Over the next three weeks, we will examine the prayer life of our Savior, looking at how He prayed, for whom/what He prayed, and the model He gave us for prayer. Today’s Bible Drill will focus on “how” Jesus prayed.
Jesus withdrew to pray
Probably the most common characteristic of Jesus’ prayer life is that He often withdrew to a solitary place to pray. Matthew 14:23 says that “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” He often slipped away to the wilderness or lonely places to pray. His 40 days and nights of fasting in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-2) undoubtedly involved much prayer, as the two disciplines are often linked in Scripture (we will discuss the relationship between fasting and prayer in a future Bible Drill). Luke 5:16 tells us “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Indeed, even on the eve of His crucifixion, He prepared by separating himself from the disciples and praying for deliverance and submitting His will to God’s (Matt. 26:36-44; Luke 22:39-46).
Likewise, Jesus taught that we should “pray in secret.” In one of His famous discourses on the discipline of prayer, Jesus said: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt. 6:5-6).
Jesus prayed at different times of the day
There is no doubt that Jesus maintained a regular and consistent prayer habit, always remaining in constant communication with the Father. He prayed at various times of the day, as indicated by Scripture. He prayed “early in the morning” (Mark 1:35), in the evening (Matt. 14:23), and even on occasion spent the whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12).
Jesus prayed during “big moments”
If you pray before making big decisions or at special milestones in your life, you are following the Lord’s model. In his gospel, Luke tells us that “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12). He follows this by explaining in Luke 6:13-16 that it was after this all-night prayer that Jesus chose the disciples. In addition, Jesus prayed at such momentous occasions as the Transfiguration (Luke 9:29) and His baptism (Luke 3:21).
Jesus prayed using various physical postures
In examining “how” Jesus prayed, I love that the Bible even gives us clues as to the various postures He used. Luke 22:41 shows Jesus kneeling in prayer, and John 17:1 tells us that “He looked toward heaven and prayed.” We also know that Jesus “laid hands on” people in prayer, as evidenced by His blessing of the children brought to Him (Matt. 19:13).
Jesus prayed blessings for provision
And yes, Jesus even blessed food! Every gospel account of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand shows that Jesus “blessed” the loaves and fish and “gave thanks” (Matt. 14:19; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16; John 6:11). Jesus also gave thanks for the bread at the Last Supper (Luke 24:30).
Over the next couple of weeks we will examine for what and whom Jesus prayed and what He teaches us about this discipline. This week, I challenge all of us to examine “how” Jesus prayed and what we may learn from His example.
“He was praying very fervently…” (Luke 22:44, NASB)
