The Seven Prayers of Jesus

Laszlo Gallusz

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781783595686
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783595686
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Millions of Christians believe that prayer is the breath of the soul, on which depends the quality of their spiritual life. The reality, however, is that genuine prayer is something we need to learn repeatedly. We share the helplessness of the disciples who asked Jesus, 'Lord, teach us to pray' (Luke 11: 1).

This volume focuses on the praying of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The Seven Prayers of Jesus investigates his prayers in their literary and socio-historical context, and points to their theological significance and relevance for today.

Laszlo Gallusz hopes that this work will not only provide a fresh biblical perspective on the prayers of Jesus but also become a source of inspiration for our own prayer lives.






'Dr Gallusz's... engagement with Scripture shows his mastery of the biblical topic. Yet he also writes with the heart of a pastor, applying his insights to the life of the individual Christian and also that of the church. This book will enrich the intellect and nurture the spirit of all those who read it. I recommend it wholeheartedly.'
Laurence A. Turner, Principal Lecturer Emeritus in Old Testament, Newbold College, Bracknell, UK

1. PRAYER IN THE LIFE OF JESUS

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

(Mark 1:35)

But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.

(Luke 5:16)

The phenomenon of prayer is to be understood within the story of humanity, which is a story of our relating to God. It exists in the tension between our failure to acknowledge God as God, and our redemption, by which we are freed to live according to his will.1 The one who turns to prayer seeks to answer God’s question ‘Where are you?’ (Gen. 3:9) by expressing the desire: ‘Teach me to do your will, for you are my God’ (Ps. 143:10). Thus, prayer is to be perceived as a gift through which, as Augustine puts it, we become ‘God’s beggars’.2 As the incarnated divine ‘Word’ (John 1:1–18), Jesus was not in need of repentance; nevertheless he devoted more attention to prayer than any other human being. In our examination of the significance of prayer in the life of Jesus, we will look at his attitude, practice and instructions regarding prayer, as well as how he handled the prayers directed to him during his earthly life.

Attitude of Jesus towards prayer

Prayer was deeply woven into the life of Jesus. Everything he did was rooted in prayer. The examination of the prayer habits of Jesus and the content of his prayers reveals ‘the depth of his belief in prayer’.3 Certain of God’s goodness and goodwill, he prayed with the strong conviction that his prayers were heard.

For Jesus, prayer was not an occasion for a well-learnt ritual, nor a moment for sharing new information with God. It was a time for meeting the heavenly Father when he knew he could count on the Father’s presence. Jeremias notes that ‘Jesus talks to his Father as naturally, as intimately and with the same sense of security as a child talks to his father’.4 This is most evidently seen in his informal address of God by the term abba (‘father’), which will be the object of detailed examination in the following chapter.

While prayer was for Jesus a time for drawing power for his salvific ministry, it was by no means a self-centred spiritual exercise, an ego-centred session with the purpose of securing God’s blessings. Our danger of falling into this pitfall is well noted by Bock, who confesses his own experience: ‘My prayer life became a strategy session during which I informed God about what I intended to accomplish and then asked for blessing with added recommendations about how God could best meet my needs.’5 No doubt, Jesus saw prayer as a powerful weapon (Mark 9:23). However, for him, prayer was, first and foremost, the time for one-to-one communication with the Father. It was the means by which he united his will with God’s agenda and submitted himself to the divine plan, asking for strength and wisdom to carry it out.

The informal communion of Jesus with the Father suggests that prayer is to be simple and sincere. The fact that God, who does not need our prayers, wants humans to communicate with him reveals his desire for a relationship to be maintained. The root of this bond lies in the biblical image of God as Creator and Father, the one who is holy and loving at the same time. These two qualities are not mutually exclusive – they flow from each other.6 We are therefore free to express our trust in him through prayer, while aware of our limitations as creatures who are dependent on the Creator. So, if prayer becomes relegated to an anaemic exercise delivered ‘on automatic pilot’,7 it dissolves into the mist and becomes a means of self-deception.

Jesus not only encouraged the right kind of prayer, but also sharply censured the wrong kind of prayer. The best-known example of his criticism on the issue is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14). The Pharisee pretends to offer a thanksgiving, but he is not talking with God: he worships his own religiosity. In his prayer there is space only for himself and other human beings; there is none for God. In contrast, the tax collector confesses his unworthiness and seeks contact with God in humility. The lesson of the parable is that hypocrites can expect nothing from God, while even the worst of sinners who sincerely confess their fallen state and seek reconciliation with God can count on his grace. Peterson warns that ‘we can pretend to pray, use the words of prayer, practice the forms of prayer, assume postures of prayer, acquire a reputation for prayer, and never pray’.8 As soon as prayer becomes distorted and distracted from its original purpose of connecting with God, it becomes hypocrisy – in some cases even close to blasphemy.

Jesus’ practice of prayer

Since prayer played a fundamental role in the everyday life of a Jewish family in first-century Palestine, it is natural to suppose that Jesus learned to pray in a home setting, from his mother and his foster father, Joseph. Mary’s devotion to God is expressed in several biblical texts. In her response to the divine choice to become the mother of the Saviour of the world, she says: ‘for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name’ (Luke 1:49). Later it is stated that she ‘treasured’ all the things that happened with her child and ‘pondered them in her heart’ (Luke 2:19; cf. 2:51). In his youth, Jesus had the opportunity to learn the Jewish prayers in the synagogue and the temple. His concept of prayer, however, was fundamentally different, originating from another source. This is already evident in the words of the twelve-year-old Jesus, who after the temple incident reminds Mary and Joseph that his role is to concentrate on his Father’s business: ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ (Luke 2:49). The newness of Jesus’ approach to faith and prayer emerges already in this scene.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus devoted regular time to personal prayer. He sought solitude in quiet places in order to avoid distractions that would frustrate his connection with God. He withdrew early in the morning (Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42) and spent time in lonely places in the wilderness (Matt. 14:13; Luke 5:16) or on a mountain (Matt. 14:23; Mark 3:13; 6:46; Luke 6:12). In some texts the location where Jesus prayed is not specified; it is stated only that he was praying alone (Luke 9:18). His favourite place for prayer was on the Mount of Olives, where he went on his last evening to pray ‘as was his custom’ (Luke 22:39). The frequency of the references to the occasions when Jesus withdrew to be in solitude reveals intentionality on the part of the Gospel writers in stressing prayer as the cornerstone of his ministry. While prayer was part of Jesus’ daily routine, it is also recorded that the Saviour devoted himself to praying particularly before some of the crucial moments of his ministry: his baptism (Luke 3:21), transfiguration (Luke 9:28), choosing his disciples (Luke 6:12), the first cycle of instructions concerning his death (Luke 9:18–20) and instructions concerning challenges to the disciples’ faith (Luke 22:32). His most dramatic prayer was offered before his arrest in Gethsemane, which ushered in the events leading to the cross (Luke 22:41–44).

Prayer time for Jesus involved more than talking. Contemplation was certainly a vital part of the time he spent in solitude. Through it he was seeking the presence of the heavenly Father, attuning his soul to the living voice of God. This heavenly touch can be discerned by all who in today’s hurried society take time to slow down, calm down and allow God to speak to their hearts and encircle them with his presence. Søren Kierkegaard notes: ‘A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realised that prayer is listening.’9 Such a prayer time becomes an oasis of peace, silence and rest in God in the midst of our hectic lives.

The disciples did not understand Jesus’ need for prayer. Early in his ministry, during a very busy period of ministering in Capernaum, Jesus made the decision to spend time in private prayer early one morning (Mark 1:35).10 However, ‘Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you”’ (Mark 1:36–37). Their ‘tracking down’ (katadiōkō)11 of Jesus and their interrupting his prayer time by pressing him to continue what he had begun impressively the previous day reveals a lack of comprehension on the part of the disciples regarding the nature of his ministry. This was also an act of disrespect for his conviction that prayer clarifies priorities and makes a difference. No wonder the disciples experienced failure when they were faced with the serious test of driving out a demon in Jesus’ absence (Mark 9:14–29). Jesus made it clear to them that the root of their failure lay in the area of prayer (9:29). Instead of looking to God and his power, they ‘had been tempted to believe that the gift they had received from Jesus (Mk. 6:7) was in their control and could be exercised at their disposal’.12

If we say that Jesus prayed a lot, the question arises: How much is enough?13 It seems more appropriate to say that he prayed ceaselessly, whenever he had opportunity to do so. Jesus’ daily life was extremely busy. He spent time with people in need of healing and counselling, he taught the multitude and he instructed his disciples. However, even while he was concentrating on others and working for their benefit, he was in touch with the Father. We get the impression that Jesus was living and acting constantly in the presence of the Father. His prayers were often short and direct, containing no elements of supplication. They simply flew naturally from his soul as he walked with God. At the tomb of Lazarus, before performing his most dramatic miracle, he spontaneously expressed his gratitude to God for the fact that he always listened to him, and prayed with the conviction that he would act again in response to his prayer (John 11:41–42). On another occasion, when surrounded by people who were asking him difficult questions with the intention of trapping him, he spontaneously turned to the Father for a moment with the words: ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will’ (Matt. 11:25–26). Following this short prayer he continued his teaching. These examples reveal that work and prayer were not separate areas of life for Jesus. He prayed while he worked; communing with God pervaded all areas of his life. The followers of Jesus are admonished to adopt the pattern of Jesus in their lives: ‘pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thess. 5:17–18).14

The instructions of Jesus regarding prayer

It is clear that our attitude to prayer is closely related to our personal picture of God: the way we talk with him depends on how we perceive him. The fundamental notion on which Jesus’ teaching on prayer was built, and in which our approach to prayer is to be rooted, is the goodness of God. This is the foundation for our turning to him in confidence and respect as to a Father who seeks the benefit of his children:

Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

(Matt. 7:9–11)

While the clearest teaching of Jesus on the content of the prayers of his followers is given in the Lord’s Prayer, which will be analysed in a subsequent chapter, here we turn our attention to five basic principles that surface in Jesus’ instructions regarding prayer. As will be seen, these principles are of cardinal significance for our approach to the matter.

First, it takes courage to pray. Courage in prayer presupposes the conviction that God is ready to insert a human wish into his perfect plan. Since ‘all things are possible’ for God (Mark 14:36), no hindrance prevents him from combining the details of his salvific plan with the freedom he has to grant human petitions. Cullmann notes: ‘God has foreseen that his hearing of prayers granted in freedom will find a place in his plan of salvation by not abandoning his plan because of them but incorporating them into its development.’15 This leaves ample room not only for thanksgiving and praise, but also for petitionary prayers and intercession. One of the central admonitions of Jesus regarding prayer encourages us to approach him boldly with our needs and problems: ‘Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you’ (Matt. 7:7). While material things are not matters of priority in the realm of God’s kingdom,16 still God is all the time to be boldly approached regarding all that we need, not only in situations marked by helplessness in which we are driven to prayer by necessity.17

Second, true prayer is private prayer in which God meets us in a special way. Jesus instructs: ‘But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret’ (Matt. 6:6). Prayer is not a business meeting focused on presenting a ‘shopping list’ of desires. God is more important than whatever we ask for, and immeasurably greater than the totality of his gifts.18 Prayer is an occasion for seeking the Father sincerely, and while...

Table of contents

• ABBREVIATIONS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1. PRAYER IN THE LIFE OF JESUS
• 2. ABBA: EXPERIENCING INTIMACY WITH GOD
• 3. THE LORD’S PRAYER
• 4. THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
• 5. THE PRAYER AT THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS
• 6. THE PRAYER ANSWERED BY A HEAVENLY VOICE
• 7. THE FAREWELL PRAYER
• 8. THE PRAYER IN GETHSEMANE
• 9. PRAYING ON THE CROSS
• CONCLUSION
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• SEARCH NAMES FOR ANCIENT AUTHORS
• SEARCH NAMES FOR MODERN AUTHORS
• NOTES