Pray like Jesus

This is a brief outline of what we learn about prayer from Jesus. It is designed to take time over, perhaps a few weeks in discussion with family and friends, to reflect and implement things you learn into your patterns of life.

What Jesus teaches us about prayer

There are three major episodes in Jesus’ life that give us an insight into Jesus & prayer:

• When he teaches his followers to pray, called the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6v5-15).
• When he prays for himself in the gardens of Gethsemane, knowing the horror of his approaching death (Matthew 26v36-46).
• When he prays about God, the Apostles, and the future church in what is often called the High Priestly prayer (John 17v1-26).

Each of these specific moments is well worth our meditation as we seek to use Jesus as our model of prayer to emulate. There are also some general lessons we can take from Jesus’ teaching on prayer.

Jesus’ teaching on how to pray

• Pray in faith (Matthew 21v22). Our prayer must be based on faith in God – that he exists and loves us and through Christ has saved us. Prayer alone is a powerless human ritual but prayer in faith to God is dynamite.
• Pray succinctly (Matthew 6v7; Mark 12v40). Do not drone on and on in repetitive, vacant, formulaic prayers that are empty phrases from our mouth with no connection to our heart, mind or soul. This is hypocritical and a waste of time.
• Pray in God’s will (John 16v23-24). To pray God’s will we need to know God’s will; to know God’s will we need to know the Bible and therefore praying and Bible reading are inseparable.
• Pray humbly without a pious, prideful attitude (Luke 18v9-14).
• Pray fervently (Luke 18v1). Keep praying; don’t stop.

 Jesus’ teaching on who to pray for

• Pray for those who harm, hate or hurt you, that you will be able to forgive them and not hold on to ‘a right for vengeance’ (Mark 11v25).
• Pray for yourself, specifically your needs however small they may be (Matthew 7v7-8).
• Pray for church planters and evangelists who can harvest God’s fields by persuading people to trust Jesus (Matthew 9v37-38).
• Pray against temptation (Matthew 26v41). These are pre-emptive prayers to help us avoid sin. In the areas we drift from God we need to pray proactively before we are in the midst of temptation.

What Jesus shows us about prayer

 

Jesus did not just teach on prayer, but is also the quintessential model to imitate.

When did he pray?

• Jesus prayed daily as all good Jews did (Deuteronomy 6).
• Jesus prayed at meal times (Matthew 14v19; Luke 22v19). Jesus seemed to use meal times as a visible reminder of God’s provision; even that our hunger for food and God’s provision of that need would remind us of our greater spiritual need answered by God.
• Jesus sometimes prayed early in the day, before distractions began (Mark 1v39).

Where did he pray?

• Publicly before large crowds (Luke 3v21; John 11v41-42).
• In small groups with a few close friends (Luke 9v28).
• On his own, often after distancing himself from ‘normal’ life in preparation for making significant life decisions (Luke 9v18; Luke 5v15-16).

Who did he pray for?

• His enemies who murdered him, while they were murdering him (Matthew 5v44).
• His friends as they faced spiritual attack (Luke 22v31-32). But don’t promise you will pray for someone unless you plan to really do it. Don’t turn your prayers into lies!
• Children (Matthew 19v13). Jesus prayed for kids, so we all certainly should. If you are or get to become a parent then pray for your kids. Children learn to pray first by example, not by lessons or instruction.

How did he pray?

• From Scripture (Mark 15v34). Prayer and Bible reading go together. In prayer we speak to God and in Bible reading God speaks to us, so communication with God must have both – God speaking to us through the Bible and us speaking to God through prayer.
• Together in a community (Luke 4v16; Mark 11v17).
• Taking a long time in secret and alone with God, about major decisions in life (Luke 6v12).
• Taking short moments that were woven into life (Mark 6v41).
• Painfully, about things that hurt (John 12v27-28).  They were prayers not that God would get him out of it, but God would get him through it.
• With his dying breath (Luke 23v46).
• Full of thanksgiving (Matthew 11v25-26). Jesus knew that God is good and great and deserves our gratitude and praise in all circumstances.

 

But perhaps the greatest lesson we learn from Jesus is his attitude to prayer. It’s not “oh, I have to pray” but “wow, I get to pray”. It’s not I must, but I can. It’s not forced but free; not duty but joy.

Let’s be those who pray like Jesus.