PRAYING THE HEART OF JESUS (3)

“Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up PRAYERS and SUPPLICATIONS” – Hebrews 5:7

Other prayer-related scriptures provide further insight into PRAYING the HEART of JESUS: “Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up PRAYERS and SUPPLICATIONS” (Heb.5:7). Although the Gospels do not provide detailed biography of our Lord Jesus, they offer captivating glimpses into His prayer life. We’ve noted how Jesus often withdrew Himself from the multitudes, to quiet places to pray alone: “Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them” (Lk.4:42). Again, “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and PRAYED” (Lk.5:16). He understood the value of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Following the Lord’s pattern, sometimes it’s important for us to “be still” before God, especially in our hectic modern culture. Praying alone however didn’t prevent the Lord Jesus from praying with others: “Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray” (Lk. 9:28). He knew the value and the place of both individual and collective praying, as underscored in Acts 1:14 – “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” They were simply following His layed-down pattern.

Jesus prayed WITH others as well as FOR others. John 17:9 underscores His ministry of intercession towards Believers, and the need for same in our own lives: “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” Jesus prayed particularly for the little children: “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and PRAY, but the disciples rebuked them” (Mt.19:13). Those disciples were yet to imbibe the Master’s Heart of Prayer. Despite their display of misguided zeal, Jesus requested that the children should not be hindered: “Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt.19:14). To pray the Heart of Jesus is to pray selflessly and passionately.

One of the great blessings of being a Believer in Christ is to know that right now He is interceding for His people before the Father: “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also MAKES INTERCESSION for us” (Rom.8:34). This is the present-day ministry of Jesus: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, sicne He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb.7:25). While we do not know exactly what Jesus said to the Father in some of His reported prayer sessions in the Gospels, we do have ample examples of His prayers from the Bible that we can learn from in order to cultivate His kind of heart in theplace of prayer.

Jesus often uttered spontaneous prayers of thanks: “I THANK YOU, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Mt.11:25b-26). Shortly after assuring the disciples that He “saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”, and that He had given them power “to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt” them, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I THANK YOU, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Lk.10:21).

As we relate to one or the other of Jesus’ prayers, we’ll learn more about what He prayed for, how He prayed, and be enabled to pray selflessly and passionately.