Bible Nuggets

How and When did Jesus Pray?

In studying any aspect of the Christian life, it is necessary to try to gain understanding of how Jesus Himself applied such a truth in His own life.  Let's take a look at just how and when Jesus prayed.

Matt 11:25-27
At that time, Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

In this passage, Jesus has just finished His "woes" on the towns in which He did great miracles.  He then turns immediately in prayer to God the Father and He starts with Thanksgiving.  Several things I notice from this passage:

1. Jesus knows that God is ever-present with Him.  He turns to God as if to someone standing next to Him. Do I have that kind of assurance that God is right there with me?  I should.

2. He starts His prayer with a thankful heart.  How much more should I, who have been pardoned of my sins, do the same?

3. This "prayer" by Jesus is not a request. So often we equate prayer with asking God for something.  But Jesus, in this passage, was simply expressing what was in His heart to the God of the universe.  I need to be able to pray these kinds of prayers as well as those in which I am seeking God for something.  God desires a relationship with me - that is, a close friendship, and in order to have that, the 2 parties must simply share their hearts and lives.
   

John 11:41-42
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

In this passage, Jesus prays that the Lord God will raise Lazarus from the dead - well, sort-of.  Jesus never actually "prays" specifically for Lazarus.  He prays a prayer of absolute confidence & faith that God hears Him when He prays.  After that, having His faith bolstered and on display, He speaks to the dead Lazarus and calls him back to life.

I see another interesting thing here.  When Jesus prayed, His first words were "I thank you that you HEARD me."  This is in the past tense.  I take that to mean that Jesus had been in front of the Lord prior to that, praying about Lazarus.  He had presented a request that God would restore life to Lazarus and He had received a YES answer from His Father.  Jesus knew, without a doubt, that God had already granted His request, so when He called Lazarus to come forth, He just knew what the outcome would be.  Do I wait in prayer to receive an answer from God, or do I present my requests and force God to use my circumstances to "answer" my prayers?

Luke 6:12-13
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated apostles. 

Jesus makes His selection of the 12 apostles.  But before He does this, we see that He spent an entire night in prayer.  He did not take lightly these decisions.  He made sure that He knew the will of God for this before moving out.  In this, He was acknowledging His complete dependence on God, and not leaning on His own understanding.

Matt 26:36-42
Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping.  "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" He asked Peter.  "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."  He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

Here we have what is most likely Jesus' most famous prayer of all.  It is His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before His betrayal and crucifixion.  We see His honesty in prayer.  He is pouring out His heart to God.  He is tormented and frightened by what lies before Him and He is letting the Father know about it.  God will never reject an honest prayer.  He will never turn a deaf ear on someone pouring their heart out to Him.

When all was said and done, however, Jesus lays down His will and takes up the Father's will in its place.  In verse 39, we see Jesus' request for the Father to remove this task from His life, if it is at all possible.  In verse 42, we see that Jesus has gotten God's answer of "No" and His response is, "Your will be done."

Conclusions

Jesus had such a sweet relationship with His Father and used all types of prayers (thanksgiving, petitions, etc) to nurture the communion that He had with the Father.  He obviously didn't take this relationship for granted.  Should not we do this, and even more?

When faced with decisions in His life, Jesus left nothing to chance and circumstance.  He took them to the Father in prayer, and would wait until He got God's answer.

Having made prayer a lifestyle, Jesus knew His authority came from the Father, and knew the will of the Father.  Because of this, He could speak with authority, knowing He spoke in the name of God and that His words were life.  Do I take the time, not only to pray, but to wait for the answers?

Jesus did make prayers that God answered with a "no."  This did not shake His faith.  What is my response when God answers my prayers with "No" ?

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