What Jesus Says About
Prayer
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 11:9
Jesus prayed. The Christian needs no other call to prayer than this. Because Jesus prayed, the necessity and validity of prayer is established for all time. Because Jesus prayed, prayer in the life of the believer should have priority and authority. If the strong Son of God prayed, He who always walked in fullness of fellowship with the Father, who never knew the shadow of sin nor the blight of failure, whose personality flashed with divine glory and whose mighty works demonstrated divine power, how much more do you and I, weak and sinful mortals, need to seek the face of our Heavenly Father in prayer.
The disciples sensed that prayer was the source of Jesus' power and love. They said, "Lord, teach us to pray." For them, prayer was complicated and difficult. It was regulated by artificial rules and formulas. But Jesus prayed in simplicity,
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reality, and power. He lifted His face to heaven and said "Father," and all of life was blessed in His prayer.
Let us join the disciples and sit at the feet of the Master Teacher in the school of prayer. Our textbook will be the Gospel of Luke because there are more illustrations, examples, and precepts on prayer in Luke's Gospel than in any other Book of the New Testament. It may well be called the gospel of prayer. It begins in prayer, it ends in prayer, and the central passage of the Book in the eleventh chapter concerns prayer. With the Book open before us, with our minds open to God and in dependence on the Holy Spirit, let us ask some simple questions about prayer.
Where shall we pray? When shall we pray? What shall we pray? Why should we pray?
By word and example, Jesus teaches us where to pray.
We are to pray in solitude. Christ is our pattern here. In Luke 5:16, we find that "... he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed." In Luke 6:12, we read, "...he went out into a mountain to pray." Luke 9:18, "... it came to pass as he was alone praying." Again and again in the gospel record we find Jesus withdrawing from the pressing throng around Him, going to a desert place, a wilderness or a mountain, to be alone in fellowship with His Father in heaven. He was always aware of the Father's presence, always sensitive to the Father's voice. He walked in uninterrupted communion with God. Yet He needed to be alone. As the organism needs oxygen for life, Jesus seemed to need these times when He could breathe deeply and purely of fellowship with the Father without interruption or distraction.
If prayer was necessary in the life of our Lord, how much more is it necessary for us. God pity us in this confused,
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cramped, and crowded day, when we are pushed into the thronging cities, blasted by radios and television, rushed by automobiles, and badgered by activities. We have nearly every kind of experience imaginable but being alone. We do not even know how to behave in solitude. It frightens us to be alone. Yet the Lord tells us, "Be still and know that I am God..." For no one can really know God, hear the still, small voice of the Spirit, or enter into intimacy with the living Christ without being alone with God. Our Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Mat. 6:6).
If we are to become acquainted in a real way with another person, we need to be alone with him. When the suitor meets the young woman of his choice and arranges to have a date with her on a certain evening, what does he do? Does he rush home to his family, particularly to little brother, and say, "Look, I have a date tonight with my girl friend. Come, get in the car and join us!" No! He wants to be alone because it is only as we are alone with another that we can learn to know that one.
We need to be alone with God.
Lord, I have shut the door,
Whisper Thy will,
While I have drawn apart
While all is still.
—Wm. R. Runyan
If we do not have some time alone with God, it is no wonder that we fail to see His face through the day, nor that we are
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not sensitive to the touch of His hand as we walk the crowded paths of life.
Christ also teaches us to pray with others. Real fellowship in prayer has its rise alone with God, but it soon joins with other streams of prayer in "togetherness." Luke 9:8 records that Jesus took Peter, James, and John and went up into the mountain to pray. He joined His heart with others in prayer. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mat. 18:20). "...if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven" (Mat. 18:19). "If two of you shall agree" — the root of the word "agree" is the same as that from which we get the word "symphony." Prayer is like a symphony orchestra under the baton of the divine Maestro. Together, we may have an orchestration and harmony which is impossible alone. This harmony operates in two directions, with our brethren and with God.
To be sure, the musician must play his instrument alone. Alone he gains proficiency in its use and becomes familiar with the score. But he cannot have a full ministry of music until he has joined his instrument with others. We may find that our prayer life is like a thin, squeaking piccolo, but placed alongside the deep tones of a mature intercessor, the little prayer finds its place. Also, we learn to pray in fellowship with others. Prayer is more caught than taught. So if you are only praying by yourself, place your instrument of intercession beside others. You will find it filling out the inadequacy in your life.
Even as a strong rope is composed of small strands, prayers put together have strength. There is power in united prayer. Suppose that if as we worship in unity of mind and heart, we
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were to pray for one another, "Lord, teach us to pray. Make us aware that Thou art real and art ready to receive our intercession. Show us Jesus Christ as He really is. Meet us now." That kind of "togetherness" in prayer would produce a spiritual charge like that of a magnetic field around a magnet. The presence of God would be electric in the congregation. Suppose that together, we were to join in upholding our President before the Lord, praying for him in his responsibilities that his mind might be led in the light of truth, that his heart might be made courageous to do the right, and that his spirit might enter into full fellowship with his God. That kind of united prayer would have an impact which our isolated and separate intercessions could not produce. Or, if together each one of us in unity of purpose and faith, were to lift the torn and disunited lands of Asia, praying for justice and peace, there would be power. "Pray together," Jesus said. Praying needs focus, the direction of God's Word faced in a group, the fellowship of kindred minds, the power of corporate courage and convictions.
Then I learn from Jesus Christ that I may pray anywhere and everywhere. He prayed in the mountain and He prayed in the field. He prayed under the olive-trees and in the temple. He prayed as He walked along the roads of Galilee. He prayed on the cross. I may pray anywhere. Dr. Frank Laubach in his book, Prayer, the Mightiest Force in the World, says, "Everybody in every ordinary day has hundreds of chinks of idle wasted time which may be filled with flash prayers ten seconds or a minute long. Here are illustrations of such moments: upon awakening in the morning; in the bath; dressing; walking downstairs; asking the blessing at table; leaving the house; riding or walking to work; entering the elevator; between interviews;
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preparing for lunch; and a hundred more chinks all day long until crawling into bed and falling asleep."
We may pray as we travel. Many of us have found this to be an effective and thrilling way of intercession. We may pray for the one next to us or before us saying, "Lord, move into this life; show this person all that You have for him and bless him." We may pray as we read a newspaper. Lurid headlines and earth-shaking events may lead to intercession that the Lord of nations might have His will among men. The great personalities who determine the tides of history may be joined to Jesus Christ. It takes but a moment, the inner spirit lifted for a second from the printed page, "Lord Jesus, meet this man."
If we are sleepless in the night, we may pray. We may pray under the weight of our burdens and let them press us to God. The memories that flash into our minds may become the means of intercession. I may pray anywhere.
It is of value to consider when Jesus prayed. It is recorded that He arose a great while before daybreak and prayed. Like every devoted Hebrew, He had a morning watch, a quiet time in the early house of the day when He sought His Father and communed with Him. I wonder what part of our day we give to God. Is it the fag end at night, when weary in mind and body and drooping in spirit, we yawn our requests to God? Or do we meet God in the morning before the day's activity has begun, when we are right and fresh? The early meeting with God sanctifies the day and sensitizes us to our divine Companion who is with us through all its moments.
Jesus prayed before He ministered. Luke records that as Jesus presented Himself for His public ministry at the River Jordan, He was praying. All spiritual service begins in prayer.
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Redemption is released through intercession. When we are hurled back in defeat from an objective clearly given of God, we may ask, "Was the fire-power of intercession first focused upon that point?" Without the power of God's Spirit released through prayer, the voice of our witness is like a child's cry lost in the raging tempest, and our efforts are like the pounding of a baby fist against granite walls. Through prayer, service is empowered.
Jesus prayed after He ministered (Luke 5:15, 16). Turning from the multitudinous duties of His day, He prayed. We need to pray after we serve that God may bring fruit from the seed which has been sown. He prayed before His great decisions. Proceeding to Luke 6:12, we learn that He continued all night in prayer before the choice of the twelve disciples. Do we pray earnestly before our great decisions, the decisions of vocation and location, the decisions of partnership and association? If every Christian man and woman prayed about their marriage before they came to the altar, our homes would be different and far happier.
Jesus prayed in times of crisis and need. He prayed in the Garden before His crucifixion (Luke 22:39-44). He prayed on the cross, "...Father, forgive them..." (Luke 23:34). His final utterance before death was a prayer (Luke 23:46), "...Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit...."
He taught, "...that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1). So tomorrow, as you go to your office or shop and sit at your desk or stand at the bench, recognize God. It takes but a moment, the flash of a second, and the Lord walks in, and you are a partner with Him. As you, the busy housewife, go about your task, lift your heart to Christ. He is there. Let Him enter into your day with you, lead you
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in His will and carry your concerns. Remember, everywhere and any time you can pray.
Let us now ask our Teacher what we should pray. The basic themes for prayer are best summarized by the Master in the Lord's Prayer, better called "The Disciples' Prayer." A lumberjack in the Northwoods found a New Testament. He began to read and became aware of his need of God. But he did not know how to pray. Then he came across the Lord's Prayer, cut it out and pasted it on the wall above his bunk. Just before retiring at night, he would point a stubby finger at the prayer and say, "Lord, them's my sentiments," and drop off to sleep. The lumberjack was not far from hitting the main point of prayer.
First there is the petition of worship. "Lord, may Thy Name be hallowed — made holy among men. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," — three intercessory prayers for the name and purpose of God in the world. Then there are personal prayers — "Give us this day our daily bread" — our needs, "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" — a prayer for forgiveness. "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" — a request for guidance, and a final ascription of adoration, "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."
Dr. Charles F. Whisten, authority on the Christian devotional life, has said that it is his practice to give every prospective bride and groom a copy of The Lord's Prayer on a small card, with the instructions to pray that prayer for one another often. The bride is counseled to pray for her husband, John. "Lord, may Thy Name be made holy in John's day. May Thy Kingdom come in him and through him today. May Thy will be done in his life and mine even as it is in heaven, perfectly.
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Give him this day his daily bread, strength of body, wisdom of mind, fellowship of soul. Forgive him his sins, Lord, and grant him a truly forgiving spirit, even as I pray for forgiveness, for love and the power to be understanding and forgiving. Keep him from temptation. Deliver him from evil for Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory." If you do not know how to pray for one another, try this simple technique. Carry the card in your pocket and, as you drive along in your car, try praying The Lord's Prayer for loved ones, friends, and associates. If you are lying upon a sickbed, pray for others who are more sick than you are, the one in the hospital bed next to you, the one who comes to your mind now.
Jesus teaches that we are to pray for others. Did He not tell Simon, "...Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not..." (Luke 22:31-32). What new life and love would be released if we would faithfully follow His example.
We are to pray in the Name of Christ. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14). To pray in His Name means to pray for His concerns and cause, that what He came to do for us by His life, death, and resurrection may be fully accomplished. To pray in the Name of Christ is to appeal to God on the ground of Christ's merit, for His sake, and through His Person. It is asking largely and confidently of God because we are His though Christ.
I know a soul that is steeped in sin,That no man's art can cure.
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I know a NameThat can make that soul all pure.
I know a life that is lost to God,
Bound down by the things of earth.
I know a Name
That can bring that soul new birth.
I know of lands that are sunk in shame,
Of hearts that faint and tire.
But I know a Name
That can set these lands on fire.
A final question remains, why should we pray? Glancing at the pattern of prayer in the life of our Lord in Luke's Gospel, the answer is compelling. Why pray? Because prayer does things. As Jesus was praying, He was transfigured before His disciples. "...he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and dazzling" (Luke 9:28, 29). In that sacred moment of intercession and communion, the deity of the Son of God shone through the garb of His humanity with ineffable glory. Think then, of the meaning of these words written to us. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18). Prayer is transforming. It brings man into the presence of the eternal and leaves the glow of God's glory upon his soul, the light of heaven in his heart.
As Jesus was praying, He was filled with the Holy Spirit and
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anointed for His mighty work. "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21, 22). So the Master teaches His followers "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13). Before His disciples are sent into the world to bear witness to His Name, they are to tarry at Jerusalem in prayer until they are endued with power from on high. "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). It was as the first Christians were praying that they were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and empowered for service.
Lord, what a change within us, one short hourSpent in Thy presence will prevail to make,
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take
What parched grounds refresh as with a shower.
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower;
We rise, and all the distant and the near
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear.
We kneel how weak; we rise, how full of power!
Why should we ever weak or heartless be?
Why are we ever overborne with care,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer
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And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?Archbishop Richard Chevenix Trench
Our Lord is stretched upon His face in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is engaged in an agony of intercession. Sweat as great drops of blood, falls to the ground. In prayer, He surrenders Himself to the death of the cross for the redemption of the world. "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared" (Hebrews 5:7). This prayer opened the tomb. Prayer raises the spiritually dead today. It quickens souls with new life in the Saviour. It enables the Holy Spirit to lead out into the light of God, redeemed souls released from sin and death, rejoicing in their Risen Lord.
Prayer thrusts our empty souls under the fountain of divine grace. Prayer opens the flood gates of divine life upon our barrenness. Prayer moves divine omnipotence to our weakness. Prayer brings God to man. Through prayer, God does the impossible. Then let us pray.
