Last Sunday, we continued our sermon series “Six Things Jesus Is…” by examining how Jesus is a man of prayer. In our text, Jesus snuck away early in the morning and didn’t tell anyone where he was going. Jesus was not always available to everyone because he had to tend to his own relationship with the Father.
We did such a gallop through the prayer life of Jesus that I decided to make my sermon outline available so people didn’t get frustrated trying to take notes or remember everything. (You can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/RLC-JesusManOfPrayer)
Here’s what we noted about Jesus’ prayer life:
- Jesus prayed FOR OTHER PEOPLE (Matthew 19:13–15; John 17:9; John 17:20–21), including you and me!
- Jesus prayed WITH OTHER PEOPLE (Luke 9:28) and the church followed his example by regularly gathering for, among other things, prayer (Acts 1:14)
- Jesus prayed ALONE (Mark 1:35)
- Jesus prayed SHORT PRAYERS (The Lord’s Prayer)
- Jesus prayed for LONG PERIODS OF TIME (Luke 6:12)
- Jesus prayed as an INTENTIONAL REGULAR HABIT (Luke 5:16)
- Jesus prayed BEFORE HE MADE BIG DECISIONS OR MOVES (Luke 6:12–13)
- Jesus prayed KNOWING HIS LOVING FATHER (Mark 14:36)
- Jesus prayed RELEASING HIMSELF TO HIS LOVING FATHER (Matthew 26:36–46)
- Besides praying from his heart, Jesus PRAYED THE SCRIPTURES (Psalm 31:5; Psalm 22:1)
So WHY did Jesus pray if he is the Son of God and God incarnate? We often hear “why” as “What do you hope to accomplish?” (Like, why did you take your car to the mechanic?) But the “why” in this case is a relational “why.” Why do you go out to lunch with your friend? Just because he’s your friend! Same thing with Jesus and prayer. Why did Jesus pray? Because he is God’s Son!
That’s why we should pray, too. Prayer is not, first and foremost, about accomplishing anything. It is because we are God’s children and He is our Father. We might ask for something. We might express thankfulness. But the foundation of prayer is simply the relationship we have with God our heavenly Father.
With regard to praying, although beautiful written prayers can be wonderful, Jesus reminded us that praying is not about the words or the length (Matthew 6:7-8). He also told us not to pray so other people will think we are super spiritual (Matthew 6:5-6). More than anything, Jesus encourages us to relate to God as a loving Father.
Grace and peace to you!