The Prayers of the Bible 3 - The Prayers of Jesus

^{The Prayers of the Bible, from the book: "Prevailing Prayer" by D. L. Moody}
Those who have left the deepest impression on this sin-cursed earth have been men and women of prayer. You will find prayer has been the mighty power that has moved not only God, but also man.

The prayers of Jesus

I want to call special attention to Christ as an example for us in all things – in nothing greater than in prayer. We read that Christ prayed to his Father for everything. Prayer preceded every great crisis in his life.
Let me share a few examples from Scripture. I never noticed until a few years ago that Christ was praying at his baptism. Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove (Luke 3:21-22). Another great event in his life was his trans­figuration, when Jesus took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming (Luke 9:28-29).
Just after Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and angered the scribes and Pharisees, He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). This is the only place where it is recorded that the Savior spent a whole night in prayer. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot (Luke 6:13-16).
What was about to take place? When he came down from the mountain, Jesus gathered with a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured (verses 17-18). Many people gathered around him to touch him because healing power went out from him, and he healed them all.
Following this, Jesus preached that great discourse known as the Sermon on the Mount – the most wonderful sermon that has ever been preached to mortal men. Probably no sermon has done so much good, and it was preceded by a night of prayer. If our sermons and messages are going to reach the hearts and consciences of the people, we must spend a considerable amount of time in prayer to God, that there may be power with the words we deliver.
In the Gospel of John, we read that when Jesus stood by the grave of Lazarus, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me (John 11:41-42). Notice, before he spoke the dead to life he spoke to his Father. If our spiritually dead ones are to be raised, we must first get power with God.
The reason we so often fail in moving our friends is that we try to win them without first getting power with God. Jesus was in communion with his Father, and so he could be assured that his prayers were heard.
We read in the twelfth chapter of John about when some Greeks came to speak with Jesus and he shared about what was to happen soon. I think this is one of the saddest chapters in the whole Bible. He was about to leave the Jewish nation and to make atonement for the sins of the world. Listen to what he said: Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour (John 12:27). Then Jesus prayed, Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (verse 28).
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him (Luke 22:42-43). In that account of the memorable prayer of our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane, it says, He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray (verse 41). He was almost under the shadow of the cross, the iniquities of mankind were about to be laid upon him, one of his twelve disciples was going to deny him and swear he never knew him, and another was going to betray him for thirty pieces of silver – all were to forsake him and flee.
His soul was beyond sorrowful just as it was in John 12, and he prayed. When his soul was troubled, God spoke to him. I would draw your attention to the recorded fact that four times an answer came right down from heaven while the Savior prayed to God.
The first time was at his baptism, when the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended upon him in answer to his prayer. The second was on the Mount of Transfiguration, where God appeared and spoke to him. The third was when the Greeks came desiring to see him, and they heard the voice of God in response to his call. Again, when he cried to the Father in the midst of his agony, a direct response was given. I don’t doubt these things are recorded so we would be encouraged to pray.
We read in Luke 11 that his disciples came to Jesus and said, Lord, teach us to pray. It is not recorded anywhere that he taught them how to preach. I have often said that I would rather know how to pray like Daniel than to preach like Gabriel. If you get love into your soul, so that the grace of God may come down in answer to prayer, there will be no trouble reaching the people. It is not by eloquent sermons that perishing souls are going to be reached; we need the power of God in order that the blessing may come down.
The prayer our Lord taught his disciples is commonly called the “Lord’s Prayer.” However, that is the prayer our Lord taught those men to pray, not the prayer he prayed. I think the “Lord’s Prayer,” more properly, is that found in the seventeenth chapter of John. That is the longest prayer on record that Jesus made.
You can read it slowly and carefully in about four or five minutes. I think we may learn a lesson here. Our Master’s prayers were short when offered in public; but when he was alone with God, that was a different thing, and he could spend the whole night in communion with his Father. My experience is that those who pray most in their closets generally make short prayers in public. Long prayers are too often not prayers at all, and they weary the people. How short the publican’s prayer was: God, be merciful to me, the sinner (Luke 18:13). The Syrophenician woman’s prayer was short as well when she said, Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David (Matthew 15:22). She went right to the mark, and she got what she wanted. The prayer of the thief on the cross was a short one: Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom (Luke 23:42). When Peter walked on the water toward Jesus, but then saw the wind and waves and became afraid, his prayer was, Lord, save me (Matthew 14:30).
If you go through the Scriptures, you will find that the prayers that brought immediate answers were generally brief. Let our prayers be to the point, just telling God what we want.
In the prayer of our Lord in John 17, we find that he makes seven requests – one for himself, four for his disciples around him, and two for the disciples of succeeding ages. Six times in that one prayer he repeats that God had sent him. The world looked upon him as an impostor, and he wanted them to know that he was heaven-sent. He speaks of the world nine times, and makes mention of his disciples and those who believe on him fifty times.
Christ’s last prayer on the cross was a short one: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). I believe that prayer was answered. We find that right there in front of the cross, a Roman centurion was converted. It was probably in answer to the Savior’s prayer. The conversion of the thief, I believe, was also in answer to that prayer of our blessed Lord.
Saul of Tarsus may have heard it, and the words may have followed him as he traveled to Damascus, so that when the Lord spoke to him on the way, he may have recognized the voice. One thing we do know, is that on the day of Pentecost some of the enemies of the Lord were converted. Surely that was in answer to the prayer, Father, forgive them Hence we see how prayer holds a high place among the exercises of a spiritual life.

_{Dwight L. Moody — Prevailing Prayer}

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