Good morning! Repeatedly, Jesus is shown as solid rock.  During Jesus’ ministry, he prayed that the will of the Father precede the will of the flesh.  Jesus did not immediately become like this–He started out praying like this.  Remember when Jesus and his parents went to the Temple when he was 12 and they left but he stayed in the Temple.  When they asked Him the reason, He said, “Did you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  He said, “I’m here to do the business and the will of my Father.  It was prayed at the beginning of His ministry, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

Thomas Watson, the great Puritan preacher, noted, “Christ went more readily ad crucem (to the cross), than we do to the throne of grace.”  Why is it for us that prayer is the last resort?  Frankly, I believe it is because we want to feel like we are doing something.  We’re Americans who have that pioneer, do-it-yourself, pull-yourself-up- by-your-bootstraps mentality that does not naturally lend itself to prayer.  John Bunyan (1628-1688) noted, “You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”

Trust is shown in prayer and prayer is shown in our Christ-like walk. In the previous verse (Isaiah 26:3), we see: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Christ, our rock, is also Christ our peace. Treasure Him in all you do!

Matthew R. Perry, Ph.D., is the Lead Pastor of Arapahoe Road Baptist Church, Centennial, CO.