Jesus’ Prayer Life

October 21, 2024

Have you ever thought about Jesus’ prayer life? The Gospel of Luke gives us the clearest picture of Jesus’ prayer life. In it, he reveals that Jesus prayed about everything and that His prayer life was active and important to His ministry.

We start at Jesus’ baptism. We read in Luke 3:21-22, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”’ Jesus prayed to prepare Himself for His ministry, which began at His baptism. Did those present hear God’s words? I think the words were primarily for Jesus because they are the words every young man wants to hear from their father, that Dad claims his son as his own, that he loves his son, and that he believes his son has what it takes to be a man. God did that for Jesus in that moment.

In Luke 5:16 we read these intriguing words, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” The word “Often” is the key word in this short verse. The question that this verse always raises for me is, if the Son of God needed to pray often, then what does that teach us about our need for prayer. I know that, as I have matured as a disciple of prayer, I have found that there is more to learn. Like love, we never learn everything there is to learn. Also, like love, the only way to mature is to pray more in order to learn more.

Before Jesus chose the twelve disciples, from all the people that were following Him, He spent the entire night in prayer (Luke 6:12). It was so important that there be leaders, writers and a betrayer amongst those that would learn to spread the Good News to the world. How often do you stop before making important decisions and ask God for guidance? How often do you stop before making decisions that might become important one day and ask God for guidance?

In Luke 9:18 we read, “Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”’ Teaching His disciples about prayer was a very important part of Jesus’ commitment to prepare His disciples for their future. They would be faced with amazing victories that they would need to face with humility and persecution, as well as death, which they would need to face with courage. After asking this question, Peter would be praised for correctly discerning that Jesus was the Messiah. He may have been struggling a little with humility as Jesus praised him, because in a few moments Jesus would accuse Peter of being led by satan when Jesus shared that being the messiah meant suffering and death. Do you find that prayer helps you to be more humble and courageous in victorious and challenging times? Do you regularly turn to prayer when such times occur?

In Luke 9:28-36, Jesus takes Peter, James and John on a mountain where they see Him transfigured “as bright as a flash of lightning.” Jesus told them that they were going on the mountain to pray. I encourage you to find an opportunity to pray on a mountain. Jesus did it often. Apparently, mountains are a good place to pray.

Other times Luke describes Jesus praying include His prayer for Peter before His arrest (Luke 22:32). He didn’t pray for Peter to be protected from satan sifting him like wheat, but that it would make Peter and the disciples stronger. Have you ever prayed for someone that way?

After the last supper, He took the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to know whether it was time for Him to die or not. We know this prayer was physically demanding as Luke describes how Jesus’ “sweat was like drops of blood” (Luke 22:39-46). Have you ever had a prayer time that was physically exhausting?

Finally, we read two prayers that Jesus spoke from the cross in Luke 23:34,46, as Jesus calls out to His Abba, Father. He prays, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” He was dying for the sins of the world. Never underestimate the power of forgiveness. And finally, He prayed, ‘“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last breath.” Ultimately, like Jesus, God wants us to trust Him with everything. It will take a strong and growing prayer life to do this. Praise be to God, our rock and salvation!