. It became a question that would not leave Sarah’s mind as she passed the pond day after day.

The first night that the wind blew in the cold and the world outside Sarah’s window was transformed by the frost she asked that question again, this time out loud as she fell asleep. “If I could speak to the fairy would she talk?”

In the morning when she woke up Sarah went to the window in her room to look out on the world through the frost covered window panes, she saw it. Scratched into the ice that covered her window in delicate and beautiful script were these words, Yes, if you talk to me I will answer, Flores.

The Bible Does Allow Divorce in Domestic Abuse Cases

He Promises to Dwell With Us and to Forgive

David was not the one to build the Temple, even though it was the desire of his heart. The Lord spoke to David through the prophet Nathan. He heard David’s request and it pleased Him, but it was Solomon who God chose to build the Temple. David set Solomon up for success by gather materials for the construction.

As amazing as the finished Temple was the events of the dedication of the Temple are even more amazing. In the midst of the celebration and fanfare when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Temple the glory of the Lord filled the Temple and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud.

Solomon prayed the most amazing prayer.

2 Chronicles 6:18-21
"But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.”
What kind of faith, what kind of courage did it take to pray that prayer?

Big faith, complete trust that God would do as He said He would do.

When Jesus came into the world an even more miraculous event took place, the God who cannot be contained whose glory filled the Temple walked this earth. God became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus was fully God and fully man. This is miraculous beyond words, who can explain it?

When we invite this same God into our lives, when we agree with Him and say that Jesus’ sacrificial death is enough, that Jesus died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins, that the same God who cannot be contained, who filled the Temple with His glory, who walked the earth fully God and fully man comes to live inside us, illuminating us, transforming us, strengthening our inner man, conforming us to His image, how much faith does that take to believe it is true of us, to live this truth out in our daily lives?

Big faith, complete trust that God would do as He said He would do.

Read the account of the dedication of the Temple in 2 Chronicles 5-7, note Solomon’s request and God’s response and be amazed. Think about the truth that we are the temple of the Living God, really think about it. In light of this truth ask the Lord what you need to change in your life to make your life line up with this? If you are like me, you have underestimated God and what He wants and can do through you.

2 Chronicles 7:1-3
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."

The Beach

My niece is studying to be a nurse and is working in a hospital. One afternoon she posts on one of her social network sites that she "is hoping when she gets older and delirious that her hallucinations are happy. "

I commented on her post and she explains further; "No I'm at work... The floor I work on is a mix between neurology and urology and I’m psy sitting two patients for my last eight hour of this shift... One thinks he's on the beach in Martha’s Vineyard and the other just moans and screams... I want to be the one who thinks he's on the beach."

So how do you view life? We live in a world full of insecurities and situations less than ideal. How we think about our situation matters. Who we trust within our situations matters more. I understand my niece’s observation when life reduces us to deliriums and hallucinations; she wants them to be good. Those of us who have the foundation of a solid faith in an unchanging God can count on more than a pleasant disposition. We can count on an unseen reality that is more real than what we now think is real. It all comes down to what do we trust in, or more important who do we trust.

In Isaiah this question was serious business. Isaiah 57 compares not trusting in God with idolatry that included orgies and child sacrifice, pretty sobering when you think about it. I think it illustrates the extremes people go to in order to trust in themselves or in anything other than God.

Isaiah 57:5
You burn with lust among the oaks
and under every spreading tree;
you sacrifice your children in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.

And
Isaiah 57:10
You were wearied by all your ways,
but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.'
You found renewal of your strength,
and so you did not faint.

What are some practical applications I can make in my life when I find myself moaning and groaning?, when anxiety fills my life?

Examine yourself and ask? Am I following my own agenda or asking for God’s agenda for my life?

Am I following through on what I know I need to do? Am I reading God’s Word, seeking answers through prayer and godly counsel? Am I following through on that guidance?

Most of the time trusting God is a process, we do well, and we struggle. Keep on because He is faithful. Life may not be a beach, but the heart of God towards you is love mightier than the deepest ocean. Think on the bigness of our God and trust.

Snow and Ice

We woke up this morning to more than a dusting of snow. Earlier last night it rained, so underneath there existed patches of ice. This is the worst condition, because the snow is navigable, but the ice patches are dangerous. It is hard to tell. We decided to not venture out on the 45 minute drive to my parent's church.

I slept in and am lazily packing. Once the temperatures rose near noon I decided to go out with Scott's camera taking a prayer walk around the pond, stopping to take pictures. Maybe the best example of prayer walking in the scriptures is from the Psalms, the Psalm of Ascent, Psalms 120 to Psalm 134. They were sung by the Israelites as the made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for feast days. They were sung in preparation for worship. 

I don't sing while I prayer walk, but I think that would be awesome. My prayers are more private. Today I prayed for my parents and I thanked God for who He is. Sometimes it is hard for me to remember He spoke the world into existence. Today as I took photos I marveled at the details of His creation, the ice on the shrub trees full of berries, the ducks on the pond and the way the pond looks frozen with ice and snow. I observed the shape of the snow on the brick path and the patterns it made as the wind blows it across the path. I watched the sun peek through the clouds heavy with more snow. I am glad our God is a God of color and sound, a God of music and speech, texture and wind. 

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

 1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, 

       we were like men who dreamed.

 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, 
       our tongues with songs of joy. 
       Then it was said among the nations, 
       "The LORD has done great things for them."

 3 The LORD has done great things for us, 
       and we are filled with joy.

 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, 
       like streams in the Negev.

 5 Those who sow in tears 
       will reap with songs of joy.

 6 He who goes out weeping, 
       carrying seed to sow, 
       will return with songs of joy, 
       carrying sheaves with him

Not Afraid of the Winter.

The temperature was hovering just above freezing when our plane landed. Snow was gently falling. As Thursday ends I think the whole time we have been here in Ohio the snow has been falling. There is just a little more than a dusting of snow on the ground now. It sticks to the trees and covers the fields. I study the details like I would study a Currier and Ive's. There are tall brown thistle; dried and bent in the wind sticking up in the fields making the scene all the more interesting to me. My parents live in a very nice retirement community in Bellbrook Ohio, a small farming community. As we travel the roads farm houses dot the landscape, some dating back to the 1800's. 

At dinner Wednesday night Sean asked for red pepper for his vegetable soup. My mom laughed, "This is Pennsylvania Dutch cooking your eating." 

I chimed in, "Sorry no red pepper you're not in Texas anymore." 

I have placed that comment in the back of my mind as I spend my time here. Seeing things differently through a filter. I was Sean's age when I left home. It is almost like observing another subculture.

It was 18 degrees out at 2 p.m. on Thursday when we left for our trip around Dayton, bitter cold when the wind blows. I got out of the car a couple of times to take photos, but didn't want to stop and think too much about the process or take my gloves off to adjust the camera. I only wanted to be out about ten minutes. The results were less than satisfactory.

I didn't want to come to Ohio in the winter, but my father's most recent heart incident made it an imperative. I booked flight for right before I resume classes and hoped for the best weather wise. I dreaded coming to Ohio in the winter. I dreaded the inevitable questions. Here I am in 18 degree weather and more questions than I care to answer but I am OK. I guess it is best to face your fears. 

My father thinks I should remarry. Definitely a topic of discussion I want to avoid. I can't imagine it, I can't imagine dating, I can't imagine really talking to a man I was interested in or he in me. I categorize it somewhere near the fear of winter, knowing there will be winter, but it will wane, like love both waxes and wanes. I think of the Proverbs 31 woman who is not afraid of the winter. I want to be like her... not afraid of the future. I want to respect my husband, I want to contribute to my household. 

I told my dad I was beginning to open to the possibility, but I am working on healing. 

Since my call to ministry stretched my marriage to the breaking point, the only thing I know for sure, that is non-negotiable, anyone I marry must be called to ministry too. God's hand is on me. I want to serve God as I walk a long side my husband, otherwise I will remain single. I pray I will be content.

Learning to Trust

I spoke in church a few weeks back. I gave a three minute testimony about God’s work in my life. It was about a coming to the end of myself and finding God faithful. It centered on the act of forgiveness. It was an expression of forgiveness still in progress. In the midst of an intense struggle to forgive I made a public statement. I think maybe the fact I made a public statement helped trigger the struggle.

I am thankful for my church family for allowing me to speak. Since I was publically grieved, I have publically forgiven. My church family is my witness.

In my desire to live transparently I faltered, but in the end decided the Lord really did just want me to tell it like it is. I did with hopes that someone needed to hear the message. Or maybe that someone could relate.

Sure enough since the talk I have discussed my testimony with a woman who told me she was deeply move by what I said. She said she was “touched on a deep level.”

I am not sure what that does except expose a burden she has for a family member who is in need of deliverance from the bondage of bitterness. Or perhaps it gave my new friend the chance to express gratitude that she herself has been set free from the tyranny of verbal abuse.

For me as I was able to process the conversation I realized without fear I took a step of trusting another human being with the hopes of a deeper relationship. I have not shared on this level with with anyone other than my close family, my counselor and a few carefully chosen friends. I have hunkered down emotionally for the last fews years without the desire or emotional strength to let anyone new in.

I did not know when I trusted my church family with my testimony, my hurt, God’s love and my healing that it would open my heart to trust again. It was an unexpected and new dimension of grace. I could not have done this or willed it. It seems like almost all of the sudden it happened, but I know it has been a long time coming.

All this must be placed in context of service. The conversation with my new friend would not have taken place without an open door of service. I would still be frozen in the pew, agonizing and defeated had I not stepped up to serve after being encouraged to serve.

See God had another plan. He wants me to step out in faith, speak, trusting His guidance and allowing Him to work. So I trusted Him and He enabled me to trust others again.
Only God.

The Remembrance Phenomenon

Sometimes I write when I am not at my laptop. Writing happens as I do life. I write even as I take down the decorations that make Christmas connect one year to the next. We have moved house to house many times. I have lived in twelve different dwelling places in my lifetime. Maybe that isn’t much these days. Long gone is the time of staying put in one’s home town. Yesterday as I removed my amazing collection of ornaments from my tree each one evoked a memory of a time and place or the person who gave them to me. The best ones are the ornaments made for me, little bit of love that hangs on my tree from year to year. Nothing I have is valuable in monetary terms. But many were created with hours and hours of work in them along with talent and skill. When I take into account the desire and thought behind these treasures and I am full of gratitude for my family and friends.

There is a quilt ornament my older sister Nancy cross stitched. She sent it with the video How to Make an American Quilt one year. It is a work of art in itself. I found an old paper ornament I made when I shared an apartment with long time friend Judi. Friends since first grade, I will see her next week when I travel to Ohio. There are ornaments Judi crocheted from white thread, ones she crossed stitched. I have cross stitch ornaments from my mother whose needlework encouraged me to try to stitch. I find the two ornaments I taught myself the needle art with. There is more. My sister Margaret rules in her ability to take felt and sequins and make them into my favorite remembrances. There is more but I am a little off topic… except I meant to say bits and pieces of my life hang each year from my tree stirring memories. Each ornament has a story.

As I continue the task of healing which hangs on my ability to forgive those who have hurt me as they sinned have against me I encounter the remembrance phenomenon. When it is triggered by Christmas trees and ornaments it is a pleasant gift. Too often the trigger is linked to an event or person when remembered causes me to once again feel intense pain and if I am not diligent, bitterness. I have learned that remembering a traumatic event is almost like reliving it emotionally. Time and grace help. But I think sometimes these relivings will never end. I must learn to live with the reliving. I need to make peace with my past.

First off I have learned that the remembrance phenomenon is something in the way we are wired, so no guilt trip is needed. I have learned sometimes I just need to let it out. That may mean crying all over again as I release the emotion. I may mean being angry again. Perhaps in the past I did not let myself feel the anger. This is the messy part of the remembrance phenomenon. What I am learning is to trust God in the mess, to trust God with the struggle.
Yesterday was a very rough day for me. I spent a good hour as I painted crying and crying out to the Lord. It was painful, it was messy, but it was definitely a time of surrender to His will. Often the Psalmist poured out his heart before the Lord. I understand this.

As the morning begins and I read in my devotional time from Isaiah 50 I sense there is more. There is more work. I began to see the answers in the text. As I trust God in the messiness of life, as I fight the negative side of the remembrance phenomenon what can Isaiah teach me that will help me live life?

In Isaiah 50 we have instruction from the servant who is Jesus Christ. Since this is prophecy the events described had not taken place when Isaiah wrote them, but the truths given here are eternal. A problem is defined, a solution is given and the consequence for not following the solution is elaborated on.

The problem is idolatry. If you think in terms of bronze and wood you will miss the point. Anything we do in place of trusting God is off track and idolatry. We tend to downplay our modern more acceptable forms of it. It isn’t that the people were just idolatrous; it was that they were unrepentant. Isaiah prophesied that the people would be taken into captivity because of their sin. Instead of repenting they would complain and blame God. The first four verses are God’s response to them and to us when we are like minded. God is perfectly capable of rescuing us, He is mighty. There is no deliverance because we would rather blame that look to the Lord for help.

The solution starts in verse four. Jesus is the solution. What we learn about Him is this: He is well instructed in wisdom. He knows how to instruct a weary people. He gets His instruction each morning from the Father, we need to be like Him, obedient to what we hear. Even when Jesus was persecuted and suffered He listened and obeyed God. He did not hide from the messiness. He was glad He obeyed God in the midst of it. Because of that Jesus Christ did not suffer shame or disgrace. He tells us if we trust in God and not our own strength, then no one can accuse us either. Those who do will answer to the Lord.

This is radical trust. Even when we seem to walk in the dark, if we trust God we are much better off than those whose light is their selves and their reliance on themselves.

When I am faced with the remembrance phenomenon I need to listen to the one who knows how to instruct the weary, who understand being sinned against, and who instead trusts in God without regret.

That means for me in a practical way I need to remember alongside my pain, that God is mighty and able to rescue me. Do I trust Him in the pain and hurt? If I can say yes than I walk in the light of His deliverance. I need to remember God.

Isaiah 50:1 -11 The Message
GOD says: "Can you produce your mother's divorce papers proving I got rid of her? Can you produce a receipt proving I sold you? Of course you can't. It's your sins that put you here, your wrongs that got you shipped out.

So why didn't anyone come when I knocked? Why didn't anyone answer when I called? Do you think I've forgotten how to help? Am I so decrepit that I can't deliver? I'm as powerful as ever, and can reverse what I once did: I can dry up the sea with a word, turn river water into desert sand, And leave the fish stinking in the sun, stranded on dry land

Turn all the lights out in the sky and pull down the curtain."

The Master, GOD, has given me a well-taught tongue, So I know how to encourage tired people. He wakes me up in the morning, Wakes me up, opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders.

The Master, GOD, opened my ears, and I didn't go back to sleep, didn't pull the covers back over my head.

I followed orders, stood there and took it while they beat me, held steady while they pulled out my beard, Didn't dodge their insults, faced them as they spit in my face.
And the Master, GOD, stays right there and helps me, so I'm not disgraced. Therefore I set my face like flint, confident that I'll never regret this.

My champion is right here. Let's take our stand together! Who dares bring suit against me? Let him try!

Look! the Master, GOD, is right here. Who would dare call me guilty? Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare socks and shirts, fodder for moths!

But if all you're after is making trouble, playing with fire, Go ahead and see where it gets you. Set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames, But don't expect me to just stand there and watch. I'll hold your feet to those flames.

Prayer and the New Year

As I look back on the year and forward to the next, I have a legacy of prayer. I am assured of that because I have a prayer journals full of my prayer. They stretch back 10 year since I spent the summer of 1999 studying Beth Moore’s book on prayer, New Every Morning. It was a copy my sister in law bought for me after sitting in her class in Houston. It was the proto type for a later edition that was to be published as Whispers of Hope. The premise of the study was if we would pray and journal for 10 weeks or 70 days prayer would become a habit. If you are serious about a persistent and faithful prayer life I recommend her book.

I did this exercise with the hope of a fresh word; new breathe of life to be breathed into my prayer life. It has become a time of comfort and strength, not bad things but today I sense He wants to do a new work within the context of my prayer life so I am meditating on Jesus Christ and how he prayed.

From the Gospels I learned…
Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies.
Jesus taught that if we make a show of prayer, but do not live a life of love we will receive no reward or worse punishment.
Jesus taught us to pray in solitude, it was something he modeled.
Jesus taught us to pray in simple conversational language.
Jesus gave us a model for prayer.
Jesus prayed for others, he made it a point to pray for the children. So should we; our children, grandchildren and others. He prayed for his disciples present and future. We need to pray for the next generation.
Jesus prayed passionately for the church to be a place of worship.
Jesus taught us to pray with faith.
Jesus invited others to pray with him.
Jesus prayed with persistence. We should too.
Jesus taught us to watch and pray, to keep us from temptation and to strengthen the spirit in times of trial.
Jesus prayed to remove evil spirits.
Jesus taught if we want to be forgiven we must forgive. We should do this before we stand to pray (in front of other.)
Jesus taught about fasting and prayer.
Jesus prayed and revealed himself.
Jesus taught us to pray with humility.
Jesus prayed for Himself so should we.

The references:

Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies.
Matthew 5:44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Luke 6:28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus taught that if we make a show of prayer, but do not live a life of love we will receive no reward or worse punishment.
Matthew 6:5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Mark 12:40They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
Luke 20:47They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

Jesus taught us to pray in solitude. He modeled that.
Matthew 6:6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 14:23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
Mark 1:35[ Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place ] Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Mark 6:46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Luke 5:16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 6:12[ The Twelve Apostles ] One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 22:41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,

Jesus taught us to pray in simple conversational language.
Matthew 6:7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Jesus gave us a model for prayer.
Matthew 6:9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Luke 11:1[ Jesus' Teaching on Prayer ] One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
Luke 11:2He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

Jesus prayed for others, he made it a point to pray for the children. So should we; our children, grandchildren and others. He prayed for his disciples present and future. We need to pray for the next generation.
Matthew 19:13[ The Little Children and Jesus ] Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Luke 22:32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
John 17:6[ Jesus Prays for His Disciples ] "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
John 17:9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
John 17:15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
John 17:20[ Jesus Prays for All Believers ] "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

Jesus prayed passionately for the church to be a place of worship.
Matthew 21:13"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.' "
Mark 11:17And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: " 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations' ? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.' "
Luke 19:46"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be a house of prayer' ; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.' "

Jesus taught us to pray with faith
Matthew 21:22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Mark 11:24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours

Jesus invited others to pray with him.
Matthew 26:36[ Gethsemane ] Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
Mark 14:32[ Gethsemane ] They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
Luke 9:28[ The Transfiguration ] About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
Luke 22:39[ Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives ] Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.

Jesus prayed not for his will to be done but the will of the Father.
Matthew 26:39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Mark 14:35Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.

Jesus prayed with persistence. We should too.
Matthew 26:42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
Matthew 26:44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Mark 14:39Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.
Luke 18:1[ The Parable of the Persistent Widow ] Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Luke 22:44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Jesus taught us to watch and pray, to keep us from temptation and to strengthen the spirit in times of trial.
Matthew 26:41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Mark 14:38Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Luke 21:36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 22:40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
Luke 22:46"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Jesus prayed to remove evil spirits
Mark 9:29He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer. "
Jesus taught if we want to be forgiven we must forgive. We should do this before we stand to pray (in front of other.)
Mark 11:25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Jesus taught about fasting and prayer
Luke 5:33[ Jesus Questioned About Fasting ] They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking."

Jesus prayed and revealed himself
Luke 9:18[ Peter's Confession of Christ ] Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"
Luke 9:29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

Jesus taught us to pray with humility.
Luke 18:10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

Jesus prayed for Himself so should we.
John 17:1[ Jesus Prays for Himself ] After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: