140223 Jesus and Prayer

Luke 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke, the beloved physician, tells us that when Jesus was baptized he was praying. None of the other Gospels add this. Luke writes more about Jesus' prayer life than the other three Gospels. Today, we're going to look at how Jesus prayed, when Jesus prayed and what he taught his disciples about prayer. There is much more to prayer thsn we will learn today. But, that will have to wait for a later message. It is interesting to note that Luke connects the fact that Jesus was praying to the heavens opening, the Holy Spirit descending on him and a voice speaking from heaven.

Simply put, prayer is a conversation with God. Prayer should never be just a wish list repeated over and over again. Prayer should not be our last resort in time of trouble. Prayer should be getting to know a loving father. A good way to pray is to use the word ACTS as an acrostic. A — adoration; C — confession; T — thanksgiving and S — supplication. Jesus modeled all these aspects of prayer in his prayer life. Let's look at…

How Jesus prayed. Realize, of course, we are not covering everything related to how Jesus prayed but this is a good beginning.

Jesus often prayed alone. One example is found in Luke 5:16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Another example is found in Luke 9:18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” At this time Jesus was praying alone but he was in the presence of his disciples. I'm not aware of any place in the Gospels that speaks of Jesus praying "with" his disciples. I can’t imagine Jesus asking his disciples to lead in prayer. Jesus always prayed alone even when he was surrounded by people. Not only did he pray alone but…

Jesus prayed before making decisions. In this example we find Jesus making perhaps the most important decision of his life on earth apart from the decision to accept the Father's will to go to the cross! Luke 6:12-13 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: I remember once when a preacher said, "Jesus prayed all night and spent a few minutes choosing. We pray a few minutes and choose all night." I think it is remarkable that Jesus spent the night in prayer. We have no record of what he said in these lonely times of prayer. And though I often do, it's a waste of time to guess. In a few instances we have some idea as to what he prayed about. In this case, he probably was praying for clear direction as to who the twelve apostles should be. He knew that one of them, Judas Iscariot, would betray him. We have no indication that Jesus had any struggle with that idea.

Jesus prayed alone and he prayed before making decisions. We also know that…

Jesus prayed passionately. When he was in the garden of Gethsemane we are told about the extreme passion in his prayer time. Let's look at Luke 22:39-44 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Please take note that Jesus was first concerned for his disciples. He encouraged them to pray that they might not enter into temptation. He knew what they were about to confront. He had warned them at least three times that he would be taken, tried and crucified. Though they heard those words they never truly understood until it happened. So, before he went aside to pray for himself, he asked his disciples to pray for themselves. Then, Jesus offered up a passionate prayer. First, he prayed that "this cup" be removed from him. Second, he prayed that the Father's will be done. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling on the ground. He was in so much agony that the Father sent an angel to minister to him. So we see something of how Jesus prayed now we need to think about…

When Jesus prayed. The gospel writers all believed it was important that we know something about the time Jesus prayed. First of all, Jesus prayed…
Very early in the morning. We find this clearly pointed out in Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. I know that for some of us "very early in the morning" is somewhere around 8 o'clock. So lest we jump to that conclusion Mark clearly states that Jesus went out, "while it was still dark". There are people who intellectually know that there is a time in the morning when it is still dark but they have seldom experienced morning in that manner. I believe we can suppose that Jesus went out very early in order to be alone. A few times in my life I have used the same strategy. On mission trips to Peru, as well as at summer camp, I found that I could be alone to pray just at the break of day. No one else was out at that time.

Jesus retreated from the crowds so that he could have alone time with the Father. Not only did he pray very early in the morning but also at least once…

He prayed all night. Let's look at Luke 6:12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Remember this was in important decision that he had to make. However, I doubt that he was debating with the Father about who to choose out on that mountain. I believe instead that he was fellowshipping with the Father. Honestly, I don't experience anything like that level of closeness that Jesus had with his Father. I am ashamed to say that but it’s true. I pray that I will continue to grow in grace and fellowship with the Father.

Jesus prayed early in the morning and sometimes he prayed all night and...

He prayed when he was troubled. Let’s look at what Matthew said about the time they were in the garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:37-39 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew remembered that time in the garden of Gethsemane because he was there. So he remembered how sorrowful and troubled Jesus was. Matthew and the others stood aside as Peter, James and John went a little further with Jesus. He heard Jesus say how sorrowful he was and asked these three disciples to watch with him while he prayed. We know that he repeated this three times as though to emphasize how important it was to him. Never did Jesus hesitate at the prospect of being taken, beaten and crucified. John tells us that Jesus said this was the very reason he came into the world. Looking back on it Paul told the Corinthians that Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in him. Yet, Jesus was troubled and he prayed! This wasn’t an all-night prayer it was a one sentence prayer. We need to remember that God is not impressed with our many words. I once heard someone say, and I truly believe it, that the prayer God always answers for a Christian is “HELP”. I know that I say that prayer many times each week. Sometimes I add, “Where did I put it?”

Jesus prayed very early in the morning. He prayed all night, at least once, and he prayed when he was troubled. There are many more examples that can be added to this list but I think this is enough to help us as we consider…

What he taught his disciples about prayer. Remember, we who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ today are also his disciples. And we need to learn about prayer from the master himself. Jesus told his disciples that…

They should pray for their enemies. Again we go to the gospel of Luke to see that instruction. Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. …”

If you think of someone as your enemy you should pray for them. Not the kind of prayer we often are tempted to pray, “Lord, get them back for me!” No, we should pray that they be blessed. We should love them! Let me remind you love is not a feeling it’s an act of your will. C.S. Lewis said, “Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” A steady wish for their ultimate good is what love is really all about. And in loving our enemies we are to do good to those who hate us. Hate is a very strong word but it certainly applies in many cases. If you are aware that someone hates you then you should do something good for them. Send them a card wishing them well or bake a cake or pie and take it to them. When people speak evil of us we should bless them with our words. And when someone abuses us we should pray for them.

Paul adds to this in Chapter 12 of the book of Romans, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” There, that should help with your motives. Nothing confuses an enemy more than refusing to act like they do. We should pray for our enemies and we should do as Jesus instructed his disciples that…

They should pray continuously. Listen while I read Luke 18:1-7 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? …”

If the unjust judge responds to repeated requests for justice will not our God also give us justice if we cry to him day and night? Luke also recorded these words of Jesus: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) and the words “ask”, “seek” and “knock” could be translated, “keep on asking”; “keep on seeking”; “keep on knocking” reminding us that we should be persistent in prayer. No matter how long it takes we should pray until we have an answer. The answer may be “no”, “not yet” or “yes” but there is an answer for every prayer. Jesus taught his disciples that they should pray for their enemies, they should pray persistently, and…

They should pray for laborers. Listen while I read. Luke 10:2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.…”

This is a prayer that we should continually pray. “Lord, raise up laborers from within the church or bring them in from the outside. However you do it, please Lord, DO IT!”

Jesus believed that prayer worked and he proved that by having an exemplary prayer life. We have no record of the disciples asking Jesus, “Lord teach us to heal.” Or, “Lord teach us to preach”. The request we do have a record of is, “Lord teach us to pray”! Jesus’ prayer life was so public and transparent that his disciples wanted to know how to do that too. Jesus responded to the request with a prayer that is often used as a part of worship services. Matthew recorded it for us in Chapter 6 verses nine through thirteen. Jesus said, “Pray then like this”: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.…”

This is an example of how we should pray. A pattern to be used not a magic formula. We should honor and adore our heavenly father in prayer. We should pray for the kingdom to expand. This means that people will come to faith in Christ — churches will grow in size and in spirit. This is a morning prayer because we ask for our daily bread and we don’t want it to be stale! Then make our request known to God that our debts be forgiven. This is not a conversation about money it’s about sin and selfishness. The wages of sin is death and we need that debt to be paid. In the process of asking for our sins to be forgiven we need to also forgive those who sin against us. Another evidence that it is a morning prayer is the request that we not be led into temptation. That’s hardly a prayer you would pray when you lie down at night! It’s a prayer you would pray when you start out in the morning. We need to be daily delivered from evil. And we should be specific in our prayers as he taught his disciples to be specific.

There's much more to Jesus' prayer life than we can begin to share in one message. We need to remember that Jesus prayed for us. In John 17:20-21 Jesus said, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me." It is a wonderful thing to know that our Lord Jesus, with all that he had to deal with, had us on his mind and prayed for us just as he did for his disciples. He remains forever our Mediator in heaven who intercedes for us. Have you put your faith in him? He will not turn you away if you feel called to him. Remember, today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time!

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.