Praying Like Jesus (2)

Luke 10:21-24

Luke, the writer of a ‘gospel’ - a biographical sketch of the life of Jesus - describes Jesus’ prayer life early in his gospel:

Luke 5:16 HCSB

Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.

Occasionally Luke records the content of Jesus’ prayer:

Luke 11:2–4 (HCSB)

He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say: Father, Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.”

More often than not, however, Luke simply records that Jesus prayed.

Months prior to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, resurrection and crucifixion Luke records Jesus identifying what to pray for, and Jesus Himself at prayer.

Luke 10:1–2 (HCSB)

After this, the Lord appointed 70 others, and He sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go. He told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

After these 70/72 returned, Luke records Jesus at prayer:

Luke 10:21–24 (HCSB)

In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.” Then turning to His disciples He said privately, “The eyes that see the things you see are blessed! For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them.”

There are some characteristics of this prayer that can help us as we learn to pray like Jesus:

EXPERIENCING THE FULLNESS OF THE TRIUNE GOD

Here we see Jesus - the Son, ‘rejoicing in the Spirit,’ praying to the Father.

Luke has already emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life:

Luke 1:35 (HCSB)

The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

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!

Luke 4:1 (HCSB)

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

Luke 4:14 (HCSB)

Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.

In this passage Jesus’ joy is situated in His observance that these men and women were empowered by God’s Holy Spirit in such a way that they were able to overcome the enemy (see Luke 10:18-19).

Only as the Father, Son, and Spirit work together in their respective roles and assignments will God’s kingdom prevail.

The Power of Giving Thanks

Yes, prayer is asking. Matthew, an early follower of Jesus, records Jesus as saying

Matthew 7:7–11 (HCSB)

“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

The Jewish prayer book, located in our Old Testament, titled, ‘The Psalms’ highlights the practice of thanksgiving. One Bible dictionary lists the following:

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Thanksgiving)

Thanksgiving featured prominently in the Psalms (Ps. 7:17 [18]; 28:7; 30:4 [5]; 50:23; 69:30 [31]; 86:12; 111:1). The psalmist thanked God for deliverance from enemies (Ps. 35:11–18), hostile accusers (109:29–30), and death (86:12–13). Included are songs of thanksgiving (Ps. 26:7; 42:4 [5]; cf. Isa. 51:3; Jer. 30:19), exhortations to enter God’s presence with thanksgiving (Ps. 95:2; 100:4), and calls to “give thanks” (97:12; 105:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1–3; cf. 1 Chr. 16:8, 34; 2 Chr. 20:21; Isa. 12:4; Jer. 33:11).

Acknowledging God - Father; Lord of Heaven and Earth

Jesus knows to whom He is praying.

Father -

The Gospel of Luke (v. Jesus’ Thanksgiving to the Father 10:21–24)

Jesus addresses God first as πάτερ, corresponding to Aram. ʾabbâ. While this form is found in Greek prayers (3 Macc. 6:3, 8), its use in a Palestinian context appears to be found uniquely in the prayers of Jesus and in the way in which he taught his disciples to pray. The Greek form reflects an Aramaic word used by small children as well as by adults, and expresses an intimate filial relationship with God, such as is developed in v. 22; it is a small step from addressing God as Father in this way to knowing oneself to be the Son of this Father.

‘Lord of heaven and earth’

Simply, Jesus acknowledges that God - the One He addresses as ‘Father;’ the One whom we can know as ‘Father’ through Jesus is creator and sustainer of all we see, all we know, all we experience.

Kingdom Praying

Sometimes our prayers can be a little vague and unclear. Jesus’ prayers are clear and specific.

Here He gives thanks for His Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, for two reasons:

a). God has hidden certain things from the wise and understanding

and

b). God has revealed these certain things to ‘little children.’

What are these ‘certain things?’

Luke 4:43–44 (HCSB)

But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

First, remember that the good news is a revealed good news.

It is not something we can discover with our ‘reason.’ It is not something we just ‘fall into.’

Rather, the good news of God’s kingdom is revealed - by God Himself!

As Jesus prays, He acknowledges that the good news is not revealed to the powerful, wise, and those with influence.

Rather, the good news is revealed to those who are most desperate:

Listen to this excerpt from Jesus’ first speaking opportunity:

Luke 4:16–19 (HCSB)

He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

As Jesus finished the reading, HE sat down and proclaimed:

Luke 4:21 (HCSB)

He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

Praying like a child of God

Luke 10:22 (HCSB)

All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.”

Our claim on God’s power and potential to answer prayer is only ours through what Jesus has done and accomplished for us.

Several important themes related to how and why we pray are mentioned in this one sentence:

The Father’s Authority

God has given all authority to Jesus. An early follower of Jesus by the name of Paul reminded believers living in Corinth that as Jesus has ‘all authority’ during the present time, there will come a time when Jesus presents that authority back to the Father (see 1 Cor 15:24-28).

We can pray confidently knowing that Jesus - whom the NT identifies as an intercessor along with the Holy Spirit - has all the resources necessary to answer every request.

Knowing the Father through the Son

We pray addressing God as Father because Jesus makes God known as Father.

Apart from the indwelling presence of Jesus, made real by the Holy Spirit, we would be separated from the Father because of our inherited sin.

No, not the sin of your parents or grandparents, but your inclination to sin inherited from Adam and Eve.

Sin can only be dealt with through the self-sacrifice of Jesus, the Son as an act of obedience to the Father as the Holy Spirit empowered Him.

REFLECT AND RESPOND

When we pray, we are partnering with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit

I cannot explain the Trinity. When you and I spend time praying, we are participating in the work of the Father, taking advantage of the Son’s finished work on the cross, having been made real in us by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

When we pray thanksgiving is to permeate our conversation

The counsel of the NT is to give thanks - not for everything, but in everything. Even the hard times are opportunities to experience the presence of God.

When we pray we are advancing the kingdom of our Father, the Lord of heaven and earth

Make no mistake - God is up to something! As Jesus empowered the 72 sent in the early verses of Luke 10, so we are sent to exercise the authority of the Lord of heaven and earth as we address God as ‘Father.’

Praying like Jesus is not about specific words or prhases.

Rather, learning to pray like Jesus is discovering the depth of our relationship with the triune God, collaborating as God’ kingdom advances, and expressing thanks that God - in Christ - has chosen us to be His!