The first public preaching
tour in Galilee lasted for almost two months. One of the remarkable
events of this tour took place at Jotapata, where Jesus spoke to the
apostles about prayer and worship. Jesus taught that:
Prayer doesn't change God's attitude
toward man, but changes man's attitude toward God.
Praying for people cannot replace
ministering to their needs.
Prayers of thanksgiving are appropriate
for groups, but personal prayers should be made privately.
Believers should pray for the
extension of the kingdom and the spiritual progress of others, but should
avoid materialistic prayers.
Prayer helps increase the capacity
for the presence of divine spirit.
One day in the city of Iron,
a man approached Jesus and asked to be healed of his leprosy. Since
lepers were forbidden to engage in public worship, this man believed
he could not be close to God unless he was cured. Jesus cured him. He
asked that the man tell no one, but the man immediately spread the word
of his cure. Such a crowd of sick people gathered that Jesus was forced
to leave the city.
In Cana a man named Titus came
to Jesus and asked him to cure his son. Jesus said, "The power of God
is in your midst, but except you see signs and behold wonder, you refuse
to believe." But Titus pleaded until Jesus assured him that his son
would live. The man returned home to find his son recovering. Titus
and his family believed incorrectly that they had witnessed one of the
Master's miracles.
Jesus left Cana to travel to
Nain. On the way he met a funeral procession bearing the son of a widow.
Jesus examined the boy and said, "Your son is not dead; he sleeps."
When the boy sat up and began to talk, the villagers thought another
miracle had taken place. No matter how Jesus tried to explain to them
that the boy had never been dead, they would not listen. Word traveled
through Galilee and Judea that Jesus had raised this boy from the dead.