His Prayers, Parables, and Miracles
The Prayers of Jesus
Truly, Jesus modeled for us how to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He was praying all the time in His Spirit, so it was very natural and easy for Him to transition to spoken prayer when He felt it was needed — not for Himself or even the person for whom He was praying, but usually for the crowds who gathered wherever He went.
The Parables of Jesus
The word "parable" comes from the Greek parabol
meaning "comparison", "illustration", or "analogy". A parable is a story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Jesus was an expert at using parables to pierce people's lives and hearts with the truth of God's abounding love and about their own lostness and need for a Savior.
The Miracles of Jesus
Unlike many of the religious celebrities today who draw thousands to watch and participate in their miracle services, Jesus chose not to perform for the crowds. Several times He even told those whom He'd healed to not tell anyone. That might seem odd to most of us until we stop and think about His real purpose in coming.
He did not come here as a miracle worker. His mission wasn't to heal diseases, or raise the dead, or demonstrate His power over nature, or deliver demoniacs, or miraculously feed thousands of people. No. Jesus left His throne in glory in order that He might heal the most serious disease of all, the disease called "sin".
He didn't seek fame or the crowd's idolization; He sought only to rescue us from death! The miracles Jesus performed served to support His claim of being Israel's promised Messiah. As you review the following chart of His recorded miracles, remember that the Gospels don't record all the healings or other miracles. As the Apostle John wrote in his Gospel account: "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25)
