But the angel told him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.

He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord."

The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

He displayed his mighty power with his arm. He scattered people who were proud in mind and heart.

They also offered a sacrifice according to what is specified in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Then Jesus returned to Galilee by the power of the Spirit. Meanwhile, the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free,

Overwhelmed with amazement, they all kept saying to one another, "What kind of statement is this? because with authority and power he gives orders to unclean spirits, and they come out!"

One day, as Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law happened to be sitting nearby. The people had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Then they told him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do those of the Pharisees. But your disciples keep right on eating and drinking."

Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

The entire crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing all of them.

Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who insult you.

Still Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, because I know that power has gone out of me."

Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

Now about eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray.

Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy all the enemy's power, and nothing will ever hurt you.

Once Jesus was praying in a certain place. After he had finished, one of his disciples told him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

So he told them, "Whenever you pray you are to say, "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come.

Then he told them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread.

But if I drive out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

So give what is inside to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you.

"Sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves wallets that don't wear out a dependable treasure in heaven, where no thief can get close and no moth can destroy anything.

Maybe next year it will bear fruit. If not, then cut it down.'"

Instead, when you give a banquet, make it your habit to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

"So the servant went back and reported all this to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and told his servant, "Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'

Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray all the time and never give up.

"Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.

Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.

Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and began to pray,

because the time is surely coming when people will say, "How blessed are the women who couldn't bear children and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'

I am sending to you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."