Jesus and Personal Prayer (Mark 1:35)

This sermon was preached on 21/2/2010

The four disciples – Peter, Andrew, James and John – are now in the process of learning how to become fishers of men. So far, Jesus has taught them about the importance of attending worship services (in the synagogue) and of opening their homes for Jesus to use. Lesson 3 is about to begin and it involves the importance of personal prayer. It is important for us to remember how disciples were taught. A disciple was not the equivalent of a university or college student who learns from an individual whose private life is detached from his public role, and which may be inconsistent with his position in life. Instead a disciple learned by observing his teacher as well as listening to his teacher – the quality of life was as important as the truth of his words. So Jesus had to model the importance of prayer for his disciples as well as teach them about its necessity and features.

We are familiar with the practice of Jesus to pray at significant times in his ministry – his baptism, when he chose his apostles, on the Mount of Transfiguration, in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. Yet we must not overlook the fact that he prayed whenever it was suitable to do so – ‘But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray’ (Luke 5:16). So we can say that Jesus stressed the necessity of constant personal prayer.

His commitment to private prayer was in marked contrast to the practice of the Pharisees, the ones whom society at that time regarded as models of authentic prayer. Yet Jesus criticises their practice in Matthew 6:5: ‘And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.’ Both the location and their motive was wrong. They wanted to pray in public so that others would see them in action. His method was the opposite of theirs. He prayed in a location where no-one was present, and he made his way there through the darkness so that none would observe what he intended.

Jesus as a Man of Prayer
We are used to giving appropriate titles to Jesus. Sometimes we use biblical names such as ‘Lamb of God; at other times we use names that indicate a relationship with him such as ‘my personal Saviour’. These titles and names signify important features of the person and work of Christ. Another title we should give to him is that he was ‘a man of prayer’. As the instructor of his disciples, he prayed; as he experienced major events in his life, he prayed; as he lived day by day, he prayed.

As a man of prayer, the prayer life of Jesus revealed he delighted in the presence of God. He enjoyed communion with his heavenly Father. No doubt this had been his life-long experience. Jesus was not alone when he prayed; he was in a solitary place, it is true, but it was a place in which he enjoyed celestial company as he interacted with the heavenly Father. Prayer is more than a list of petitions; it is also an expression of delight in God.

As a man of prayer, the prayer life of Jesus revealed he depended upon his heavenly Father. Prayer, by definition, is an expression of weakness, of need. Jesus prayed as a real human; he was a sinless man, but his sinlessness did not mean that he needed less prayer. At every moment Jesus was conscious of his dependence on God, and a common way for him to express it was by regular prayer.

As a man of prayer, the prayer life of Jesus revealed that he was dedicated to the service of God. He did not pray in order to avoid difficulties in his path; instead he prayed for guidance and strength to do his Father’s will. The humanity of Jesus was not and is not omniscient or omnipotent. Therefore he prayed for information and power. This practice was predicted of the Messiah (the Servant of the Lord) in Isaiah 50:4: ‘The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.’

Barriers for private prayer
On the preceding day, Jesus had been very busy, especially after sundown. It must have been at a late hour before the last of the crowd who came to him for help went home. Therefore he could not have had many hours of rest before he set off to his chosen spot for prayer. One obvious barrier for this time of prayer is tiredness, and tiredness brought about by serving his heavenly Father. So this potential barrier was in the category of legitimate needs.

Another potential barrier was distractions caused by the needs of others. Although Jesus had helped so many the previous day, no doubt there were many others who needed his help. They would come to where he had recently been and perhaps they would begin to arrive soon. The Saviour ensured that whatever may be his work on that day, he would begin it with a period of prayer.

Connected to that possible distraction was the expectation of his disciples. We can see their enthusiasm when they found him later and informed him that many were looking for him. It is clear from their comment that they imagined that Jesus’ priority was that group of people, that somehow they were his priority. They were to discover that Jesus had other plans. But they also learned a very important lesson, which was that fishers of men must engage in prayer as a priority.

Steps for personal prayer
Often, someone will say that they can pray silently in a distracting situation. No doubt, that is true but I suspect it is very difficult to pray in a focussed manner. If there was an individual who could have prayed in such a place, that person was Jesus. Nevertheless he chose a different method. For Jesus his concern was always a suitable place for personal prayer. James Stalker, in his book about Jesus being our example, notes that the Gospels say that Jesus often prayed in the mountains around a location. This prompted Stalker to suggest that when Jesus ‘arrived in a town, His first thought was, which was the shortest road to the mountain – just as ordinary travellers inquire where are the most noted sights and which is the best hotel.’

Obviously a suitable place for personal prayer requires privacy. Jesus instructed his disciples to find a place where they could shut a door on the distractions of the outside world. I think one reason why privacy was wanted was that it gave opportunity for praying out loud. It is easier to concentrate when one is vocal in one’s prayers. Privacy is also essential for speaking face to face with God about personal concerns.

It is clear from the stress Jesus made on personal prayer that it was the secret of his power. Sometimes we tend to overlook this because of his deity and assume that his displays of power arise from his omnipotence. Yet how would such a display of power help his disciples as they learned from him. Performing acts of power in this way would certainly impress with his deity, but it would also create an unbridgeable gulf between their fishing for men and his method of teaching them to do so.

In what manner would Jesus have prayed?
On three occasions we are told that Jesus’ prayers included thanksgiving. In Matthew 11:25, he prays after speaking about several communities that rejected his message. His response to that rejection was to pray to the Father and thank him for his sovereignty. He prays aspects of the same prayer in Luke 10:21, except that on this occasion he thanks the Father in connection to the success his disciples had experienced in a mission. The third occasion was when he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead; before he did so, he prayed and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me.’ There are other occasions when he gave thanks, such as before he fed the 5,000 or when he instituted the Lord’s Supper. What comes out clearly in these references is that thanksgiving was a feature of the prayers of Jesus in the varied experiences of his life.

Another feature of the prayers of Jesus was intercession for others, at times for particular individuals. He prayed for Peter just before his threefold denial (Luke 22:31-34), he prayed for the soldiers who crucified him (Luke 23:34). We could summarise it by saying he interceded for his friends and for those who opposed him cruelly. In John 17, he prays specifically for the eleven apostles before praying for all who would yet believe the gospel through their word (he was praying that their service would be successful, John 17:20).

It is inevitable that an important feature of the prayers of Jesus was communion with his Father. While it is not possible to describe to a great extent what was involved in this interaction, we should observe the place that Jesus gave to the Old Testament Scriptures. It was through them that he read about his mission, and even on the cross he speaks to his Father and uses words from the Old Testament several times. We know that Jesus sang the psalms, and many of the psalms are prayers. The words would mean something different when Jesus applied them to himself. For example, we often sing Psalm 23 and apply the words to Jesus. How would Jesus have sang them? I’ll leave that for you to think about.

Of course, the common element of our prayers that Jesus did not use was confession of sin. But in the other elements he is our example of thanksgiving, intercession and communion with God. The disciples learned important lessons as they watched and listened to Jesus.

Some applications
Jesus’ religious life was not limited to the Sabbath. In the context of our text, the Sabbath was past. The Saviour had participated in the worship service of the synagogue and served his Father throughout the whole day. On the next day, he retained a devotional outlook. The lesson is obvious – retain and even develop a habit of prayer.

Second, this occasion of private prayer by Jesus tells us that prayer after a period of spiritual blessing is as important as prayer before an occasion of spiritual blessing. What was the link between previous blessing and future blessing? A period of prayer. The lesson for us is obvious. Don’t do anything for God unless we have thanked him for previous blessing and prayed for future blessing.

Third, if we are regularly interrupted when we pray, we are praying in the wrong place. Again, the lesson is obvious – find a place of solitude. If we head to a place of prayer and keep our mobile phone on, we are not intending solitude. Trust God, if the call is important, the person will ring again. The lesson for us is obvious – find a place where interruptions are unlikely.

Fourth, expect to be tested after praying. Jesus did not listen to Peter’s information about crowds looking for him. Instead he chose to do what had been conveyed to him by his Father during his time of prayer – go and preach to other cities. A lesson for Peter, and for us. Keep to God’s calling and don’t be distracted when tests come.