What Happens When We Pray like Jesus?
If we pray like Jesus – namely, (1) We make prayer the priority, (2) We get alone with God, (3) We make prayer about communion – then we can expect the following:
We Gain Direction and Purpose
In Mark 1:37-38, the Bible tells us, “And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”
The disciples told Jesus, presumably with much excitement, that “All men seek for thee.” The enthusiasm of this crowd was at a fever pitch and no doubt the exuberance of the disciples’ was comparable at this point in Mark’s narrative. Very likely the multitudes desired that Jesus continue teaching, healing, and exorcising demons and His popularity was such that a hyperbolic statement (“all men seek for thee”) was likely not very far from the truth. But, please notice the response of Christ in Mark 1:38. “And He said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”
Notice the word “towns” in the text. The Greek word Mark uses there is komopolis and this is the only time this word is ever used in the New Testament. Komopolis means something akin to a market-town – technically a settlement that is more than a village (Greek kome), but one that cannot claim the status of a city (Greek polis). Mark seems to use these terms in his gospel to indicate some sort of social hierarchy in terms of importance and status. He refers to Jerusalem and Gerasa as “cities” (Greek polis) in Mark 5:14 and Mark 11:19. Bethsaida and Bethphage are designated “towns” or “villages” respectively (Greek kome) in Mark 8:23 and Mark 11:2. Twice Mark uses kome to indicate that the scene is outside the main centers of population (Mark 6:36; 8:27). By examining the Greek terminology Mark uses here, we get a clearer understanding of what was happening. Mark refers to Capernaum as a city (Greek polis) in Mark 1:33 which suggests this was the most significant settlement in the area. And so, Jesus was telling His disciples to leave this prominent city, Capernaum, and to go into the “next towns (Greek komopolis)” which seems to indicate a lower status. In effect, Jesus wanted to go away from the center of local influence where He was feted and head into market-towns where He was likely to meet with much less fanfare.
Why? Because Jesus emerged from His time of prayer reaffirming, with a firm grasp, the primary purpose of His ministry and He set His will to do God’s and not the people’s. In Mark 1:38, after He had prayed, Jesus declared “That I may preach there also for therefore came I forth.” Jesus came to preach the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15) in order to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Prayer and communion with God provided that direction and that purpose. Jesus declared in John 5:19, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself but what He seeth the Father do, for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” In John 5:30, Jesus declared, “I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear, I judge and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” In John 8:28, we read “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” It was after Jesus spent an entire night in prayer in Luke 6:12 that He then chose the Twelve. It was after prayer in Mark 1:35 we see Jesus reaffirm His purpose. It would have been very easy to stay where He was – strategic even. But, prayer has a way of allowing us to keep the main thing the main thing and the main thing is the will of God.
In Mark 14:32-42, we find the only instance in Mark where a direct quotation of Jesus’ is given while He was praying. “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly troubled, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither knew they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.” Because of His impending passion, Jesus pleaded with His Father to let the cup pass from Him. But, once again Jesus prayed that the will of His Father would be done and He emerged from prayer not to do His will, but His Father’s.
Although we know Jesus prayed constantly, there are only three instances in Mark’s gospel where it is recorded that Jesus prayed – two of which we have already discussed in Mark 1:35 and Mark 14:35. The third instance is recorded in Mark 6:46. After the feeding of the 5,000, the crowd would have made Jesus king, by force if necessary (John 6:14-16), and Jesus once again retreated to a solitary place to pray. Mark 6:46 represented a precarious time for Jesus because He faced a severe temptation. This was the very same temptation that Satan hit Jesus with in the wilderness after His baptism. In Matthew 4:8-9, Satan offered to Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would just fall down and worship at Satan’s feet. And so here in Mark 6:46 Jesus resorted to prayer and from that time of communion, He emerged once again reaffirming His obedience to the will of His Father.
Beloved, the reason for prayer is not to get God to do my will, it is to get me to a place where I do His. In Matthew 6:9-10, the Lord taught us to pray this way, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Prayer tethers us to His will. Prayer anchors us to His plan and to His purpose because prayer is never about my will being done. It is about God’s will being done. Prayer is not dragging God to the center of my will. It is about aligning my will to His. But, the tendency unfortunately is to frame prayer as an opportunity for us to bring to God our honey-do lists in times of need, rather than as a means of constant communion with our Heavenly Father to allow Him to order our steps. Corrie Ten Boom once asked, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” The answer to that question will largely dictate how often we pray. Mother Teresa said, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” Jon Courson describes prayer as reporting for duty. And when we pray, God provides us with direction and purpose as He aligns our will to His.
We Gain Power
Mark 1:39: “And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” The mention of preaching and exorcisms without healing is likely here an indication that these two activities were the most spectacular demonstration of Christ’s divine and messianic power and authority as we saw in Mark 1:21-28.
Well, one could argue Jesus was God Incarnate, He did not need to pray in order to preach and to cast out demons. True. But, we do. Our power is derivative and as R.T. France writes, “prayer is an appropriate recognition of that fact.” In Mark 9:17-29, we read “And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer.”
When God’s people pray, He shows up in power. In Luke 3:21-22, we read “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” In Luke 9:28-29, the Bible tells us “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening.”
Beloved, we don’t have to pray, we get to pray. Being able to speak to the Creator of heaven and earth is an unspeakable honor and privilege. The fact that our Heavenly Father desires intimate fellowship with us is an indescribable joy. But, what is perhaps most astounding is that when we pray, God shows up. We desperately need God to show up. We don’t have to pray, we need to pray. And watch as our prayers move the hand of God.