I am thoroughly convinced that the single greatest blessing we have in this life that we ignore the most is prayer. I mean, think about it. As Christians we have the opportunity to openly communicate with the God of universe, the one who created the heavens and the earth and all things contained therein with nothing more than the spoken word. Typically the opportunity to converse with a dignitary is met with thrill, but the opportunity to converse with Divinity is met with apathy. However, when we look to the example of men and women in the New Testament we can learn incredible lessons about what prayer is, how it should be approached, and what to expect in its outcome. But the foremost character to whom we should obviously look is Jesus. Jesus was committed to prayer and when Jesus went forth to pray we learn valuable lessons from His prayer life:
Title: Jesus Went Forth to Pray – Lessons from the Prayer Life of Jesus
Main Point: A man once said – “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.” The point being made is that the less we turn to Him in prayer the less we can expect to find Him in any other area of our lives. Can any of us afford to try to handle the struggles of a day without the presence of God in our lives? Then we do not need to abandon the power of prayer in our lives. In my mind one of the most common phrases the apostles might have heard from the mouth of the Lord would have been the one uttered just before He entered Gethsemane the evening of His betrayal – “Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder” (Matthew 26:36). While Jesus’ prayer life was far more active than His prayers that are recorded the scriptures give an immense amount of information about Jesus’ approach to prayer. Seeing that Jesus is our primary example in all areas of life how could we not be spurred to examine the what, where, and when of Jesus’ prayer life?
§ What Jesus Did When He Prayed – In 1 Timothy 2:1 Paul encouraged Timothy to commit his life to prayer according to this pattern – “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men…” Notice that four words are used successively and interchangeably to demonstrate the purpose of prayer. (1) “Supplications – refers to prayer as a petition, (2) “Prayers” – refers to prayer as an act of reverence, (3) “Intercessions” – refers to prayer as a conversation, (4) “Giving of thanks” – refers to prayer as an act of gratitude. The word “pray” literally means “to wish toward.” In examining any of the recorded prayers of Jesus each of these key aspects would be obvious, a prime example being in John 17. In that extended prayer Jesus (1) petitioned the Father on behalf of His apostles and all future disciples, (2) reverence the Father, (3) conversed with the Father after the manner of an intimate relationship, and (4) gave thanks to the Father. Every key aspect of prayer was present in Jesus’ prayer life. As children of God do we not have responsibilities (and opportunities) in each of these four areas as well? We are told to petition the Father (James 4:2-3). We are told to reverence the Father (Psalm 111:9). We are told to converse with the Father through our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). We are told to give thanks to the Father (Colossians 3:17). Yes, we refer to these as responsibilities or commands, but the benefits derived are fully ours’. By seeing what Jesus did when He prayed we get a glimpse into what we should do as well.
§ Where Jesus Prayed – While it is beneficial to see what Jesus did when He prayed we also get some insight into seeing where He did it. One way to answer this question is by observing that He prayed in all sorts of locations – garden settings, mountain areas, upper rooms, etc. However, more so than that we see Jesus praying in two primary locations – in public and in private. Really the only public prayer we see recorded in scripture was in John 17 but He no doubt prayed publicly other times as well. It’s important, though, to know how He addressed public prayer. He did not use public prayer to promote Himself or to make a point to those present during the prayer. Prayer whether public or private demands humility. In Matthew 6:5-7 Jesus had seen the misuse of public prayer to be extremely distasteful, disrespectful, and disobedient to God’s expectations and out rightly condemned it. Public prayer is a time when we focus our thoughts as one on common hopes, needs, desires, and gratitude to God. However, Jesus really emphasized the importance of private prayer as indicated by the passage above. But much more is seen by His story of the prayers of the Pharisee and publican (Luke 18:9-14). Jesus put a premium on the proper attitude in prayer publicly but especially privately. We see Jesus praying alone a lot. If our prayer lives are limited to the seven or eight public prayers of which we are a part each week in the worship services of the church then we are severely lacking.
§ When Jesus Prayed – The short answer is Jesus prayed all the time! Jesus prayed early in the morning (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2) and late at night (Matthew 26:36). Jesus prayed when He was baptized (Luke 3:21). Jesus prayed when He was busy (Luke 5:15-16). Jesus prayed when He was disrespected (Luke 6:11-12). Jesus prayed when He was burdened (Luke 9:28-29). Jesus prayed when He was dealing with the trials of life (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus prayed when His spirit was broken (Luke 22:41). Jesus prayed at the end of His life (Luke 23:46). We too often view prayer as a crutch when life is barely limping along – prayer is actually a lifeline needed at all times. It is a source of strength and an avenue of thanks. Prayer is not just for when life gets to be too much to bear. It is to help ensure life doesn’t get to be too much to bear. Prayer is intended to be proactive. It can be used to overcome trials but when used properly it can help us to avoid them altogether.
Prayer is one of the most important blessings that we have, access to the God of heaven and earth! How can we not do all we can to improve our access to God?