PRAYING LIKE JESUS DAY 10
You Will Be Changed -Part 2
“We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
1 John 3:2
Prayer is more powerful than simple conversation. Prayer doesn’t just change circumstances; it changes us. Luke wrote about a transformational experience that Jesus had when he prayed.
“Jesus…took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:28-29, NIV).
Matthew gave us a few more details. “His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light” (Matthew 17:2).
This moment on the mountain became known as The Transfiguration. The word transfiguration isn’t often used today. The New Testament was written in ancient Greek, and the original Greek word translated as transfiguration is metemorphothe. The more familiar English word metamorphosis is from the same Greek root word. It means to remodel, or to change into another form.
As he prayed, Jesus changed fundamentally, and his friends saw it and knew it. It was not just an inner change, but a change that affected his relationships, his body, his facial expression, even his clothing. He was transformed, his divinity overtaking his humanity.
A larva transforms into a butterfly, the same creature remade into something far more elevated and beautiful. Jesus transformed from humble carpenter into a light-filled, gloriously divine Savior, so attractive that the ancient heroes Moses and Elijah came back from the dead to pay homage.
We experience the same fundamental transformation when we pray. When we encounter a Living God, his divine power transforms us from the inside out. As our heart changes, our outward person begins to reveal that change. Just like Jesus’ disciples could see this visible manifestation of an inward change, the people in our world will begin to see who God is reshaping us to become.
As we reach for Jesus in prayer, we become like him.
QUESTIONS FOR CONTEMPLATION:
Do you see the change in you from who you used to be?
Is there anything that you sense God changing in you as you pray today?
PRAYER POINTS
Pray that as we seek God in prayer, that we would also seek for Him to change our hearts and minds and draw us closer to Him. That God would change us from the inside out.
Pray from the scripture in 1 John, that He would appear you in your time with Him. And as He reveals Himself to you that Jesus would change you to be like Him.
Additional resources:
Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard