Praying Like Jesus Part 1 Pastor Kent Munsey 12:00 PM
Main Scripture Luke 3:2122 “ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” [NIV] INTRODUCTION We need to be unified in several things as a church. Acts 2: 1 “ When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ” One of the things we need to be unified in altogether as a church is prayer. Less than 10% of Christians enjoy prayer. Sometimes we have bad experiences with prayer, we feel intimidated by praying in front of other people, or we just run out of things to say.
We are going to study 12 passages where we see Jesus praying. There are only 17 references to Jesus praying in the Gospels. Most of them are in the gospel of Luke. To recap the ABC’s of Prayer we discussed a few weeks ago:
Prayer is… A : Amazing : We get to talk to the Creator of the universe. B : a Big BIG Deal : God created Adam and Eve for community. He desires a personal and intimate relationship with you, and He paid the ultimate price so that you could connect with him. C : a Catalyst for bringing the Kingdom of Heaven down to earth. 1. WHAT We Can Expect In Luke 3:2122, we learn what we can expect when we pray. “ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are
my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” [NIV] Luke 3:2122 When Jesus prays three things happen: Heaven opens up, the Holy Spirit comes down, and the Father speaks. These are three results when we make contact with God in our prayers. If you’d like to know the Spirit’s power in your life, if you’d like God to speak to you, you must practice the prayer life of Jesus. 2. WITHDRAW Often The next time we see Jesus praying is in Luke 5:16. “ But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.” [NASB] Jesus withdrew often. It was his habit. You need to be withdrawing often to pray. The people you’re always talking to are the ones to whom you have the most to say. Frequency is essential in prayer. 3. WAITING For Clarity Is A Necessity The third time we see Jesus pray is in Luke 6:1213. “ It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when
day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.” [NASB] Jesus withdraws to pray all night before choosing his twelve disciples. Sometimes you have to get to a higher place to pray about an important decision and not leave until you get clarity. Clarity is a necessity. Jesus loved his disciples too much to not take that time in prayer. Love people enough to really pray and seek God about what role they are to play in your life. 4. WHEN You Can’t Get Away… PRAY ANYWAY Luke 9:28 “About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ” [NIV] Jesus shows us that there are places that only He can take us. Jesus took Peter, James and John up to a higher place to pray. Luke 9:2930 “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.” [NIV]
True change and transformation always happen in the context of prayer. Luke 9:32 “ Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.” [NIV] We need to pray fully awake, looking for Jesus to take us to places we have never been. Peter, James and John are seeing the glory of God, but don’t realize it at first because they are sleeping. 5. You WILL Be Changed Luke 9:3336 “As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.” [NIV] Peter is rebuked for talking and is instructed to listen.The Greek word used in verse 35, akou , means “hear” or “listen.” When we pray, we must look and listen. Us talking is the least important thing we do in prayer; listening is the
most important. God is the smartest person we know, and He oftentimes speaks in visions. We need to do more looking and listening and less talking. The other layer of Peter’s rebuke is in regards to his impulse for action. So often when God is speaking, we are trying to do something while he is trying to change us. Jesus wants to take us on a journey and transform us. What Peter doesn’t understand is that Jesus wanted them to BE the tabernacle, not build one. We want mountains to move when we pray; God wants us to be mountainmovers!
CONCLUSION When we’re praying, windows of heaven open, the Holy spirit comes down, the Father speaks, and we develop a lifestyle and habit of prayer. We learn the value of getting up on a high place, praying both privately and in a room full of people. When we’re praying, if we hang out long enough, Jesus will take us to a higher place in prayer, and we will see his glory. Prayer will not always change your circumstances, but it will always change you. Moses beheld the glory of the Lord veiled, but we get to view it unveiled. Sometimes God will speak to us, but we can’t see it, or He will show us but we can’t hear His word. Jesus wants to take us by the hand and bring us to places in prayer where we can clearly see His glory and hear His word. We need to see the plan and the purpose that He has for us, and when we can see it clearly, it will be so easy for us to let go of whatever we’re holding onto. When we can hear what He’s saying, it empowers and emboldens us to trust Him and move forward into His plan.
Additional Scriptures Matthew 21:13 “ And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'” [NASB] Matthew 6:913 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'” [NASB] Genesis 28:12 “[Jacob] had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” [NIV] Luke 9:18 “ And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?" [NIV] Matthew 5:2324 “ Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother
has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering .” [NIV]