Jesus Shows
Jesus replenished His soul through prayer before setting out to minister.--To the believing Jews in Jerusalem in the time of Christ, Olivet was a frequent resort for devotion. The hills and valleys about Jerusalem, now so bleak and bare, were then studded with olive-groves and orchards, and here the faithful in Israel would often go to search the Scriptures and to pray. The Garden of Gethsemane was among the places thus frequented. It was to this place, when the city of Jerusalem was hushed in the silence of midnight, that Jesus often repaired for communion with His Father. When those to whom He had ministered all the day went every man to his house, Jesus, we read, "went unto the Mount of Olives." He would sometimes take His disciples with Him to this place of retirement, that they might join their prayers with His. In prayer Christ had power with God, and prevailed. Morning by morning, and evening by evening, He received grace that He might impart to others. Then, His soul replenished with grace and fervor, He would set forth to minister to the souls of men.
Jesus prayed principally for others.--Christ was continually receiving from the Father, that He might communicate to us. "The word which ye hear," He said, "is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me." "The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." Not for Himself, but for others, He lived and thought and prayed. From hours spent with God He came forth morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to men. Daily He received a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the early hours of the new day the Lord awakened Him from His slumbers, and His soul and His lips were anointed with grace, that He might impart to others. 1910.
Christ's example shows ministers how to handle buffeting.--Are the ministers of Christ tempted and fiercely buffeted by Satan? so also was He who knew no sin. Christ, our example, turned to His Father in these hours of distress. He came to earth that He might provide a way whereby we could find grace and strength to help in every time of need, by following His example in frequent, earnest prayer. If the ministers of Christ will imitate this pattern, they will be imbued with His spirit, and angels will minister unto them.
RH May 19, 1885.
PaM 282, 283