Praying Like Jesus Luke 4:1-14

Warfare Praying

John Piper, long time pastor in Minneapolis, writes

Life is war. That’s not all it is.But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief…prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts for the den.

John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academic, 2003), 45.

With this bold assertion in mind, listen to Paul - an early follower of Jesus - as he concludes a section of one of his letters:

Ephesians 6:18 HCSB

Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.

That phrase “pray in the Spirit” has caused all sorts of unnecessary confusion and uncertainty. Some have interpreted this to mean that genuine prayer is done in a ‘spiritual’ language that only the Holy Spirit can produce or understand.

Others suggest that ‘praying in the Spirit’ is a kind of prayer where the mind and heart seem to be in some mystical experience.

I believe Paul is drawing on an experience recorded in the Gospels (those four accounts of Jesus’ life). And I understand that the experience we will examine today is instructive for believers on how to ‘pray in the Spirit.’

Luke 4:1-14

This incident in Jesus’ life occurs immediately after His baptism by John (Luke 3:21-22).

Luke 3:21–22 (HCSB)

When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!

Then in vs 1 of the next chapter Luke tells us

Luke 4:1 HCSB

Then Jesus returned from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

One author explains vs 1 like this:

Luke Comments

Luke linked both Jesus’ being equipped by God and his encounter with the devil as the result of the Spirit’s having come upon him. The conflict was not initiated by the devil but by the Spirit. Thus Jesus was not portrayed as passively being dragged out by the Evil One to endure temptation, for the initiator of this event was not the devil but God. The picture is that of the Anointed of the Lord on the offensive and led by the Spirit to confront the devil.

1. All Prayer is rooted in the indwelling Holy Spirit

Lloyd John Ogilvie, chaplain of the US Senate in the late 1990’s once wrote,

…prayer starts with God. It is His idea. The desire to pray is the result of God’s greater desire to talk with us. He has something to say when we feel the urge to pray. He is the initiator. The keen desire to begin and end the day with prolonged prayer is His gift. The sense of need to pray for challenges or opportunities throughout the day is because He has wisdom and insight He wants to impart.

https://www.preaching.com/sermons/prayer-starts-with-god-isaiah-6524-1-john-512-15-romans-826-30/

Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into a wilderness not far from where He was baptized. The adversary didn’t trick Jesus, not did the enemy lure Jesus into the wilderness.

As the gospels make clear, Jesus - in the power of the Holy Spirit - was specifically told/directed to go to the wilderness where He would do battle with Satan.

This is also not a contest to determine Jesus’ identity. That was sealed y God’s Word in Luke 3:22 when the voice declared “You are my beloved Son; With You I am well-pleased.”

Praying in the Spirit Rooted in Biblical Truth

In each temptation Jesus replied with scripture. He didn’t have a scroll with Him. He simply knew God’s Word and He used God’s Word to defeat the attempts of Satan to deter Him from God’s purposes.

Too often we rely on our willpower alone to advance the kingdom of God.

We rely on our knowledge of systems and programs, assuming that if we could just find the right program we could advance God’s Kingdom.

Sadly, willpower too often fails us. Prior to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, Jesus withdrew to pray. He took several of His closest disciples. As Jesus agonized in prayer, what were His disciples doing?

SLEEPING!

Matthew records the exchange between Jesus and His disciples in these words:

Matthew 26:38–40 (HCSB)

Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow —to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with Me.” Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with Me one hour?

Instead of ‘willing’ ourselves to ‘act’ perhaps we should set aside significant amounts of time to pray - not just to list our concerns before God, but to discern His will. Listening to God through His Word as we read, meditate, memorize.

Donald Whitney, is his short treatise on prayer observes:

The book of Psalms - which means ‘book of praises’ in Hebrew - was the songbook of Israel. The psalms were inspired by God for the purpose of being sung to God.

It is as though God said… “I want you to praise me, but you don’t know how to praise me…There is nothing more praiseworthy than I, and it is a blessing for you to know that…Therefore, since I want you to praise me…[and] you don’t how how to praise me, here are the words I want you to use.

Donald S. Whitney, Praying the Bible (Wheaton, ILL.: Crossway, 2015), 45-46.

If Jesus used God’s Word to pray, to speak powerfully against the enemy, why don’t we?

Praying in the Spirit Focuses on God’s Kingdom Purposes

Each of the temptations Satan threw at Jesus focus on one primary aim:

Forget God’s Purpose.

Luke 4:3–4 (HCSB)

The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.”

Will Jesus use His unrivaled power to meet His own needs first? or will He use His power to serve others?

Read the rest of Luke 4 and we find Jesus surrounded by people - Luke 5:1 describes the crowd as ‘pressing in on Jesus.’

Reading earlier this week in John’s gospel I came to the passage in John 6, which reads:

John 6:4–13 (HCSB)

Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?” He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?” Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

Luke 4:5–8 (HCSB)

So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

Jesus, present at creation, the cosmic glue of creation, the sustainer of creation here was given an absurd choice.

Worship the devil and Jesus could have all He was going to have anyway!

However, by acknowledging the authority of Satan in this way the adversary thinks he can win!

Luke 4:9–12 (HCSB)

So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you, and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.”

Satan actually quotes God’s Word to Jesus! Assuming that Jesus doesn’t fully comprehend God’s purpose, Satan offers a quick and easy solution by which Jesus can gain a following.

Yet, Jesus affirms that God’s purpose and plan will not be thwarted.

REFLECT AND RESPOND

June 6, 1944 was the beginning of the end for German and Italian forces.

It took a few weeks, but soon after the Normandy landings Allied Forces were on the move.

Talk was rampant that troops would be home for Christmas, 1944.

The enemy had other plans. On December 16, 1944 German forces attacked depleted and weary Allied forces.

The attack was a major effort by Germany to spilt the armies of the Allies and regain control of the Belgian port city of Antwerp.

Allied Forces were nearly overwhelmed and defeated.

On Dec 26, 1944 the lead elements of Gen Patton’s Third Army reached the area and the tide began to turn in favor of the Allies, though it would take at least another month before Allied forces could continue towards Germany.

What in the world does this have to do with warfare praying?

Let me challenge you with these words:

Pray always and don’t lose heart.

The Allies took their eyes off the goal. They were weary. They were overconfident. Instead of staying focused, the Allies let their pride get in the way. And it very well could have cost the Allies the war.

We cannot afford to continue to use our prayers as walkie-talkies asking for more comfort and convenience for our life in the den.

We are at war. Pray like it.

Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.

You know better than I how Satan tempts you to find the easy way around the challenges.

Wake up! It’s past time to make prayer a priority instead of something we tack onto meal time or preparing for bed time.

-Pray for each member of WMS staff…

-Pray for each request on our prayer list daily…

-Open your Bible and pray the psalms…it doesn’t really matter where you start…just start!

Praying is an intimate act between a Father and His child. If you have not placed your faith and trust in Jesus, prayer will be futile and empty words. Meet me here at the front in a moment and let me share with you how you can leave here a child of God.

Prayer is work. It is not easy. Prayer demands discipline. Join us next Sunday after church - we’ll provide light snacks - and we will continue to learn how to pray together!