Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Following Jesus means knowing how to pray John 11:41-42 Following Jesus without Freaking out Sermon 08 Periodically, I’ll look through the racks of our local Salvation Army for unusual T-shirts. They’re just a buck or two. I found one a year ago that says, “Mathematics…it’s not rocket science.” But with my math skills, it might as well be. While I did fine with basic math, I was lost like a ball in high weeds when it came to Algebra. You know how kids foolishly say, “What do I need to take this for? I’ll never use it anyway,” I was wrong!   My junior year of college I got a job at a placed called Watertown Metals and ended up operating a Brake Press. It was good money but the foreman would set up the machines. Basically, it was an assembly line. So while I thought that I was a brake press operator, I wasn’t. Later, I got another job at another plant as a brake press operator, they actually expected me to be able to read blueprints and figure out measurements for parts. After ruining a few hundred parts one night (I ran them backwards), they decided to transfer me to a different department. My math skills, or I should say, my lack of them cost me a decent job.   When it comes to prayer, many of us feel as lost as I do in Algebra. We feel inadequate, even like failures. Jesus though was continually successful in prayer. His success wasn’t because He was God. His success in prayer was as a man, a human being just like us.  Turn to John 11:41-42 (p. 761) where Jesus is praying by the grave of Lazarus. Did you catch that? “I knew that You always hear Me.” Prayer was a top priority for Jesus and His prayers were answered. Why? What made Jesus so successful in prayer? We’re going to work through that this morning. Prayer is a vital part of the Christian life and as Christ-followers, Following Jesus means knowing how to pray. If you’re taking notes… 1. Jesus’ prayer life was founded on a right relationship with His Father. Miles Franklin insightfully said, “Someone to tell it to is one of the fundamental needs of human beings.” Jesus knew who He was “telling it to.” Of the twenty-three occasions Jesus prayed, eight are direct quotes. Seven of those directly quoted prayers begin with Jesus addressing God as “Father.” The listing of those seven prayers highlights His repeated use of "Father" and a very logical explanation can be suggested for the one omitting "Father." For example, in Luke 10:21 “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you had hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” In these seven prayers Jesus addressed God as "Father" a total of sixteen times. The only quoted prayer in which He does not begin by saying "Father" was from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). The omission of "Father" has a reasonable explanation. It was the climactic moment of Jesus' crucifixion sufferings. It had been dark for three hours. Jesus had borne the penalty for our sins, endured the wrath of hell and for a little while sensed that a holy God had turned His back. Feeling forsaken by his Father, He cried out, "God," instead of "Father."   Throughout His life Jesus based His praying on His close relationship with His Father. If we want to be successful in prayer, we must come into the Lord's presence as His children. Obviously, we’re not children in the unique relationship possessed by Jesus, yet when we trust Christ as our Savior, we’re born-again into the family of God and become His children.   The Fatherhood of God is a new emphasis first revealed in the Gospels. As God's children, we receive the spirit of adoption, and are enabled to cry "Father" or "Abba" which could be translated "Daddy" (Rom. 8:15). We have the right to boldly enter our "Daddy's" presence and make known our requests and the Father always hears the prayers of His own children.   Does God ever answer the prayers of unbelievers? In His common grace He seems to sometimes grant their petitions. But as His sons and daughters, we have a legitimate claim. Jesus taught His followers to enter the place of prayer by saying, "Our Father." 2. Jesus prayed regularly and remotely.   a) Jesus prayed at regular times. Regular synagogue attendance was a habit of Jesus (Luke 4:16), doubtless taught Him by His parents, who also would have instilled in Him the custom of praying three times daily. We’re given one instance of His praying early in the morning and know of several times He prayed in the evening. When He retreated to the desert or a mountain to pray, it could have been the hour of prayer. During His final week Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, where we know He prayed and often spent the night, rising early ready for morning prayer.   Some folks claim they’re always in the spirit of prayer, so they don’t need to schedule a regular time. While Jesus never specified a particular hour, nor how often we should pray each day, He evidently observed fixed times. So to pray Jesus' way means that we must find time somewhere in our daily routine for personal devotions, then discipline ourselves to keep that appointment, whether morning or night.   Missionary J. Hudson Taylor said, "Satan will always find you something to do when you ought to be occupied about prayer and Bible study, if it is only arranging a window blind." Ken Taylor, publisher of The Living Bible, wrote, "After many years of ups and downs in my devotional life—of success mingled with failure—I realized there is no solution except to make a regular appointment with God and to stick to it…I must ask God to help me stay on a regular schedule. When I don't, I know I have missed the greatest privilege and opportunity of that day. My own time with God is usually before breakfast, although I sometimes keep my appointment late at night or even during the night."   It’s said that Andrew Bonar, a godly man of another generation had three rules: (1) Not to speak to any man before speaking to Jesus; (2) Not to do anything with his hands until he had been on his knees; (3) Not to read the papers until he had read his Bible.   b) Jesus prayed in quiet places. It's possible to pray anywhere, even in the shower, in busy traffic waiting for the light to change, in crowded doctor’s offices or at your desk at work. But although it's wise to take advantage of free moments in unlikely places, to be like Jesus we should take time to withdraw and search out some quiet spot. He prayed in gardens and deserts and on mountaintops. He had his favorite hideaways. One wonders if in the sweltering heat of the rugged wilderness if He sought the coolness of a cave. To escape the pressures of the crowds Jesus worked hard to find quiet. He urged His followers to enter a closet to pray, not that a closet has some special holiness; rather, it provides solitude. Any place you find calm becomes your prayer closet.   In 1963 when Ken Taylor began to publish Living Letters, he had to decide if he should leave his job as Director of Moody Press to devote more time to paraphrasing more of the Bible. Could he make it without his salary? What if Living Letters flopped? At lunchtime he’d climb to one of the empty floors of Moody's oldest building and, pacing back and forth, pray for wisdom. Other times he’d slip down into the subbasement of Moody Press to a window well that became his prayer closet. 3. Jesus wasn’t legalistic about prayer. A Jewish man moved into a Catholic neighborhood. Every Friday the Catholics went crazy because, while they were morosely eating fish, this Jewish man was outside grilling steaks! So the Catholics worked on the Jew to convert him. They took him to a priest who sprinkled holy water on him and intoned: "Born a Jew. Raised a Jew. Now a Catholic." The Catholics were all ecstatic. No more delicious but maddening smells on Friday nights. But the next Friday, the scent of steak grilling wafted through the neighborhood again! The Catholics all rushed to the Jewish man's house to remind him of his new diet and found him standing over the grill, cooking juicy steaks, sprinkling water on the meat, saying: "Born a cow. Raised a cow. Now a fish."   But Jesus wasn’t legalistic in His prayer life. To pray as He did allows for an incredible amount of latitude and variety.   a) Jesus wasn’t stuck on a prepared text. Sometimes Jesus prayed in logically outlined petitions, as He did in the High Priestly Prayer and the Lord's Prayer. His High Priestly prayer in John 17 progresses in an orderly fashion from prayer for Himself, for the apostles and then for future believers. The Lord’s Prayer begins with God's name, kingdom and will… then turns to man's need for bread, forgiveness, and protection from evil.   Jesus didn’t have some written, prepared text. He prayed with a free, unpremeditated outflow of emotion, as at Lazarus' grave or in Gethsemane and on the cross. In the same way we can pour out our hearts in words which if captured in writing might not have the best grammar or the most accurate vocabulary. God’s not impressed by a “fancy” prayer but we’re most blessed by extemporaneous expression.   b) Jesus wasn’t trapped by a schedule. Unlike "foxhole Christians" who pray only in danger, Jesus prayed both at regular hours and in critical situations. When difficulties crossed His path Jesus immediately went to prayer. He prayed in both calm and crisis. Significant events sent Him to prayer: His baptism, choice of apostles, the Gethsemane ordeal and the Cross. He prayed at the start of things, as He did before beginning His earthly ministry, early in the morning and before performing His miracles.   Every struggle or trial should drive us to pray. We should program our prayer computer so that the moment trouble looms on our horizon, we immediately lift our hearts to God for help. Prayer should be our first reaction, not a last resort.   c) Jesus wasn’t rigid in how long or short He prayed. He rebuked vain repetitions. Saying the same words over and over meaninglessly was just mouthing prayers and He warned that we wouldn’t be heard just because we were verbose. He castigated the Pharisees for saying long prayers in a pretense of piety, while at the same time cheating poor widows.   Yet Jesus did not forbid lengthy praying. On at least two occasions He prayed for a long period—an all-night prayer session and the hour in Gethsemane. He had compelling reasons for prolonged prayer both times. The all-night vigil preceded His important decision of which apostles to choose and, from a human standpoint, the success of His mission.   His hour of prayer in Gethsemane might have been His usual practice. He spoke of watching with Him one hour. The night before the cross, under such emotional strain, who could fault Him for praying as long as He could. But many of His prayers were spontaneous outbursts, often just a sentence or two. Even His High Priestly Prayer takes no longer than four minutes to read aloud in our English versions. Jesus may have prayed at length on many occasions but just as many times He prayed briefly.   For us to pray like Jesus doesn't mean there must be a specific duration for each prayer. A half-hour isn't more spiritual than ten minutes. Five minutes may be more effectual than an hour. We should pray as long as we need to spend time in the Father's presence. Different people will have different prayer habits. Many find it profitable to have several short spans of prayer each day, rather than one long session.   d) Jesus wasn’t restricted to a certain posture. Since Jesus prayed spontaneously in emergency situations, He prayed in varying positions: emerging from the baptismal waters of the Jordan, looking upwards, standing, seated, kneeling, prostrate on the ground, on the cross and with lifted hands.   But for some praying in the right position is mandatory. One man, whose belief required him to pray in a specific direction, carried a compass to help him maintain his bearings on a train, twisting and curving in its climb up a mountain side. But for Jesus externals were unimportant. It was the heart attitude that mattered. Not beauty of language, nor location, nor hour of day, nor length of time, nor number of repetitions, nor position of body, but the spirit within. As a man who fell down a well and ended up with his feet pointing to the sky said, "The prayingest prayer I ever prayed was a-standing on my head." 4. Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will through prayer. For Jesus' praying was not some devotional exercise at a regular time in a quiet place, nor a cry for help in crisis times. Rather, it was His way of getting things done.   Several Greek verbs are translated pray in the Gospels. The word most often used of Jesus' praying means to make a request of God, to implore His aid in some particular matter. This petitionary verb is used of His praying at His baptism or early in the morning in the hills before choosing the apostles, after feeding the five thousand, when His disciples asked to be taught how to pray, to bless little children and also in Gethsemane.   While John’s Gospel omits many incidents of Jesus at prayer, perhaps because prayer is such a human practice and John is stressing His deity. When John does speak of Jesus at prayer, he uses verbs like "say" or "ask," which more or less imply equality between the one praying and the one prayed to. But the verb used most of all has the idea of petitioning.   a) Jesus petitioned His Father for spiritual matters. Prayer was Jesus' way of accomplishing things. What things? Everything that promoted the kingdom and will of God. The Father's program called for the defeat of Satan's kingdom through the power of the cross and the resurrection, and for the ultimate ushering in of the Father's reign when the Kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ.   Jesus came to earth to do His Father's bidding. Leaving heaven to come as a baby, He said, "I have come to do your will, O God" (Heb. 10:7). All four Gospels begin with the same announcement—the divine kingdom is at hand. To help fulfill His mission Jesus saturated His life with prayer. He knew full well the reality and power of Satan. The thrust of His praying is found in His model prayer, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). The night before He died He prayed, "Not my will, but yours be done." And He declared at the end, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).   Praying was Jesus' way of advancing the kingdom. Luke mentions Jesus' frequent withdrawals to desolate places to pray (5:16), then in the next verse, speaking of subsequent ministry to the multitudes converging on Him, says, "And the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick" (v. 17). Then Luke immediately relates the healing of the paralytic let down through the roof of a house. Matthew records that after Jesus fed the five thousand, "He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray" (14:23). The next verse begins the story of His walking on water to calm the storm for His frightened disciples. Maybe that’s the explanation of the true significance of the miraculous. The communion of the Lord with a supreme Father had so filled the physical nature of Jesus with spiritual forces which extended the power of the Spirit over the material world beyond the limits by which man is bound in his normal and sinful condition. Prayer was more than an attitude for Him, it was an act asking for something specific—asking, seeking, knocking, often urgently, perseveringly and emotionally.   b) Jesus asked for specific things and gave reasons for His requests. Frequently our prayers are a general "God bless so-and-so.” No specific blessing is requested and no reason is given for the request. But vagueness did not characterize Jesus' praying. In many of His directly quoted prayers He gives not only a request but the explanation for the request as well.   At Lazarus' grave He prayed for the raising of Lazarus so that those hearing the petition might believe Jesus was sent by the Father. He prayed for Peter to maintain his faith so that the apostle would become a tower of strength to the church. Jesus asked for the unity of His followers so that the world might know that the Father had sent Him. On the cross He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."   Curtis C. Mitchell comments, "Notice that amid the pain and turmoil, Christ was still careful to explain to the Father the reason for making the request! This feature has been typical of all of Christ's prayers, and its presence at this point seems to indicate a fixed habit. A man having nails driven through his hands would hardly be expected to pray for others in the first place, much less to state a reason for making the request! Jesus was not in the habit of rattling off a string of bare petitions the way we would read a grocery list. He always stated reasons and evidently this fixed habit prevailed even in this unlikely context."   c) Jesus helped answer His own prayers. He put feet to His prayers. Not only did He pray for Lazarus' raising but with a loud voice called Him forth from the dead. He not only prayed that Peter's faith not fail but He warned him beforehand. And after the denial He sought Peter out privately to restore him, and later elicited from Peter a threefold affirmation of love in the presence of other disciples at a meal on the Galilean shores.   Sometimes we can do nothing to help answer our prayers but often we can. Billy Sunday used to say, "If you're praying for a job, God expects you to read the want ads." The farmer who prays for a harvest must sow the seed and cultivate it. C. S. Lewis wrote, "I am often, I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them. It's so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him."   d) Jesus prayed for that which lined up with His Father's will. His consuming passion was to do the will of His Father. His requests were unswervingly directed toward that which would help Him fulfill His task.   As His followers, we should be asking for matters in agreement with His will. Jesus told us how we could do this: "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you" (John 15:7). Note, "If…my words remain in you.” The key is our saturation with Christ's words. If His words abide in us, then His thoughts become our thoughts, His ways our ways, His desires our desires and His will our will. Abiding is really our saying, "Thy will be done." Petitions offered by an abiding believer are granted.   Praying in the will of God has been compared to a sailor nearing shore and throwing out a rope to someone on shore who will tie the rope around a post. The sailor doesn’t pull the shore to the boat but pulls himself and all on board to the shore. "Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God." Or as someone once prayed, "Lord, put on my heart what You have on Yours."   Praying in Jesus' name is another way of praying in God's will. Praying in Jesus' name is not some fixed phrase to end our prayer or a magic wand to wave over a prayer to gain an automatic answer. But it means praying not only in the merits of Jesus Christ, but also in His interests, for His sake, for things He wants, for His program, for His honor, for His benefit, for the furtherance of His kingdom, for His glory. Such praying comes from abiding, obedient hearts. To tack the name of Jesus to the end our requests for things that reflect our own selfish desires and not the furtherance of Jesus' work is to misuse Jesus' name.   As a Scottish catechism says, "Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies." Directly or indirectly Jesus' petitions always concerned the advance of His kingdom, the glory of God or the fulfillment of the Father's will. His prayers were always answered. He used prayer to accomplish His Father's will. Three times the Father's voice thundered approval of His beloved Son; each time the Son had been praying. Prayer was the instrument that opened heaven. And in the same way we’re to ask for matters that promote God's work. Spurgeon said, "Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the kingdom." The omnipotent God of the universe deigns to answer prayer because we ask. He revels in our requesting.   e) Jesus seemed to pray more for the sanctification of saints than for the salvation of sinners. His prayer on the cross, "Father, forgive them," was one of the few occasions when He prayed for the lost. His usual policy was to pray for believers, as in His High Priestly Prayer, "I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me” (John 17:9). He prayed for believers to display unity among themselves so that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him. Observable love among the saints exhibited the mark of genuine Christianity and created an evangelistic atmosphere.   During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the days of Mussolini, believers suffered terrible persecution. In his book, Fire on the Mountain, Raymond Davis reports that the love demonstrated by believers for each other during their suffering made a major impression on unbelievers. For example, no government provision was made for feeding prisoners in jail. This was left to relatives and friends. But Christians in the prisons were so well cared for by fellow believers that enough food remained to also feed the non-Christian prisoners too, who otherwise would have starved. Such kindness was previously unknown. As a result of this demonstrated love, word spread. Unbelievers sought out believers to learn more about their faith. Many became Christians and upon their release went back home and attended the nearest church.   Naturally, we should pray for our unsaved family and friends. But we should also keep in mind that Jesus placed emphasis on the development of Christian character which prepared believers to share the gospel with the lost around them. Jesus urged his followers to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the fields. In remembering our unsaved loved ones we need to pray that some faithful brother or sister will cross their path with a loving witness.   Sadly, today Christians often fail to develop relationships with non-Christians. Larry Moyer points out that one reason is today's automation. "A person can now turn into his driveway, open his garage door with his automatic door opener, drive in, and close the garage door without ever saying hello to his next-door neighbor who is painting the front door. Banking online encourages seclusion even more. By 'reaching out and touching someone,' you can pay your bills, apply for credit, invest in the stock market, and transfer funds without talking to anyone face-to-face. Even a pizza can be delivered to your home by an employee who can't be there longer than thirty seconds." Moyer also noted that most backyards are enclosed by fences high enough to prevent striking up conversations, and that nearly half of all Americans do not know who their next-door neighbor is.   As we pray for the lost, we should also pray for workers who will make contact with them, at the same time readying our own hearts to share the gospel with those whom the Lord may send across our path.   f) Jesus supported His prayers with an obedient life. Jesus' prayers were effective because they were backed by obedient conduct. Jesus warned that prayers are hindered by lack of faith, mindlessness and hypocrisy. But none of these imperfections marred His praying.   Prayer can’t be divorced from living. Zeal cannot end with words but must extend to deeds. We cannot follow Jesus in prayer unless we follow Him in obedience. Andrew Murray wrote, "The effective prayer of faith comes from a life given up to the will and the love of God. Not as a result of what I try to be when praying, but because of what I am when I'm not praying, is my prayer answered by God.” Conclusion: Joanne Shetler, a Wycliffe Bible Translator in the Philippines, noticed that the new believers in the tribe she was working with did not pray as they should. So she prayed, “Lord, do whatever it takes to teach these people to pray.” About a month later, she was in a helicopter crash there and almost died. That accident prompted the people to pray fervently, “Lord, don’t let her die because our book isn’t done.” And from then on, the people prayed.   Prayer is the acknowledgement that our need is not partial; it’s total. If we ask the Lord to teach us to pray, He may put us in situations where we’re so overwhelmed that we recognize that we have no choice but to pray! So, if you dare, you can with fear and trembling say, “Lord, teach us to pray.”   Too often we want the Lord to do unusual things for us while failing to spend serious energy in prayer. To pray Jesus' way requires discipline, obedience, fervency, spontaneity, specificity, and perseverance. Following Jesus means knowing how to pray.