Imitate Christ

The One Who really pulls back the curtain on prayer is Jesus.

Not only does He teach His disciples to pray in giving them the Lord’s Prayer (or The Script if you like), but He also leads by example. In I Corinthians 11:1, Paul tells the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” We know that Jesus is our goal, our ideal. We want to be like Him. So, when we ask ourselves what our prayer lives should look like, we should look at when and how Jesus prays.

Jesus talks to God as the Son talking to the Father. We have discussed multiple times throughout this series how viewing God as our Father aids our prayer life and helps build the relationship that God desires to have with us. It’s important to remember this at the outset so that it can inform how we analyze Jesus’ prayers and what they tell us about the relationship we should be seeking to have with God. We’re going to talk about not only the words of Jesus’ prayers we have recorded, but also the context in which He goes to pray and some things that do and don’t show up.

I. Jesus prays about Himself very little

In the prayers we have recorded, Jesus rarely makes Himself the main subject. And even when He does pray for Himself, they are some of His shortest prayers, and always in the context of how He executes the mission. There are twenty-six verses in John 17, the High Priestly Prayer. Jesus spends only five discussing Himself with the Father, but only to ask that God would be glorified through Him and the events that were about to take place. It’s not dissimilar to the prayer Jesus prayed in John 12:27-28, where He asks a rhetorical question, “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” Jesus answers that by saying that what was about to happen, the final Passover, His trial and Crucifixion, and His ultimate Resurrection, were the entire reason He came. No, He would not ask for God to spare Him, cancel the plans, and disavow the mission. Jesus Christ asked God, “Father, glorify Your name.” It wasn’t about what Jesus wanted. He understood the physical pain and shame He was about to suffer. He knew the hurt and confusion that would befall even His closest followers. But Jesus deliverance wasn’t God’s plan. Quite the contrary, in fact. Jesus’ death was the whole point. That’s why in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayer of, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me,” is immediately followed by, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” And later, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.”¹

Obviously, Jesus has personal concerns. Anyone in His position would be looking for a way to avoid being hung on a cross. That may have been what Jesus wanted, but Jesus put His Father’s will above His own. He was willing to allow the process to remain in motion because that was what the Father had prescribed in order to bring about the salvation of the world.

When we pray, a lot of times it’s about us. My wants, my needs, my problems. Now, don’t misunderstand the point that I’m trying to make. I’m not saying that God doesn’t want us to bring those things to Him, or that we’re supposed to shove them aside and act as if caring about them is wrong. However, the way that I pray about myself needs to be informed by my ultimate desire to serve God, expand the Kingdom, and do good works. When that becomes the main focus of my prayers, even when I have things to say about myself, I spend much less time on those things, and more time meditating on serving God and praying for Him to help me do so. Any time I pray for myself, my goal needs to be that what I’m asking God to do would bring me closer to Him and help accomplish His mission — and I must be willing to say that if it won’t, then I don’t want it.

II. Jesus included the Father in His work

We love to talk about Jesus’ miracles. They give us hope, and a glimpse into that spiritual realm that we long to know about and be a part of. But for as much as they fascinate us, miracles were a relatively small part of Jesus’ ministry, serving only to let people know Jesus had come on the Father’s authority and to point people to Him. We know we don’t have every single one recorded², so I think that it’s safe to say the Spirit, through the Gospel writers, took great care in deciding which ones to include. Of these few, several of them include the fact that Jesus prays to the Father before performing the miracle. Each Gospel writer tells us that when feeding the 5,000 (plus women & children), Jesus prayed a blessing and gave thanks for the food before giving out the five loaves and two fish that would miraculously multiply into twelve baskets of leftovers.³ When Jesus heals a deaf and mute man in Mark 7, He looks up to Heaven before commanding the man’s mouth and ears be opened. In John 11, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb after giving thanks to the Father for hearing His prayers. Jesus understood the power at work in Him came from the Father, and that what He was doing was for the Father’s glory. So, when performing miracles, the goal of which was to point people towards the Father, Jesus included the Father in that process.

I need to include God in my work, both in and out of His Kingdom. I would even say, for a Christian, there is no work that is not Kingdom work. In Colossians 3:18-25, Paul outlines how we are to behave in our various roles as Christians. It’s a kind of summary of everything written to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. Husbands and wives mirror the relationship of Christ and the church. Children obey their parents, and parents provide the proper environment for their children to grow and learn in. We don’t serve our boss at work in a way we think they deserve, and we don’t rudely lord ourselves over our subordinates because of their status, because as Christians, we all work for Christ. That’s why at the end of Colossians 3, Paul writes, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”

I don’t serve people the way I think they’re worthy of. I serve them as I serve the One True Master, because in everything I do, I should want to point people towards Christ and the Father. And I need prayer to remind me of that. I need to go to God and remember that my success is by His power, and that my ability to do anything comes from His work in my life. I need His wisdom to guide me as I navigate things. Jesus could not do His Kingdom work without God. I must conclude that I cannot do my Kingdom work without Him either.

III. Jesus valued corporate and personal prayer

Jesus prayed with His disciples. Jesus prayed alone. Jesus prayed in front of people. It didn’t matter who was around. If the situation called for prayer, Jesus prayed.

In many instances where we read of Jesus praying, He is alone (which is why we emphasized silence and solitude as a part of prayer). He’s alone after healing people in Luke 5, and the night before calling His disciples in Luke 6. In Matthew 14, Jesus goes to be by Himself after hearing of John the Baptist’s death. He’s alone when He prays in Gethsemane. Jesus also prays in the presence of others, not necessarily with them, but while they are around, like in John 12 which we already mentioned, and when He performs miracles. There’s even an instance in Matthew 11, after pronouncing woe to the unrepentant cities where Jesus prays in the midst of His teaching. And of course, Jesus’ prayers on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” and “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”⁴ Jesus also did not shy away from leading what we call “corporate prayer” with His disciples. They spend much of the Passover in prayer when Jesus blesses the bread and the cup while instituting the Lord’s Supper. The High Priestly Prayer that followed is a corporate prayer as well. Jesus leads the seventy-two in prayer upon their return in Luke 10. Jesus prayed whenever and wherever it was needed.

I point this out because I think it gives us insight on how our prayer life translates from, shall we say, the closet prayers to the corporate prayers. Each of them has their place, and we need to see that. Jesus’ personal prayers reflected His walk and relationship with God. His public, corporate prayers reflected the group and the context of their service. But they all point to the Kingdom of God and the goal of serving it to the best of each one’s ability. It’s also a “both/and” relationship, not an “either/or.” We are to participate in prayers we hear with the body of Christ, paying attention to and reflecting on the words being said, not simply zone out because we aren’t the ones praying. But, participating in those prayers doesn’t mean I automatically have a prayer life. Remember the water analogy from the first post in this series? You’ll never be fully hydrated just because there’s water in things you consume. Relying only on prayer in church is like drinking half the amount your body needs each day — enough to live, but not to be healthy. We need prayers in smaller circles and prayers between ourselves and God alone to get everything we need.

IV. Prayer was Jesus’ way out of temptation

There’s a few things that need to be established here on the outset. First, Jesus was tempted. We know this from Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4. These three writers tell us that Satan came face-to-face with Jesus to tempt Him, and Jesus spent 40 days and nights fasting during this process.⁵ Prayer was an integral part of fasting, especially for long periods of time. Luke ends His account of this episode by saying the devil left Christ alone, “until an opportune time.” This brings me to the next point, which is Jesus was not tempted only in this one instance. Obviously we don’t know the intimate details of Christ’s temptations after this particular episode, but we do know, because Luke tells us, this wasn’t a one time thing. The Hebrew writer tells us in Hebrews 4:15 that the reason Jesus can mediate for us is because He was tempted like us, but never gave in. Jesus faced temptation. Jesus faced the desire. Jesus knows about the struggle between flesh and spirit, as Paul puts it. And at any point (final thing here), Jesus could have given in. If Jesus didn’t have the option to sin, why would Satan tempt Him? What’s impressive about Jesus never sinning if He never would have in the first place? How could a High Priest that can’t sin understand those of us who can? Jesus’ temptations may looked a little different — Satan never asked me to throw myself off the church building — but they’re there all the same.

I feel like, maybe to make ourselves feel better, we shroud the way Jesus remained sinless in mystery. But it really isn’t that hard to figure out. We see in His life and His teaching exactly how He did it. Jesus avoided temptation by regularly drawing near to God in prayer. Jesus is fasting and praying for 40 days in the wilderness when squaring off with Satan, preparing Himself for the encounter. He knows it’s coming, and He anticipates it. He doesn’t shy away or push it aside. He faces it head-on, with the power of God. When Jesus leads the disciples into Gethsemane, He tells them “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”⁶ Jesus knows, and has already warned the apostles that they are going to be tempted that night.⁷ When Jesus tells them to pray, He is giving them the way out. Judas could have prayed for deliverance from betraying Jesus, Peter for the strength to never deny Him, and the rest, simply for the courage to stand by Jesus and not, as seems to be the case, run away (other than John, who seems to be the only apostle at the cross). This is a real-life embodiment of what Paul writes in I Corinthians 10:12-13.

“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

They thought they could stand against whatever was coming. Did they not all agree with Peter that they would not fall away, but would fight and die with Jesus, if the need arose? Thomas, the one we remember for doubting, was the one who followed Jesus to raise Lazarus, telling the others that they were to “go, [and] die with Him.”⁸ These weren’t men of little faith. They were just prideful enough to think it couldn’t be shaken. They didn’t take heed to avoid the fall. They didn’t exercise the way of escape, which I am convinced is prayer. It’s the only thing we have continuous access to. Not to mention, God is the only One Who has the power you and I need to overcome temptation. This is also why I say that we know exactly how Jesus escaped temptation, we just act like we don’t. Jesus escaped it every time. Jesus endured. He endured because He drew close to God through His Word (quoting Scripture to Satan when He was tempted), and by praying in moments where He needed strength. If you consider this, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden sounds like He is tempted to forsake His mission, and is asking for the strength to carry it through. I don’t know if that is the case, but I find it hard to believe that Satan wasn’t in the Garden, too, whispering in Jesus’ ear, twisting the Father’s words, just as he had done in another garden long before. He was certainly doing it with the apostles. But the difference in who fell and the One Who stood firm was the choice to watch and pray.

V. For Jesus, prayer was reflexive

I’ll admit, this is more of a conclusion I draw from context clues than the others, but I think it’s a valid conclusion to come to. Luke 22:39 tells us that Jesus decision to go pray on the Mount of Olives after the Last Supper was “His custom.” Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, so I would say that when Luke tells us this was customary for Jesus, he means that Jesus often withdrew at the end of the day to spend time with His Father. Again, we mention Jesus going to be alone after John the Baptist’s death. In Luke 5, we read of Jesus withdrawing from the crowds to desolate places, so that He could pray.⁹ For Jesus, prayer was a reflex that kicked in. When He was tired, overwhelmed, needed comfort or strength, He prayed. He prays to maintain His relationship with His Father. He prays to remain strong and faithful. He prays as a way to minister to others. We often treat prayer like a fire alarm. We pull the lever, only when something really, really bad is happening, and we wait for God to swoop in and save us. But Jesus didn’t. Jesus prayed all the time. Not just in emergencies and hardship. Never like us, begging God to get us out of some mess we’ve created. Prayer was a reflex, a muscle to be exercised, honed, and stretched. Strength to overcome was supplied by the prayer life of Jesus, and He trained with no days off. So it should be for us.

If we desire to imitate Christ and have the kind of relationship with our Father that He had, we must pray like He did. It seems like a lot, and yeah, it is. But think about what kind of doors open up for us when we continually pray for strength and wisdom. Think of what we could do for God’s Kingdom when we leave ourselves behind and run to the Father, following the footsteps of the Son. Prayer can free us from these worldly shackles of temptation and desire and helps attain to that standard set by Jesus in Matthew 5:48. Jesus tells us, “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” I’m not one to point to the Greek, as after four semesters in college I think I confused myself into somehow being less qualified to do so than when I began. But the word Jesus uses there doesn’t mean “perfect” the way you and I think of it. Rather, we might say “complete.” Jesus is calling us to give all of ourselves completely over to God. To love completely, to strive to be completely good, to allow God to have complete dominion in our lives. Part of this completeness is achieved through a life we give to God completely in prayer.

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Our method this time is simple- writing. It’s one of, if not my favorite ways to pray. It helps me stay focused and really think about what I’m saying to God. I can sit down and essentially write Him a letter, pouring in everything I want to say. And a nice thing I can do is, if I keep them, I can go back later and read them and see how God handled each situation. I can remember again those things which I gave thanks for. It becomes not just empty words I shoved in front of God once upon a time, but a tool that builds my faith and shows me in real life they way that God has worked for me in every yes, no, and not right now. Also, there’s something cathartic in writing out things and then putting it away or getting rid of it. I can take a problem, question, or worry I have and give it to God in prayer. Then, I take that paper and throw it away. It isn’t mine anymore. I’ve given it to God to take care of and I can’t and won’t take it back. Try it for a month and see what happens. Then, go back and see how God really helped everything work together for you.

1. Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46

2. John 20:30-31, 21:25

3. Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16; John 6:11. Matthew 15 and Mark both also hold accounts of Jesus feeding a crowd of 4,000, also praying before handing out the food.

4. Luke 23:34 and Matthew 27:46

5. Luke 4:1-2 and Mark 1:13 both seem to insinuate that Jesus was tempted all 40 days He was in the wilderness.

6. Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Luke 22:40 and 46

7. Matthew 26:31

8. John 11:16

9. Luke 5:16