Jesus Prays, Part 1

Prayer is our communication with God and a fundamental element of our faith. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs: "Pray without ceasing". Philippians 4:6 instructs: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God...". Prayer is simple and it is personal therefore it does not need design. But there is wisdom in the way that Jesus prayed. In our emulation of Him, we can enhance the way that we pray to our Father.

Let's look at Jesus' prayers in scripture. The first one we will look at is from Matthew 6:5-14. In these verses, Jesus taught us how to pray. Just before, Jesus explained that prayer should not be full of empty praises. So pure memorization and recitation of this prayer would not quite be enough. Let's see how Jesus modeled this prayer to extract the full meaning of what He meant with this example.

Acknowledgement of God's Presence & Holiness 

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

A reverent and effective prayer begins with acknowledgement of God. Prayer, the line of open communication connects to our Holy Father. We can think, think, think an abundance of thoughts and worries towards Him but He deserves to be acknowledged first. His presence and His holiness. Having the faith to put God first gives our prayer direction and our soul remembrance of reception. 

Psalm 56:8 and Revelation 5:8 tell us that God collects our prayers and tears. He keeps a record of the things that happen to us, the things that we talk to Him about. Opening prayer with acknowledgement of God on the receiving end converts our thoughts to prayers. It also soothes our soul. It is a reminder of His presence. It is a reminder that our God is hallowed, holy. There is no safer place for the words and feelings we are about to express. By God they are compassionately collected, comprehensively understood, and objectively analyzed. 

When God is specifically designated as the receiving end of our thoughts, we are on the receiving end of God's grace and mercy. His love. His guidance and instruction. His peace. Mere thoughts and internal worries are converted to prayers to our caring Father who will actually do something about them. For without Him, we know from experience and Matthew 5:25-27, nothing changes.

 

Faith in God's Sovereignty + Plan

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

It benefits every prayer to be full of faith in God's plan and obedience to His will. Trusting God's will and plan to supercede our own helps us to reconcile the differences between what we want and what we have. It helps us to accept that our current situation may not look the way we wanted it to but is looked on by God nevertheless. 

After all, it is His will and plan that we do want. Romans 8:26 explains that God intercedes in our prayers because we do not even know what to pray for. It benefits us to acknowledge this within our prayer. Whether we open a prayer to tell God something joyful or sorrowful, we want to put it in His hands to manage. If it is something good, we pray for it to be fostered by His will and plan. If it is something bad, we pray for it to be managed by His will and plan. We do not need to tell God how to fix something. He knows better than we do.

By this portion of Jesus' prayer, we are also reminded that there is an overarching plan. God is attuned to the minor details of each of His children's life but also He has a plan for the whole of heaven and humanity. The universe. All of it is under His subjection, has been planned for and is headed in the direction He chose. Sometimes it helps to feel small. Very important to God but also small. He has so much planned. He can handle our big things because they are simple for Him who has designs for all of creation.

 

 Reliance on God as Steadfast Provider

Give us this day our daily bread,

We require many provisions but we can rely on God for them all. In John 6:35 Jesus states: "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall not thirst." And Matthew 4:4 explains: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." So in prayer, when we ask for our daily bread, we are asking also for spiritual provision. The bread that truly sustains us in whatever the situation.

It is that that our soul cannot lack. Blessedly, it does not need to. In our prayers, we can steadfastly request and receive it from God. He is quite aware of our weak frame. Our need to be continuously sustained. Psalm 103:14, God remembers that we are "dust" and compensates for it with His abundant compassion and provision.

Adding this request for spiritual sustenance (and general provision) truly combats our lack right out of the gate. John 4:14, God provides a spring that wells up to eternal life. God will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessing to those who fully produce for His kingdom (Malachi 3:10).

Know that God has the resources and the willingness to bless, ask for those blessings in prayer. Let this knowledge remind us of our participating in the kingdom. Our tithes to the Lord. What resources or gifts we received from God, pour back into His eternal purpose. He has enough to continue pouring it back into us and our lives.

 

Accountability and Repentance

and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Asking for forgiveness is imperative. The gift of forgiveness from God should not be overlooked or underused. We don't dredge up our mistakes to be shamed for them, we bring them to God to have a conversation that will heal and grow and instruct us through them.

Matthew 6:14-15 reminds us to forgive others so that we will be forgiven. The measure you use will be measured to you, Matthew 7. If God can forgive your repentant heart, endeavor to forgive the repentant hearts that come to you. Reconcile differences with your brothers before approaching the altar of God, Matthew 5:23-24. If possible, live peaceably with all, Romans 12:18.

God does not want us to open prayer as a hypocrite, Matthew 5:6. Lack self awareness, accountability, and self discipline, by nature blocks any instruction or guidance we could receive from God. We will not always open prayer as innocents but we can close it as innocents. And that is a gift and an opportunity no prayer should neglect.

 

Plea for Protection and Leadership

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

We come to God with thoughts and feelings and ideas and so much more. As we journey through life, as our souls sojourn here, we need God to lead us through it all. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, Psalm 37:23. There is truly no need to take a single step that has not been directed by God. And why would we want to? Our prayer should include a request for His leadership.

By nature, we bumble around. Without God, we are like a bull in a china shop. Even when we make a point to act or speak with good intentions, we sometimes make a mess of things. We endeavor to be like Jesus, to be mature and excel in emulation of Him but we make mistakes. He is omniscient, He will always see and catch things that will miss. Therefore we need to walk by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7. To do that, we need to pray to God to indeed order our steps. We need to steadfastly endeavor to be the good man whose steps are ordered by the Lord. We pray for God to lead us away from our own internal weaknesses that lead to evil. We pray for God to lead us away from others' actions that could land us in evil.

If, in prayer, we can remember to tack these main principles to the corkboard of everything else we have to say to God, we will see how powerful prayer truly is. Prayer at work within us, the Lord a surgeon complete will all necessary tools and dexterity to fulfill the John 10:10 promise of Jesus: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Prayer Posture

Our relationship with God is built on faith; faith is kept healthy by the quality and consistency of our communication with God. We communicate with Him through prayer. It's straightforward. And yet, different seasons in life change our prayer posture. From examples in scripture, we see the reality of what raw, natural prayer looks like in different stages of life and faith. Let it help us to grow in our own prayer life and to feel absolutely comfortable pouring it all out to God.

Hannah's Prayer to the Lord, 1 Samuel 2

[9] After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. [10] She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. [11] And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

[12] As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. [13] Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. [14] And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” [15] But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. [16] Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”

Sometimes prayer is ugly, messy, unrefined. Imagine Hannah's distress that even as she prayed in her innermost closet (Matthew 6:6), it was apparent to an onlooker that she was wild with emotion. From Hannah we learn that God does not expect us to be beautiful, organized and polished in prayer. Our internal conflict, emotional condition and life situations are complicated. We are not making a presentation to God to inform Him of our life. He knows what is happening around us... prayer is our ever-present opportunity to express our reaction to it in the most honest way. With our Father we are safe lose our composure.

But from Hannah we learn something even more beneficial to our prayer posture: pre-dedication of the thing prayed for. Hannah wanted to be a mother more than she wanted anything else in the world. And yet, she promised that if she became a mother, she would dedicate her child to the Lord. She became a mother and nursed her baby and then she indeed dedicated Samuel to the Lord (he became one of the greatest prophets in the Bible).

The healthiest relationship we can have with God is one that is two-sided in love. When God fulfills a promise or a prayer, plan to dedicate that blessing back to His purposes. If we ever want something that is not mutually beneficial, it is not something we need. It is probably not even good for us. Before you ask, or even while you ask, consider how the request advances God's plans, not just your own. No matter how good of a case you are able to make, God will do what is best for you. But your appreciation for each other will grow so deep; your prayer posture, this position, will open wide the channel for blessing in your life. Because the harvest is plenty and the laborers are few. There are many positions open for those willing to labor for God's harvest with their blessings. 

The Widow's Prayer, Luke 18

In Luke 18, Jesus told a parable about a persistent woman and an apathetic judge. Not only was the judge an unbeliever (which meant that he felt no responsibility to be just) but also he had no respect for humanity (thus he felt no motivation to be just). Yet this widow kept coming to him, asking for justice. He refused her several times but finally, in frustration and just to make her go away, he gave her case justice. Jesus then explained that if even a man such as that is convinced to act justly... how much more our righteous Father, the ultimate judge!

We learn persistent prayer posture from the widow. Faith is exercised by consistency. Jesus revealed to us that persistent prayers are swiftly answered by God. God answers the prayers of His chosen; He has heard them crying, praying, pleading out to Him day and night. In the process of persistent prayer, with God and within ourselves, we grow in character. We grow in preparedness for the journey and result of the answered prayer. Persistent prayer communicates to God that we are dedicated to this request and willing to endure until His arrangement of it.

Moreover, our commitment to a prayer for a just thing communicates to God that we know He is a just king. When our heart holds that amount of knowledge and trust in who He is, God can see that we have read verses such as (Matthew 7:10) where Jesus taught us to believe that we will never receive from God a serpent when we have prayed for a fish. Then not only is it apparent that we have been consistent in prayer but also in the word of God. We have built our lives around it and it has affected our prayer posture in every way.

The Pharisee's Prayer, Luke 18

Jesus then told a parable about a man that God chose not to justify. This unique bit of scripture teaches us about bad prayer posture. So how did this man pray? He approached God as a righteous man; arrogantly unaware of the plank in his own eye (Matthew 7:3). And finally, he was religiously regimented in fasting and tithing.

To adequately highlight what is wrong about this man's prayer posture, Jesus continued with an example of the prayer posture of a man who was justified by God.

The Tax Collector's Prayer, Luke 18

This man stood far off, too humble to deign to approach God. With wild emotion reminiscent of Hannah, he beat his chest and genuflected to God so much that he did not even feel worthy to lift his eyes to heaven. His request was for God to be merciful to him, a sinner. It is this man, Jesus stated, that went home justified.

So what is the difference and what do we learn? It is God's grace upon us that exalts the humble. It is crucial that we understand ourselves as we are: imperfect and infinitesimal compared to all that God is. We are small and we all fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). It is only our knowledge of that, our humility, that makes God deem us worthy to host His spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). 

Sacrifices made to God out of ritual or tradition make void the word of God (Matthew 7:13). We can fast, we can tithe, but if we are not in close, communicative, humble relationship with God it does not count. It does not matter. It does not move God with compassion for us.

Genuflection before God is a gift not a right. That God deigns to welcome us into His presence, to give us His ear, is our blessed opportunity to praise and to repent... not to attempt to establish us as anything other than woefully imperfect and in grateful need of every promise He has generously made.

David's Prayer, (73/150 in the Book of Psalms; notably: Psalms 18;139)

Part of what is so beautiful about David's prayer posture is that they often tell of the journey of faith. They begin with David a place of sorrow or distress and then praise the process of God's rescue and restoration. They begin with David encircled by the enemy but end with David encamped by the Lord.

David's prayers are expressions stark vulnerability yet great love for God. From the womb to birth, from every step of life to God's glory in heaven, David covers it. David's prayer posture often held and taught or reminded us of the eternal perspective. That God has not only charted our individual journey, but gone before us and prepared the space.

David's prayers are filled with love and surrender, sorrow and joy, praise and repentance. David sees himself as a worm before God...but also, as wonderfully made by God. David sees God and His power and mercy as inestimable. Yet accessible, and even proffered. Abundantly. David explains God to be a fortress, a shield, a firm foundation, the ultimate protection against the enemy. God as armor and salvation.

There is no element within God's arsenal of goodness and capability that David neglects to explore. Nor does David neglect to remember or to highlight how all of God's specific goodness changed and saved and protected his life in specific moments. He connects God's arrival and steadfastness in the past as God's reliability in present and future concerns.

David is included here not only because of the quality and quantity and comprehensiveness of his prayers but because of how is described by God in 1 Samuel 13:14. A man after God's own heart. Imagine the glory that would respond to a person whose posture in prayer was a sprinter running with all it had toward one thing only: God's own heart. Arriving in prayer to praise and to ask only for what is in God's heart.

Solomon's Prayer, 1 Kings 3

Solomon's prayer is another unique bit of scripture because it tells us that it pleased God. Naturally, we want to know about the prayer that made our Father happy (because we love Him and we seek to please Him for all that He is to us).

The Lord appeared to Solomon, a brand new king, in a dream and said: Ask what I shall give you. Imagine that! Imagine God appearing in a dream to ask us what we want. It is doubtful many would not be ready with answers pertaining to their needs and desires. But Solomon answered the Lord with his mind on the needs of God's people.

Solomon was known as king, but he presented himself to the Lord as he truly was: God's servant. He was a servant of God in a position of power on the earth. Solomon's request was to meld those two truths together. First and foremost, we are servants of God. Hopefully, willing and joyful servants within His kingdom. But we also have responsibilities on earth. We hold positions as leaders and parents, teachers and friends, spouses and coworkers and so much more that require understanding and discernment if we are to carry those roles out as children of God.

Like Solomon then, we must learn to pray for the tools and resources we need to shepherd well what sheep we have. Our place in the kingdom corresponds with the work we do right here today in the earth (Luke 12:48). And it is God's pleasure to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32), to equip and encourage us within our part of it. Prayer posture with the intent to serve the kingdom of God, here on earth, is powerfully answered by God.

Jesus' Prayer, Luke 22

Jesus prayed to the Lord before His crucifixion. He withdrew and knelt and prayed. He began His request with "Father, if you are willing..." and ended his prayer with "Nevertheless, not My, will but Yours, be done." In agony, He prayed earnestly. And more earnestly, and even sweated.

Jesus' prayer posture can be described this way: He put everything into it and expected only what God wanted out of it. The prayer of His spirit was so serious, intentional, purposeful, and effortful that even His physical body was affected.

Prayer posture positioned in trust is something we strive evermore for in faith. To preface our deepest desire with the word if is a bold move in faith. To end it with relinquishment of our own will and subjection to God's is beautiful courage in faith. Such faith is a life built on the proper, solid foundation (Matthew 7:24-27). Such faith is striven for. It is evidence of endurance, of blood, sweat and tears poured out in relationship and communication with God. 

It is a peak we arrive at when we have crawled through valleys and climbed the crags of the hardest and deepest and steepest of life's battles and journeys with God. Such prayer posture rests in security because it trusts in God's willingness and ability answer the prayer in the time and manner that is best... while in the midst of great desperation.

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus promises that if we keep our eyes and our efforts on the Kingdom of God, our Father will provide all that we need. But even when we know that truth deep in our bones, we must keep our communication with God open and active and healthy and consistent. Romans 8:27 tells us that we do not even know what to pray for (but God knows what we need (Matthew 6:8)) and His spirit intercedes for us. In that process of communication with Him, His spirit intercedes. We welcome His intercession from the posture of prayer. Thus prayer is an essential element. We cannot neglect to talk to Him because it is during prayer that we are blessed with His intercession. We are blessed that He corrects as we speak; overrides our choices with His own; exerts His will above our own and ultimately arranges life and more abundantly (John 10:10).

Faith Made You Well

Jesus tells three recently healed people that their faith has made them well. What kind of faith makes one well?

The Fringe of His Garment Luke 8:43-48; Matthew 9:18-22

Faith in the ability of God. In the midst of a massive crowd, a woman with a years-long ailment thought that she would never be able to capture the attention of Jesus. She doubted that she would have a one-on-one healing interaction with Him, but she did not doubt His ability to heal. She believed so wholly in Him that she knew just to touch Him would be enough. In her steadfast belief and desperation, she pressed her hand to his garment. She captured the attention of the healer, our Jesus. He heard her faith. If I only touch his garment, I will be made well. Jesus spoke the words to her: Your faith has made you well. And instantly, she was. 

When we ask of the Father, our request should ring in His ears with faith. No matter how we frame the prayer, we have to ask ourselves which question our heart is really asking: Father can you do this versus Father will you do this. We cannot ask without expectation. Not the greedy kind. Not a demand. But a belief that He will heal a situation (as He sees fit) when we ask. When it is time to prayer, we must approach the request not by thinking: It wouldn't hurt to ask... but it will heal to ask.

To surrender a situation into God's hands it to render it completely to His control. It is not a softball thrown into the heavens. It is placement; it is subjection to His authority and ability. If we have the faith to know that (Matthew 9:29).

We might find ourselves in the midst of chaos and within it, it might be hard to believe that we can have a one-on-one healing interaction with God. But if we place that burden in His hand, if we touch our Father's garment for His healing...then just like that we have our one-on-one interaction. He feels the touch of His child. As He did with this woman, He feels us draw the power we need from Him to empower ourselves. He feels us access the promises He made us. He feels us reach for the provision because we believed Him when He told us it was there.

Where Are the Nine? Luke 17:11-19

Ten men with leprosy pleaded with Jesus for mercy, to be healed of their affliction. Jesus healed the ten, but only one man turned back. He turned back to praise God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus' feet and gave Him thanks. Nobody else returned to praise God. Jesus told only the one who praised that His faith made Him well. All were healed, but only one was made well.

The kind of healing Jesus provides is deeper than a restoration of our physical body. It is entirely possible to have superficial faith. To have blessings in life and to carry on with them but never express gratitude for them. It is faith with gratitude toward God that makes one well. Well in the deeper sense. Well situated for the eternal kingdom. This is the wellness of the spirit. Of rightness with God.

Jesus noted the ones who did not return. Healed of leprosy, their position in the world increased. But because of their ingratitude, their position in gaze of God decreased. Scripture reminds us that the former is irrelevant but the latter is everything. Your position with God is the only thing that matters. A healthy relationship with God makes one well. We take and take and take from Him, from His endless storehouses of generosity, and the only thing we could ever give back is our gratitude, our love, our praise. Yet He accepts our meager offering. To not offer even it? That soul, that faith is unwell in the direst sense.

Mercy on Me Luke 18:35-43

A blind man by the roadside called out: Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. This caught Jesus' attention. He asked: What do you want me to do for you? Then man responded: Lord, let me recover my sight. And then Jesus gave Him the words: your faith has made you well. Immediately the man recovered his sight and glorified God.

When you are on the roadside of despair and need, know the Lord you call out to. The blind man knew Jesus' lineage. Through David, from Abraham to Noah and Adam. The one promised, arrived. But he also knew the character of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

God described the character His children could expect from Him as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving and willing to convict the guilty (Exodus 34:6-7). If we know who He is then we know what we can reasonably ask of Him. Ensure never to plead as if to a stranger. Communicate like a child with their Father. Pray for His mercy and grace, patience and steadfast love, faithfulness and forgiveness and ability to convict the unjust. These are fruits grown on the tree of life and we have been given access to partake.

We want to pay close attention to what Jesus says in scripture. We want to pay even closer attention to what He repeats. To have the faith that makes one well, look at Jesus' interactions with these three individuals. Focus on the kind and quality of their faith. Build it in yourself through your relationship with God. When it is time to return to the Father, we want Him to declare that we have been made well by our faith.