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The Prayer Life of Jesus |
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by Ralph I. Tilley
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| Years ago I was privileged to develop a relationship with a veteran preacher and Bible scholar who later became a mentor to me in many ways. We first met while serving together on a Bible college faculty, then some years later when he was serving on a local church board, he contacted me to inquire whether I would consider becoming their pastor, which I later did.
When it came to preaching on the major themes of Scripture, there was no one I enjoyed listening to more than S. I. Emery. He would soar in eloquence as he expounded upon the doctrine of Christ’s atonement in particular. Blessed with a deep, bass voice, and preaching without a note in front of him, this dear brother’s passion for Christ and the Cross was both intense and genuine. And rarely did I hear him preach but soon into his sermon he would have a handkerchief in hand, dabbing his nose, giving an occasional sniff, while his voice quivered as he tried to control his emotions. As much as I enjoyed listening to Brother Emery preach and teach the Word of God, I looked forward to hearing him pray even more. He was as well-versed in the Scriptures as any person I’ve known, and when he prayed, he prayed the Scriptures. And you could not listen to him pray but that you knew that he knew God. I loved to hear him pray. More than once while listening in on this dear brother’s holy colloquy with his heavenly Father, I thought, If I could only pray like that! This same desire—the desire to know God and to pray effectively—is what prompted the disciples on one occasion to say to the Master, “Lord, teach us to pray …”1 There is no record in the Gospels of any disciple requesting that Jesus would teach the disciples how to preach or teach, though we can be certain He was a master at both. But … oh … when the Twelve heard Jesus praying on one occasion, they were so impressed with the intimacy with which He spoke to His Father. The utter simplicity and faith with which He communed overwhelmed them. Their prayers were lifeless and listless compared to Christ’s. They knew their prayer life was sorely deficient. “Lord, teach us to pray.” Why Did Jesus Pray? Jesus prayed in order to commune with His Father in Heaven. Because prayer is fundamentally communion with God (spirit communicating with Spirit), Jesus prayed so as to maintain intimate fellowship with the Father. Thus we read passages like this: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”2 Though Jesus always walked in communion and fellowship with His Father, whether in the busy marketplace, or when being grilled by His accusers, nevertheless, as the Son of Man he felt the inner need to withdraw regularly from all others. It was the call of His Father to come apart to be refreshed and renewed by His Spirit. It was the inner urge to share a private, holy, and intimate time with His Father. Their trysting times were often and precious—whether early in the morning, late at night, or in between. And every devout Christian knows and shares this same spiritual reality of a growing intimacy with the Father that comes from these sacred, lonely moments. Howard Taylor says of his father Hudson Taylor—the missionary apostle to the country of India—“For forty years the sun never rose on China that God didn’t find him on his knees.”3 Jesus prayed because He wanted to know His Father’s will. It is more than a textual coincidence that Luke records Jesus praying the entire night before He chose from among all His disciples twelve men to be apostles.4 By the time Christ selected these men, He had gained a following from an ever-increasing devoted group of disciples. Knowing it to be the will of the Father to choose a special group to be with Him that He might reveal to them the mysteries of the Kingdom, while entrusting the future growth of His Church eventually to them, it was imperative that He call the right persons for this monumental task. Of all of the disciples who had made a commitment to follow Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who should He select to serve as His apostles? It was this thought that caused Him to spend an entire night in contemplation, meditation and communion with His Father: “Father, who among all of My followers should I choose to be one of the Twelve?” Knowing that Simon Peter would experience a tragic failure, and that Judas Iscariot would betray Him, should He select these? Realizing that the Sons of Thunder, James and John, could be self-serving and self-seeking, should He take the risk in appointing them? Then there was Thomas, given to doubt and skepticism—was there any hope that He could mature and become a stable influence for righteousness? All of these thoughts, and many more, must have been cascading through the mind of Christ during the course of that night in prayer. However, by the time the sun rose over the Judean hills the next morning, Jesus knew. He knew each man who should serve as one of His apostles. Each name had been revealed to Him in prayer by His Father in Heaven. Does not our Lord serve as the Model for the Church when facing critical choices? If the Son of Man found it necessary to take an entire night in order to discern the will of His Father in selecting twelve men to be leaders, why do we think we can get by in offering a sixty-second prayer in a business meeting before we vote on who are to be our pastor and leaders? Does God still reveal His choices to praying people today? Or are we too self-assured to really care? Is God’s agenda ours? Or have we taken the time to find out? Jesus prayed because He needed to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. As the second Person of the Triune God, Jesus had no need to pray—He was very God of very God, as the creed says. But as the Incarnate Son of God—the Son of Man—when Jesus took upon Himself human flesh, He voluntarily gave up the prerogatives of deity, thus becoming totally dependent upon His Father-God.5 As a man, being completely dependent upon His heavenly Father, He was in need—as any believer is—of the Holy Spirit’s power for service and ministry. At His baptism He was anointed by the Spirit for future ministry: “At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.”6 Jesus goes from the Jordan River—“full of the Holy Spirit”7—to be sorely tempted by Satan in the Judean wilderness. Then following that 40-day desert fast, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit …”8 He then proceeds to Nazareth, where he enters His hometown synagogue, stands up and reads a passage from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, …”9 Jesus needed the power of the Holy Spirit in His life and ministry. Without the Spirit, Jesus, as the Son of Man, would have been as powerless as any other man. He needed the Spirit’s constant, habitual indwelling. All that the Lord Jesus Christ ever did was done in the power of the blessed Holy Spirit. What about you and me, my friend? Do we feel the need to be constantly refreshed, renewed and filled by the Spirit? Do we feel our need of being totally dependent on the Spirit for developing Christian character and for doing works of service? Do our daily activities reveal this need? Are we constantly lifting our hearts to the Lord for His fresh anointing and power? Or are we performing our Christian duties and ministries in the strength of the flesh and human power? Oh, that you and I would be constantly stirred up, realizing our total dependence on the Spirit. Let us hear afresh the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “ ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”10 Do you feel the need just now to pray this prayer with Elwood Stokes? Thou canst fill me, gracious Spirit, I am weakness, full of weakness; There is a further consideration of great importance to every Christian on this topic of the Prayer Life of Jesus. Why Does Jesus Pray? What became of Jesus after He ascended into the heavens from the disciples’ view some two thousand years ago? Where did Jesus go? What is he presently doing? The Scriptures are clear: “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”12 In the language of Scripture, for the once crucified, risen Christ to be seated at the “right hand” of the Majesty on High, depicts a position of the highest honor and authority. Inasmuch as the Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan at the Cross, with the empty tomb validating this defeat, He was given a place of supreme glory and power: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”13 But just what is it that our triumphant Lord is doing now—this very moment in time at the Father’s right hand? Hebrews 9:24 holds the answer: “For Christ did not enter a manmade sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.” There you have it. What is our Lord and Savior engaged in at this very moment? He is in the presence of God the Father “for us”! While we may not be certain of the total breadth of Christ’s present ministry, we do know this from revealed Scripture: He is in Heaven at the Father’s side for us. The apostle Paul asks rhetorically, “Who is he that condemns?” Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”14 The believing Christian may be—and often is—convicted of sin, but never condemned as a sinner. Why? Because our Mediator is interceding with the Father for us. What does this mean? In 1 John 2:1 the apostle writes, “if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; …” The Greek word “with” is full of meaning here. It means face to face with the Father. Here is the beautiful picture suggested: As the obedient Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ offered His body and blood as the atoning sacrifice for man’s sin. This He did once for all.16 But as the risen, triumphant Lord, He took His five wounds to Heaven with Him. Christ still bears the scars of the Cross: “we have one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus …”17 The glorious fact is, that whenever a Christian fails in his walk with God, he need not despair, he has an Advocate and Intercessor who shows the Father His wounds—wounds the Lamb still bears because His people desperately need an ever-interceding Advocate as well as a Savior. Arise, my soul, arise. Five bleeding wounds He bears, It is the sacrificial offering of Christ’s blood on the Cross that redeems us; it is Christ’s present intercessions at the Majesty’s right hand that preserves us. Dear friend, I have had some wonderful godly people through the years to pray for me, and as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I have enjoyed and been moved to the depths of my soul while listening to the prayers of some of God’s choicest saints. But to know there is One in the presence of my Father just now interceding for Ralph I. Tilley, provides me with the greatest assurance and hope. What about you? You will recall that one day during our Lord’s earthly ministry that he took the self-assured Simon Peter aside. He knew how spiritually fragile the apostle was, though Peter did not. Jesus tenderly confided in Peter, “Simon , Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”19 As we know, Simon Peter did go on to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. But he repented, later was filled with the Holy Spirit, and went on to become one of the church’s strong pillars. It would never have happened without the prayers of Jesus. Robert Murray McCheyne once said, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”20 Lord, teach us to pray; and thank You, for praying for us! — Soli Deo Gloria — Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version except as noted. 1. Luke 11:1 |
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