Today is the 35th day of Lent, a 40 day season of spiritual reflection, repentance, and renewal. During these 40 days we’ll explore the prayer life of Jesus, walking chronologically through every mention of Jesus’ prayer life and prayers in the Gospels.
I often think of prayer as the pathway to two things: resources and relationships. I pray in order to gain the resources which I cannot produce myself. And I pray in order to gain the deeper relationship with God which I cannot create through any other way.
Yet on both of these counts, it would seem that Jesus would not need prayer. Consider resources. Jesus had the power to create most resources by himself. He had the power to create food—multiplying fish and loaves. He had the power to heal illness—from blindness to leprosy. He could control the weather—stilling a storm with just a phrase. Why would someone Jesus even need to pray? What resources would Jesus require that he could not produce himself? In addition, consider the issue of relationship. Jesus is God. He and the Father are one. If one purpose of prayer is to cultivate intimacy with God, it would appear as if Jesus already has the deepest intimacy possible. He is so intimate with God that he is God.
In spite of all of this, Jesus still prayed. There are at least 29 references in the Gospels to the prayer-life of Jesus. From his baptism in Luke 3:21 to his ascension in Lk. 24:51, we find Jesus praying. As Luke explains in Lk. 5:16, “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” Prayer was a habit. It was something Jesus constantly did. He prayed at the feeding of the 5,000 (Mk. 6:41) and after the feeding of the 5,000 (Mk. 6:46). He prayed for the forgotten (children) (Mk. 10:15-16), his fellow workers (John 17), his global family (Jn. 17), and his foes (Lk. 23:34). He prayed when healing (Mk. 7:32-34) and when hurting (Matt. 27:46).
It seems there were resources needed by Jesus that he could gain in no other way but through prayer. It seems there was a level of relationship with the Father that could be experienced in no other way but through prayer. Because of this, Jesus prayed.
The mere fact that Jesus prayed so passionately and so consistently is striking. As someone who wants to pattern his life after Jesus’ life, I am compelled to pray as Jesus prayed. As those who wear the name of Jesus, it seems especially crucial for us to make room in our lives for prayer in the same way Jesus did.
[image]
I am reminded of the passage where the disciples are not able to heal a demon-possessed boy and they ask Jesus why they could not do it and Jesus tells them that this type will only “come out” through prayer and fasting. Perhaps there is a “resouce” that Jesus gained from having a prayerful relationship with the Father.
Comments are closed.