IS THE WAY JESUS PRAYS ACTUALLY VALUABLE FOR ME?
What can I learn from studying the prayer life of Jesus? After all, Christ being the True Son of God and part of the Tri-unity of God; why did He need to pray? He was perfect righteousness; what about the way He prays is of value to the prayer life of someone like me with all my frailties?
Jesus Christ, as Son of God has existed from eternity past as part of the God-head made up of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For anyone struggling with that concept, let me place that in its simplest of terms. Mankind was created in the image of God—body, soul and spirit. So, God is three distinct being (body, soul, and spirit) within one. That truth I will not belabor here. I did in a 2014 series titled, “The Good Pleasure of God’s Will”. Particularly, I addressed this in detail in (Part 2) of that series
WHY DID CHRIST NEED TO PRAY?
When Christ came to earth in human form, He stepped outside of His immediate presence with His Father and the Holy Spirit. Though He was eternally a part of God-the perfect echoing of God’s essence; He was in human flesh tempted as we are. (Hebrews 4:15).
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[bctt tweet=”In His human form, it was not that Christ was incapable of sin, He chose to remain sinless”]so that He would be able to redeem you and me. Had He ever chosen to disobey the Father’s commands, He could not pay the price for our sin. The burden of obedience lay very heavily upon His heart. Yet, the human body that He lived in had desires, temptations, hungers, and trials like you and I face. It was in this human state that the perfect righteous of Christ was proven. It was during Christ’s earthly journey that His obedience to the Father’s will was tested and fully manifested as perfect obedience. Because of His perfect obedience, He was able to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin. “14 For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10). If Christ, God’s only begotten son needed to pray; how much more we the adopted children?
We need to look both at the times that Christ prayed and the types of prayers so that we might gain insight into our own prayer lives.
PRAYING WHEN TEMPTATION IS LURKING
Christ always withdrew into deep earnest prayer when temptation would be at its greatest intensity. Those three times most noted in the Scripture were.
1. When in need. This is best shown when Christ went away into the desert before He began His ministry. He fasted and prayed for 40 days, then when He was hungry—Satan came. Christ knew that throughout His ministry, there would be times of hunger, fatigue, human desires, frustrations, and trials. He prepared Himself through prayer and then He faced at the onset those greatest temptations there in the desert. Satan offered Christ food when He was at His most famished, an easy way out to power (instead of the cross), and a way to quick-easy fortune and fame. Even though what Satan offered was not bad; yet, it was crucial because it was not the Father’s plan. Therefore, to accept any one of Satan’s offers would have been sin. We sometimes look for the quick and easy way out. Prayer allows us in the time of need to seek God’s plan and God’s will for our life. (Matthew 4, Luke 4)
2. Immediately following a victory. After feeding the five thousand, Jesus “departed (alone) into the mountain to pray” (Mark 6: 46). Why after a miracle? Ah, because when we are on the highest peaks of success and victory; it is too easy to stray. We need to pray so that our own pride or gloating doesn’t get in the way of our praying. We tend to get too busy to pray when everything is going well—so we must pray ever more earnestly that we remain focused on God.
3. When following God’s will involves enduring pain. This is shown in the agonizing prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane as shown in (Mark 14, Luke 22). There are times during our journey that we may wish that God’s plan was different; yet, through prayer we are reminded of His Sovereignty. He has the best plan for our ultimate joy; even, if it is a cross that carries us there. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12).
PRAYING JUST TO BE IN HIS PRESENCE AND FEEL GOD’S LOVE
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35). Christ regularly would arise early just to be in the presence of His Father. He loved to just talk with His Father, feel His presence and be wrapped in His Love. The more we are in the presence, alone with God: the more we see the magnificent beauty of His love, joy, and Glory. Just to sit with Him a little while. Also, we see in Luke 9 when Christ took Peter, James and John up with Him on the mountain into the presence of Glory.
PRAYING WHEN BIG DECISIONS ARE BEFORE US
Right before choosing the 12 apostles, Christ spent the night in prayer. “he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (Luke 6). If it was important for Christ to spend the night in prayer before choosing the apostles; how much more important we dedicate time to pray before making any choices in life.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER
Christ prayed for others over and over in His ministry. He came to seek and to save those who were lost. Perhaps the greatest intercessory prayer was that recorded in John 17. He prayed for all who would ever believe in Him to have a hedge of protection while on this earth. He prayed for our joy to be fulfilled in Him and for us to be filled with the knowledge of His love for us. Finally He prayed that we would be covered with His Glory.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
[bctt tweet=”Christ was both instant in prayer and persistent in prayer. Oh that I might learn from His example”]
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The artist that drew the picture “A Broken and Contrite Heart” featured on my header is Ronald Barba. Please go to his website ( http://www.barba-art.com) for information regarding obtaining copies or to commission him to create a masterpiece for you. Feel free to email him at Ron@Barba-Art.com to discuss any art projects.
©2015 Effie Darlene Barba
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.