A Personal Note

For many years as a Christian and as a pastor I struggled to be able to pray on a regular basis despite the clear injunction of scripture, “pray constantly” (1 Thess 5:17). Change only came in God’s time and way. Today my “prayer hour” at the start of each day is the most enriching experience of my life and a continuing source of inspiration. This does not mean however that I find it always easy to pray; only that God has taught me some things along the way.

The Error of Our times

The general prayerlessness of the Australian Church is no secret, and in my experience the majority of believers have an uneasy conscience about the failures of their “prayer life”. To tell folk they should “pray more” only increases guilt and confusion about the essential nature of prayer.  The road to maturity in prayer begins with an understanding that there cannot be two centres, me and Jesus. Christ must be the sole centre of life and so of prayer. I have long been impacted by a profound saying from Andrew Murray, “It is the life which prays.” Since Christ “is our life” (Col 3:4) it is vital that we are grasped by the intimate connection between Jesus’ personal prayer life and our own. As a real human person Jesus needed to pray in order to be enlightened and strengthened in doing the will of his Father in heaven.

Jesus Praying

The key to understanding Christ’s prayer life is found in the earliest records of his story. At the age of twelve Jesus explains to his parents why he has remained behind in the Jerusalem temple, ““Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”” (Luke 2:49). Jesus is in the temple because this is God’s “house of prayer” (Isa 56:7). Christ’s primary motivation for prayer was to grow up to become just like his Father.[1] The outcome of Jesus’ prayerful devotion to the Father was that he “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52). The fruit of prayer in Jesus’ life leads him to confidently say, ““Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”” (John 14:9)[2]. Jesus prayed for love, wisdom, righteousness, power, truth and so on because they reflected the character of his Father.

There are many occasions where we see Jesus at prayer in the Gospels; such as at his baptism, the choice of the twelve apostles and in the working of miracles (Luke 3:21-22; 6:12-16; 9:16). He exhibited supreme confidence that his prayers would always be answered because his stated his life purpose was to do the will of his Father (John 5:26-30). Standing at the tomb of Lazarus “Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 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 11:41-42). The resurrection of Lazarus is evidence that the communion expressed in prayer between Jesus and his Father is the essence of eternal life.

The greatest concentration of prayer in the life of Christ is not however found in the context of his ministry but in his passion.  The agony of Gethsemane and the suffering of the cross are punctuated with many deep heart-felt prayers to the “Father” (Mark 14:36; Luke 23:34, 46; John 19:30). There seems to be however one great exception to the flow of life between Father and Son manifested in prayer, his is the sole occasion where Jesus does not speak to God as his “Father”.

In deep anguish on the cross “Jesus cried out with a loud voice “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34). Jesus feels cut off from the indwelling life of the Father for he is taking into himself the sin which separates sinners from God[3].  This is a revelation that the highest will of the Father is to fully identify with our weak humanity and that he is neither severe nor distant from us[4]. The intercession of Jesus that continues on the cross (Isa 53:12) assures us that God will always hear our prayers if we come to him in the name of his Son. Jesus asks for his murderers, ““Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”” and “hands over his spirit” in full confidence to the “Father” (Luke 23:34, 46).

Jesus is now exalted in heaven and still praying, “he always lives to make intercession” for “those who draw near to God through him” (Heb 7:25), “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Rom 8:34). Jesus is praying for us as a human being who remembers how hard it is to make connection with the heavenly Father in the presence of the consciousness of sin. All Jesus wants is to share with us his experience of the Father in heaven.

This means that Christ is praying for us the same thing that he prayed in his own earthly prayer life. He is praying that we might share in all that the Father has done for him. Jesus is asking that we might grow in his image in the same way as he grew in the likeness of his Father. He is praying that we might have life in the Father through him. The way in which Jesus’ prayers are answered involves the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus in us Praying

Jesus said his disciples, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17). The Father gives us the Spirit as a result of the prayerful request of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit reveals that God is our Father in the same way as he revealed the Father to Jesus in his earthly life. As Jesus prayed ““Abba, Father”” (Mark 14:36) so we join in Jesus’ prayers to ““Our Father/Abba Father””  through the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ (Matt 6:9; Rom 8:16-17; Gal 4:4-6).

The goal of the Holy Spirit is to unite our prayer life with what Jesus is praying for us in heaven. As Jesus wanted to grow up and become just like his indwelling Father, so the Spirit who indwells us and intercedes for us wants to grow us into the maturity of Christ-likeness (Rom 8:26, 29). A striking example of this is found in the prayers of the first Christian martyr, Stephen.

As he was being stoned to death Stephen called out, ““Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60) This unmistakably parallels Jesus’ prayers from the cross. Jesus also cried out with a loud voice (Mark 15:34) surrendered his life to God (Luke 23:46) and prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies (Luke 23:34). Stephen is not imitating Christ, as a Spirit filled man (Acts 7:55) he is united with the praying heart of Jesus in his union with the merciful Father. Prayer’s oneness with the Godhead is its life transforming power.

Jesus sole goal in coming into the world was expressed in the prophetic words, “‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God’” (Heb 10:7; Ps 40:8). Whenever a believer unconditionally seeks to obey the will of God they join in the Spirit’s perfect uniting of the will of the Father and the Son. In these circumstances we share in Jesus’ assurance that our prayers will be answered by the Father (1 John 5:14-15). Then it is as true to say, “Our life prays through Jesus.” as to say “It is the life of Jesus that prays through us.”

Maturity in prayer involves being taught by the Spirit that the Father’s answer to our prayers is Jesus himself. Or putting the same point another way, sharing in the life of Jesus is the answer to our prayers. This is why Paul says, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed …was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (2 Cor 1:19-20). When we close our prayers with “In the name of Jesus”, we are asking God to share with ourselves and others the life of his Son which was perfected through prayer (John 19:30).

Conclusion

Jesus taught us to pray, ““Our Father in heaven… Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”” (Matt 6:9-10). He instructed us to pray in this way because the ruling power of his Father’s kingdom was the sole centre of his life. Prayer is not asking God to “do something” to improve our life’s experiences, Christ-centred  prayer asks that as the power of the kingdom of God formed the life of Jesus the Father might shape our lives and the lives of others to be like his Son. This is what it means to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18).

No matter what the cost, all a Christian really wants is to grow up to become just like Jesus!