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Mentor Like Jesus: Exploring How He Made DisciplesSample

Mentor Like Jesus: Exploring How He Made Disciples

DAY 9 OF 13

Prayer as a Practice

Mentoring involves modeling . . . doing what you do so others can see you do it and learn. When you look at Jesus as a mentor, nothing is more visible or well documented than His commitment to prayer. Jesus modeled a prayerful life for His disciples. He taught them how to pray and prayed with them and for them.

On one notable instance, documented in Luke 11:1, it seems Jesus had been praying with the disciples nearby because “when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’” (Luke 11:1).

Maybe this disciple heard something . . . maybe he saw something he wanted in on. Hearing Jesus pray . . . talking with His Father . . . something incredibly compelling was happening.

Jesus responded by praying what we call the Lord’s Prayer, giving us a model for how to approach the Father . . . with gratitude and humility.

If we’re trying to model our mentoring after Jesus, we can’t mentor without prayer. Here’s a short list of the things that praying does for you as a mentor:

  • Praying for your mentees keeps you focused on them and their needs, not just your own.
  • Praying for their needs gives you insight into their hearts . . . what they care about and focus on.
  • Praying for them is a way of actively loving them.

And there’s one more big one. You need to pray for yourself. So, as you jump into mentoring like Jesus, pray. Then pray again.

Challenge: Prayer is easier when there’s a crisis. We know what to ask for, and there’s a sense of urgency. When the crisis passes, we slack off. Intentionally walking with others to “train them this way of life” (Matthew 28:19, The Message) creates a constant focus for our prayers and a felt need requiring prayer.

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Mentor Like Jesus: Exploring How He Made Disciples

The church needs sold-out, all-in Jesus-followers. Disciples and disciple-makers. But where do you find them? How do you develop them? Look no further than how Jesus did it. The greatest leader and mentor of all time poured into 12 guys for a season. Those lives multiplied to build the church to over two billion people who declare their belief in Christ today.

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