This post is part of a 40-day journey following Jesus in his prayer life. We’ll explore virtually every reference in the Gospels to Jesus and prayer. For a more in-depth treatment, see my book Prayers from the Pit.
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me’” (John 11:33-42 ESV).
His close friend Lazarus has died. Not surprisingly, Jesus prays. Surprisingly, Jesus praises: “Father, I thank you.” There is an unexpected contrast between the depressing nature of the day and the delightful tone of the prayer.
How could Jesus thank God at a time like this? How could he express such gratitude while others are expressing such grief? It appears that Jesus is thanking God simply for hearing him. “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” God has not lifted Lazarus from the dead yet. But God has listened to Jesus. And the mere fact that God has listened is enough to cause Jesus to pray with praise.
But to what has God listened? It’s not that God has been listening to Jesus pray. Jesus isn’t saying, “Father, thank you for hearing the prayer I just finished praying.” There has been no previous prayer. To what then has God listened?
Jones argues that what God heard was this: Jesus’ tears. He writes this: “When [Jesus] found himself in the shadow of his friend’s tomb, he couldn’t put his prayers into words, so he put them into tears instead. And his Father heard his cries.” Jones concludes: “Perhaps it’s because at the heart of all our prayers, what we really want is not an answer but an assurance—an assurance that our Father is listening.”
Jesus prays with gratitude in the midst of grief because he knows one thing—God is listening. Before he receives any answer, Jesus has already received assurance. The Father is listening. And for this, Jesus gives thanks.
God hears. Especially when your tears do the talking, God hears. For this, we can give thanks. Take a few moments and thank God for his open ears, for the way his door is always open, for how God is always willing to listen.
