The Prayers of Jesus

We have several examples in Scripture of the passionate prayers of Jesus. His prayers glorified the Father and showed how deeply He wanted God's will to be done, even at great personal expense. His prayers demonstrated His deep love for us and His desire for our unity. Through His prayer, He teaches us how to pray to the Father. He teaches us to forgive. Imagine this! Heaven was opened when Jesus prayed and His very appearance changed.

"Jesus… went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning" (Luke 9:28-29).

"And as he was praying, heaven was opened" (Luke 3:21).

Meditate on each verse and think about the following examples of the prayers of Jesus:

• The Lord's Prayer - "This, then is how you should pray:  'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one'" (Matthew 6:9-13).
• Glorify Your Name - "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!' Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and will glorify it again'" (John 12:27-28).
• Glorify Your Son - "After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: 'Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him… and now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began'" (John 17:1-5).
• A prayer for believers - "…I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one…" (John 17:6-19)
• A prayer for unity and love - "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…" (John 17:20-26)
• A prayer for God's will to be done - "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will'" (Matthew 26:39-42, Luke 22:44).
• Father forgive them - "Jesus said, 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up his clothes by casting lots" (Luke 23:33-34, 46).

Jesus' Passion Is That We Would Pray

A football game is definitely a passionate occasion. Fans are in the bleachers waving, yelling, and jumping up and down. The air is filled with noise as one of the players catches the football, quickly looks around, and throws it with all his might to another player. The quarterback catches it and runs right and left, dodging his opponent. He finds an opening, races down the field, and makes a touchdown. By this time the crowd is screaming. Banners are wildly waving! Even the quiet ones surprise you with a sudden burst of unexpected emotion. This is what I call passion.

But as you look at this illustration, think about it personally.

Jesus' passion is that you and I would pray. He wants us to be passionate about prayer and excited without any reservations. He loves it when we earnestly seek Him and trust Him, praying diligently to the end.  He loves it when we believe that prayer puts us on the winning team. Just as a football player runs with all his might and uses every ounce of energy to win, Jesus wants you and I to be passionate about prayer to that extent. He loves it when we passionately seek Him and embrace a life of extravagant devotion to God in prayer.

When you have made it your aim to grow in prayer, you have chosen a noble passion. When you have made it your goal to see prayer mobilized in your church or city, you have chosen a wise ambition. When you call upon God to teach you to pray as Jesus and His disciples did, you are praying a wonderful prayer. Every day when you say "yes" to prayer you make the Father glad. 

In our travels to various nations, we are seeing increased desire to pray and to pray effectively, a passion in prayer such as we have never before imagined. The pursuit for prayer is not just an individual pursuit but churches, ministries, and cities are seeking God on a wider scale. Truly this is the end-times Church arising to her destiny. I am presently in the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. It's Saturday afternoon and there are a few hundred young people here in the prayer room. They are ones who want to have a passionate prayer life like Jesus and are making it their aim.

"I want to encourage you to embrace a life of extravagant devotion to God, without any regard to cost. I want to encourage it not only because you will have the greatest reward you can have at the end of your life, but because you will fulfill your destiny in God, and just because it is an incredibly enjoyable way to live."
--Mike Bickle

Together in the Harvest,
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
deb@intercessorsarise.org
http://www.intercessorsarise.org