Prayer

Introduction

When Brother Harkrider got up here, I don’t have my mic. I’m not sure if I’ll need the lapel mic tonight or not, but if I do, okay, well, Greg’s getting it, so either way is fine. Um, it’s good to be with you this evening. Um Lyndon and I very much enjoyed being here again, and um it’s a treat to be with the Hark Riders for whom I have high regard. Um I appreciate both Greg as well as Adam and their work with you. And of course, Greg trained with us back in the summer of um 2010. I trained him to do stuff like fetching my microphone, you know, and just uh what whatever I’ve forgotten, whatever I need, you know, it’s go get that for me.

And you know, I tried to teach him being an evangelist that he’s a minister of the people, and so whatever the need is, you know, you just rise to the occasion. So thank you for that. But you’re blessed, I think, to have these two young evangelists working with you. And it will be a joy for you to watch them grow and for you to grow with them as a congregation. And so we pray and wish for nothing except the best of God’s blessings upon you here. Thank you to the elders for inviting us to come. It’s been a joy to be with you. It’s a special treat to also see the Jenkins here with us. Brother Jenkins is one that I hold in such high regard and have for so many years, and we enjoy being together and uh studying together and traveling together, and his wife, Sister Jenkins, I’m thankful for their presence.

And for all of you, and especially for others that would be visitors, we’re thankful for your presence as well. What we’ve been talking about is the concept of becoming more like Jesus. And we’ve tried to emphasize that you have to start off right. And the beginning place is you must make the decision to become a Christian. But we’ve approached it from the standpoint that the Great Commission has two parts. In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus, following his resurrection and prior to his attention to his ascension, uh told the apostles, with his having all authority in heaven and on earth, he said, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them, and the American standard says, into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

And I make the point, that’s really part one of the Great Commission. Jesus went on to say, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I’ve commanded you. And that, of course, teaching them means those who have obeyed the gospel of Christ.

And to be translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. And we can never praise God enough for the provisions that He has made for our salvation. And consider, by the way, in the Great Commission which we just referenced, when Jesus said, baptizing them in the name or into the name, he’s using a different word than Acts 2 38. We often say Acts 2 38 be to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ means by his authority, and that’s true. That’s very true. Whatever you do in word or indeed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, by his authority. But really in Matthew 28, though that’s by the authority of Christ, it’s making another point. To be baptized ace into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is really the idea of that’s when we enter into relationship with.

Art and Gingrich make the point that the word as is used there even has the idea of into the ownership of. And I’ll tell you right now, that’s where I want to be. I want to belong to. I want to be in the ownership of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I want to be in their possession, but we must enter into that relationship, and that really is, I think, involved in that passage very much. That when we’re taught the gospel, make the decision to follow Christ, repenting of our sins, confessing our faith, the point when we’re baptized into Christ. That’s when we enter into relationship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And that can be done in a relatively short amount of time in the sense of learning what God’s plan is, learning what we must do, what our need is, and the solution being Jesus Christ.

And as we mentioned Sunday morning in the book of Acts, there are people that were baptized, well, in that day, or straightway, or immediately, or in Acts chapter 16, the jailer, the same hour of the night, with his coming from a pagan background. And so that can be, God has made the gospel so simple. It’s so profound, but he’s made it so simple that you don’t have to go to 30 weeks of catechism class. You don’t have to just, it’s not a case where it just takes a lengthy amount of time. Count the cost. It’s a decision that impacts the rest of your life. But here again, God has made it so simple that in a short time one can learn what he needs to do and can respond to God’s grace and receive the wonderful gift of salvation.

But what God wants to do is not just save us from our past sins. He wants to change us. He wants to mold us. He wants to shape us. And to that end, we are his students. We are disciples. We are pupils. We’re enrolled in his school. In Matthew 20 and verse 24, a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a servant like his master. Everyone, Luke 6 and verse 40 says, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. And so discipleship inherently, by definition, requires this. Many passages stress the need to become more like Jesus. In Romans chapter 8 and verse 29, the text says, for whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Now, when you have terms like forenew, terms such as predestined, we’re talking about what God is planning before the heavens and the earth were made, before the foundation of the world. And when you go on to talk in verse 30, beyond being called and justified, these he also glorified. We’ve not entered into glory yet, but here’s a panoramic view of from eternity to eternity. But what God’s plan is is just summed up in these few words to be conformed to the image of his Son. So many passages, we’re not going to comment at length upon these because we want to move on to the main thrust of our lesson. But in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18, Paul says, But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We made the point last night that we are reflective beings. We are imaging beings, that what we revere, we resemble, we become what we worship. And here the idea is we’ve we’ve fixed our gaze on Jesus. We fixed our gaze on his new covenant, and we’re beholding the glory of the Lord and transformed into the same image. Do you see that as God’s purpose for you? Do you see that as your purpose in life? To be more and more like Jesus? It’s not just I’m a member of the church, or I’ve been baptized, or have some kind of affiliation like that, and we attend some of the services. It’s being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

He left us an example that we should follow in his steps, Peter said. In 1 John chapter 2 and verse 6. John writes, He who says he abides in Him ought Himself also to walk just as He walked in the footsteps of Jesus. And so this week that’s what we have been about. First of all, to commit yourself to the Lord in gospel obedience, to make that decision, to follow Jesus, to obey the gospel, to become a child of his. But then we study Jesus. We look at him, we observe him through the eyes of inspired men, not just making up in our minds what you know what would Jesus do. But we we see the true Jesus from the scriptures. Tonight, I want to specifically look at becoming more like Jesus when it comes to prayer.

And you think about that. Jesus is the sinless Son of God. And yet you see him time after time in the scriptures, not just going through the motion, but feeling such a need to pray to the Father. And if he was constantly aware of that as he was, and we’re his disciples, doesn’t it make sense that we would be like Jesus in this regard as well? And it’s not just quick prayers or by rote and saying something in the passing, but being like Jesus. And one of our songs tonight was referencing Gethsemane to teach us to pray as He did in the Garden of Gethsemane. And so we want to talk tonight about becoming more like Jesus in prayer. And there’s so many passages that we could look at, but the direction I’m going to take in this study is going to be primarily in the Gospel of Luke.

1. While He Prayed at His Baptism

Now, all four Gospels, you know we just have one gospel, but we have four gospel records. But all four of the records will tell about various events. And sometimes Luke will tell you the same event that you’ll read about in other passages, but he will include the element that Jesus was praying on that occasion. For example, we began, and we’ll be taking these in order, but we begin in Luke chapter 3. In Luke chapter 3, the baptism of Jesus is recorded. And this is something recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, as well as John, although John gives a lot of additional information about how he was enabled to know that this was the Messiah. But Luke just makes brief reference to this, but in Luke chapter 3, the text tells us at verse 21, now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized, and while he prayed, the heaven was open.

The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven which said, You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased. Can you see Jesus there? Going to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. And we would make the observation that Jesus was not baptized for the same reason that we are. Jesus had no sin. And all of us have sinned. We’re baptized for the remission of our sins if we’re baptized scripturally. And yet Jesus would not be among those mentioned in Luke 7 and verse 29, that rejected against themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized by John. Jesus did this to fulfill all righteousness. And additionally, as I said in John chapter 1, John makes a special point of saying, and I knew him not.

But he that sent me to baptize said unto me, upon whomsoever you see the Spirit descending, this is he, this is the one that were baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And John says, I have seen and bear witness that this is the Son of God. And so Jesus complied with God’s will, and he was baptized. But can you see him? Can you visualize Jesus in the Jordan, still dripping wet? And he’s right then praying to the Father. Prayer is a spiritual blessing. I made that point one time. I was uh first time that I made a trip overseas, uh a preaching trip, um, there was a wonderful opportunity that opened up to do some radio work. And we were able to open up the lines and take questions.

This was in Czechoslovakia before the split in the country. And someone called in, and they were they were talking about, they were asking about prayer and praying for the sick and that sort of thing. And what I wanted to do with that question to make it a uh a useful, teachable moment, was to to show how that if we can’t pray acceptably, if we say our Father who art in heaven, we must be a child of God. So I was making the point that prayer is a spiritual blessing, and it was going to go from there. And I had this fellow that had studied British English that was doing the translation, and he he could speak very well, but his knowledge of the Bible was quite limited in biblical concepts.

And so I remember well he didn’t understand that when I said prayer is a spiritual blessing. You know, a simple statement like that. I remember his stopping right there and said, Leon, would you please explain what is a spiritual blessing?

So I, you know, tried to define my terms there. But anyway, making the point that prayer is a spiritual blessing. It’s in Christ Jesus. And if we would have the blessing of prayer, and all spiritual blessings, Ephesians 1 3, are in Christ Jesus, then we must be in Christ. And I’ve often wondered, even as Brother Jenkins mentioned in his prayer a while ago, there are so many needs that we have. There are people you can think of that are sick that you care about. And I thought, if someone did not have the privilege of prayer, I know you should become a Christian for yourself and for your relationship with God, but beyond that, don’t you want to be able to pray acceptably for on behalf of others?

In fact, there was a fellow up in North Alabama near where I am that his brother fell out of a deer stand and broke about every bone in his body, knocked his teeth out, he had multiple breaks. And the brother of the one that had the fall had been taught the truth, he’d been attending, but he never had become a Christian. And when that happened to his brother, he obeyed the gospel. He said, I realized I could not pray acceptably on behalf of him, and I wanted to be able to do that. And so you need Christ. You need the spiritual blessings that are in him. But I want to tell you, if you’ve not yet obeyed the gospel, and you’re willing to do that tonight, while you’re still dripping wet, as you come out of the watery grave of baptism, you can say, Our Father who art in heaven.

2. All Night in Prayer Before Choosing the Apostles

You can praise God starting right then, and it will be heard, it will be accepted. But as long as you’re outside of Christ, you do not have the privilege of prayer. So Jesus, at his baptism, the very thing that we see about him on this very momentous occasion is he was also baptized and while he prayed. And when you obey the gospel of Christ, you will have that wonderful privilege of prayer. I want to suggest to you something else, though, as we stay in the gospel of Luke and follow along with our Lord. In Luke chapter 6, in Luke chapter 6, the Bible tells us, and of course, this is in the Galilean ministry of Jesus, it says, It came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.

Now, if you’re in Florida and you talk about going to the mountains, you’re thinking maybe about the smokies or going up to North Carolina. But for Jesus in Galilee, you don’t have to go very far to go to the mountains. It’s very mountainous. And so it doesn’t mean he took a long trip, but it’s there in one of the mountains. But he went there to pray. And he continued all night in prayer to God. Now, what was he praying about? Well, we look at we look at the context. And it says, And when it was day, he called his disciples to him. Jesus had many disciples, but the text says, and from them, he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles. And it gives you the list of Simon and Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the zealot, and Judas, the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.

I know that we should not read into the Word of God something that is not there. And yet we look at passages in their context. He prayed all night to God, and when it was day, that’s when he selects the apostles. I don’t think it’s overstretching to say he has such a momentous decision to make. Yet it’s important in the selection of the apostles that he spent all night in prayer about the thing that the text says he went ahead to do. Have you ever thought about how important it was to get that selection right? How much depended upon the apostles doing their job? Staying where they were supposed to be, waiting for the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, going into all the world to preach the gospel, not only orally, but then in the writing of Scripture to be used as the treasure would be put in those earthen vessels so that we today would have the words of the apostles.

What if they didn’t do their work? What if they failed to accomplish what they were assigned? What was the other plan God had? What was plan B if they failed? I don’t know of any other plan. This is it. And so it’s very, very important. And I here again, it doesn’t give us how he struggled with this before the decision was made. I’ve often wondered, and again, this is just trying to envision what’s going on in that night. But it would be, would it be, Father? I’ve I thought about Boaz. He has so much ability. But you know, I mentioned uh to the disciples I was going to be at such a place and uh doing some teaching that I wanted them to hear, and he said he would be there, but he didn’t show up.

He’s got a lot of potential, but he’s he’s just not dependable. He he talks, he talks a good game, but he doesn’t follow through. Now there’s Peter. I know that he speaks before he thinks sometimes, but I see the potential there. I I know what what he can become. I think we should choose Peter. I see, I don’t know how that worked. But from the many disciples, he would choose twelve to be apostles. Such an important decision, and he prayed about it. Well, we’re not choosing apostles. But do we have important decisions in our life? Of course, the most important decision you’ll make is to become a Christian. But beyond that, do we have important decisions to make? Let me ask you this. Do you think the person you select for your spouse?

You think that’s a pretty important decision? Who you will marry? Now, you know, you look back, all of us I think can and say, Well, we’ve made mistakes, and I I’ve sure I can sure do that. But I’ll tell you one thing, in this regard, I practice what I’m preaching tonight. I still remember nights as a student in college. Linda and I have been dating in in high school and continued, of course, though she was not uh where I was at college. But I remember so well praying that I think she is the one that I want to marry, for sure. I I mean I know that. And if it is your will, let this be done. But if it is not your will, then let me have the wisdom to see that, so that I will not do that.

I remember praying in different ways, praying that a lot. And we just celebrated in June, 40 years of marriage. We have three children and seven grandchildren, so I guess you know the answer. But I’ve I’ve made that kind of point and talked about how the need to pray about that, and I’ve I’ve had good people. I remember one young man, well, he’s not too young anymore, uh, younger than I am, but I remember him coming to me after I made some similar points one time, and he said, You know, and and he was a Christian, the one he married was a Christian. But he said, You know, it never even occurred to me to pray about that. He said, I didn’t pray about that at all before I got married.

I want to tell you, you need to pray about that a lot. If you’re not married, you need to think about that, you need to pray, you need to ask godly people for counsel, and you need to listen to them. If someone who has your best interest at heart tries to talk to you and warn you about a situation, don’t be dismissive of that. But above all, you need to be praying, and not just that you’ll get your way about it, but that you will be sensitive to the will of God. What kind of occupation you’re going to have? Where you’re going to live. Lots of important decisions. I remember the Bible tells us in Joshua, the ninth chapter, that when the Gibeonites went up to Gilgal, well, where Joshua and his men were encamped, the um the Gibeonites knew that uh Israel was charged with destroying the Canaanites.

But if someone, if a if a nation was from a distance, they could make a treaty with them. So here they are. They they they came up with these worn-out clothes and worn-out shoes and dry, moldy bread, and uh Joshua and the men of Israel says, Where are you from? Oh, we’re from a great distance. But when we left, this bread was right out of the oven. These clothes, they were brand new. And look at them now. And here’s what the text says in Joshua 9. It says, So Joshua and the men of Israel sampled of their, they took of their provisions, and it says, but they ask not counsel of the Lord. Now, they honored the oath that they went ahead to make. They swore in the name of the Lord to make a covenant with them, and so they, the Gibeonites became hewers of wood and drawers of water, and so the text goes to ahead and explain that.

But just that very concept that here is a good man, a man of God, here’s a decision, and the inspired writer is making the point, they ask not counsel of the Lord. That’s one of the best ways to make a big mistake. To have all kinds of bad trouble when you’re not. Now, we’re not advocating God’s just going to speak to you in an audible voice today, you know, from heaven. But God has spoken.

3. Alone Praying at Caesarea Philippi

And so we study his word. We pray for wisdom. James tells us to pray for wisdom, and God will answer that prayer. We ask for his counsel. And so we don’t want to make decisions without taking it to God in prayer. And that way we’re being like Jesus. That’s the way Jesus was, and that’s the way we need to be. Well, I want to suggest to you, as we make our way on up to Caesarea Philippi. Now, Caesarea Philippi, and I’m looking now in Luke chapter 9. Caesarea Philippi is not where Jesus ordinarily had any ministry. In fact, what where this occurs is in the time which is called the Perean, I meant to say the retirement ministry. And retirement doesn’t mean the Lord is not working anymore.

It means it’s a different kind of work. He’s withdrawing himself from the crowds, trying to at least, and trying to be alone with the apostles. The reason I say trying to is lots of times it doesn’t work. When he went to the area outside of Bethsaida, he was trying to be alone with the apostles, and that’s when he fed the 5,000 men plus women and children. So he goes different places like that, and similar things happen. So he goes way out of the of the areas that he usually ministered, way up to Caesarea Philippi. And you are, this is perhaps one of the more familiar texts where Jesus promises to build his church, where Peter makes that great confession. But in Luke chapter 18, as I said in the beginning, it will be Luke, oftentimes that will include this element of prayer in those other otherwise well-known events.

Look with me in Luke 9. The text tells us in verse 18, and it happened as he was alone praying. That his disciples joined him. And he asks them, saying, Who do the crowds say that I am? And so in this region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus is himself praying, and yet what he’s about to do is teach the disciples on some very, very important topics. Who do men say? Who do the crowd say that I am? Now, the text here does not even say he was in Caesarea Philippi. The text here just says uh what happened. But in the parallels in Matthew and Mark, Matthew gives more information. And it doesn’t say he’s in the town of Caesarea Philippi. It says he is in the region.

The King James will say in the coast, and that doesn’t mean like water coast, it means uh the borders, coast uh so it’s in the region of Caesarea Philippi. But what you’re looking at right now is in fact uh the town of Caesarea Philippi, and the grotto of Pond is right here. And it was in this region that Jesus asked the apostles, who do men say that I, the Son of Man am? Well, if you ask the question that way, they answer John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets has risen again. And this is when Jesus followed this up and said, But who do you say that I am? And Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now, as I said, we don’t know the exact location where Jesus was, but I want to impress upon you that in that region of Caesarea Philippi, it was so pagan, there are just, in fact, you can see the remains today of just one pagan site after another in this area here in Caesarea Philippi.

This is where the God Pond was worshipped. There was a uh imperial temple to Caesar Augustus. In the niches that are that are carved here into the mountain, which is right at the foothills of Mount Hermon, there were idols that were situated there. And as you as you look across here, it’s just it’s just one foundational ruin after another. You see the temple of Zeus, you see the temple of the dancing goats. This, of course, is Pond that you’re looking at right there. And so it’s in that kind of pagan context and territory that Jesus is asking a most important question because if we don’t get the answer to that right, if we don’t know Jesus, if we don’t know who he is, it doesn’t matter what else you know.

And the apostles needed time alone with Jesus to focus on him, his person, his work, who Jesus is. And so, in an environment that would be not at all conducive, in fact, such a contrast, there’s so much error up here. Peter got it right. He said, You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood is not revealed this unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And Jesus went on to say, Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And he said, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loosen on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

And by the way, what is there said to Peter in Matthew 16 is said to all the apostles in Matthew 18. It just happens that Peter is the one who had made that confession, so there’s that personal reference to Peter, but he has no supremacy over the other apostles. Don’t get that idea. And so, as I say, these are matters of great consequence, who Jesus is, the building of the church, the establishment of the kingdom, the victory, the certainty of victory, that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And here in the coast of Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus taught that, Luke prefaces it by saying he was praying. One lesson there is that as we are seeking to teach people who Jesus is, as we are seeking to teach people about his church, his kingdom, it would be well for us to follow the example of Jesus.

4. Transfigured as He Prayed

He prayed before he addressed these topics with the apostles. And we don’t want to forget the element of prayer that’s involved as we are seeking to change a person’s heart as we’re seeking to teach them the gospel of Christ. Time in prayer is well invested time. It’s never a waste of time. Well, let’s move on, because what the text tells us next is that after that Jesus made his way. This is the same chapter of Luke in Luke chapter 9. And he took with him, verse 28 says, after eight days, he took Peter, John, and James, and went on the mountain to pray. Now, in the process of time, there was a tradition that it would be Mount Tabor that was this mountain. I do not believe that that is true.

That is a tradition that developed later, and quite frankly, it’s because that mountain is a lot easier to get to than this one. But remember I said a while ago they were right at the foothills of Mount Hermon. And the mountain that would be in that very proximity where they are, is in fact right there at Caesarea Philippi. It’s just right up the mountain where Mount Hermon, this range would be.

He prayed. The appearance of his face was altered, and his robe became white and glistening. And two men talked with him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those that were with him were heavy with sleep. And when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were with them. And it came to pass as they were parting from him. Peter said to Jesus, Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were fearful, and they entered the cloud as they entered the cloud.

Then a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son. Hear him. Peter would never forget that. You know, later when he wrote his epistles, he would say, We did not, in 2 Peter chapter 2, he would say, We did not follow cunningly devised fables. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. We were on the holy mountain. And so he refers to what he saw on that day. He would never forget that. You know, ordinarily Jesus looked ordinary. He hath no form nor comeliness. There is no beauty that we should desire him. There’s not a single word in all of Scripture that tells us what Jesus looked like. But on this occasion, that which was ordinary changed. And it’s like a curtain is pulled back.

And what now is seen is Jesus in his glory. And they were overwhelmed by that. That’s a wonderful thing to see that, for them to have seen that. And to think about what happened. That the two men who talked with him were Moses and Elijah. Nothing, nothing is by chance. Moses. John 1 17, the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ Jesus. Elijah, the epitome of the prophets. When Malachi said, when God said through Malachi, he’s going to send the prophet or messenger to prepare the way for Jesus. It’s behold, I send Elijah. So Elijah becomes representative of the prophets. Moses representative of the law. Standing before Jesus is the law and the prophets, and he said in Matthew 5, 17, I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.

And these men are talking with him, and Luke tells us what they’re talking about in verse 31, who spoke to him of his decease. The word there is the word exodus, his exit, in other words, his departure, which would take place with his death and resurrection and ascension. Isn’t that wonderful? The law and the prophets embodied in these men, appearing to Jesus in glory, talking to him about his death, what that would accomplish. And it wasn’t too many months after this that that would transpire. And so it’s all coming together. He’s fulfilling the plan of God, doing this wonderful redemptive work. And here they are talking about such a grand topic, speaking of his decease. That’s wonderful. By the way, when Peter blurks out that part of that, let us build three tabernacles.

And you know what people say? They’ll say, you know, religious division is wrong. And what Peter’s suggesting, places of worship for these men, that would be wrong. That’s not what Peter’s talking about. The tabernacle here is a is a like the feast of tabernacles. It’s when you build a booth. It’s for shelter. And when he saw they were leaving, he’s offering to build a shelter so that they could stay. It’s that simple. But of course, that wasn’t God’s plan. But let’s start again in verse 29. All this happened as he prayed. The Lord is transfigured as he prayed. Now, what’s the application? Obviously, it’s not a case that we have deity that is going to be shown in a transfiguration. And yet, doesn’t the Bible, didn’t we read in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18 that we are to be transformed into that same image as we behold the glory of the Lord?

And what about Romans 12 that says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. That’s that same word, transfiguration. It’s the word from which we get the word metamorphosis. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How do you think we’re going to be not conformed, but transformed by the renewing of our mind without spending much time in prayer? And so if we are to have that transformation the Bible requires of us, we must follow the example of Jesus who prayed before the transformation.

5. Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Well, let me suggest to you we turn the page in the Gospel of Luke one more time here, and we come to Luke chapter 11. And verse 1. It says, It came to pass as he was praying in a certain, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, that one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples to pray. And that’s when Jesus gave here in Luke’s account what is often called the model prayer. Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread, forgive us our sins as we forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Bit abbreviated from the form in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 9 and following, but in substance the same thing. And so again, the context, when Jesus here is teaching the disciples what we call the model prayer, they heard him pray. And when he ceased, they said, Lord, teach us to pray. Does this mean that until this time they weren’t praying? Does this mean that they don’t know how to pray? But can you imagine what it would be like to actually hear the Lord pray? And how inadequate you would feel, and how you would say, I need to do better. Lord, teach us to pray. And you know, this model prayer was not given as something just to recite, but look at the kind of thoughts.

It begins with glorifying God, praying about his kingdom, his will, forgiveness of sins, forgiving others of their sins, delivering us from the evil one is included there. One thing right in the middle in verse 3 is material. Give us this day our daily bread. And if we’re not careful, if we don’t refer to prayers like this, it may be that most of what we pray about has to do with worries and concerns and things of a material nature, and we may be very light on the part about glorifying God and his will and temptation and those kinds of things. And so this is the way the Lord teaches us to pray. And so we need we need to look at that and reflect on that. And so many other passages that we could we could make use of.

6. Praying on the Eve of the Cross

But again, Jesus was praying just before he taught that model of prayer. And in Luke chapter 22, which is taking us right to the eve of the cross. In Luke 22 and verse 32, he’s talking to Peter. And he says, But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren. Jesus prayed for Peter. He prayed for all the disciples. There’s a usage of the plural and then the singular. So he’s referring to you and then specifically to Peter. But when we think in terms of the Lord doing this and praying that when Peter returns, he’ll be a source of strength to his brethren. We need to be praying for one another. We need each other.

We need each other’s prayers. And if someone is going through a time of trial, we need to pray for him. And if there is a fall, we need to pray and work toward his return. And then Jesus in Gethsemane, in this same chapter. The text tells us in verse 44, being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. And when we think of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, it’s reminds me of Exodus 3. We’re on holy ground. When we think about what is going on there, the deep agony that the Lord was in in this area as the cross was looming before him, and those great drops of sweat as blood falling to the ground, and his soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death.

But even then he was praying, not my will, but thy will be done. Now, we’re not going to replicate that situation, just like a number of things about Jesus we could not. We’re not going to have the weight he did in Gethsemane because he was uniquely the sacrifice bearing the sins of the world. And yet there will no doubt be times that we do feel crushed. Maybe it’s by the prodigal son or daughter that has been taught the truth, but is living outside right relationship with the Lord. It may be when when the bad news of a disease, it may be when death comes, there may be any number of things happen that involves someone’s spiritual condition or other such problems that you just feel crushed.

You feel so heavy. You don’t know how you can cope. And what we want to always do is follow the example of the Lord. When he was crushed with that burden before him, he took it to the Father in prayer. And then we go to the cross itself in Luke chapter 23. And such a terrible situation as Jesus is humiliated. They’re jeering at him. Criminals crucified on either side for guilt by association. All that’s going on. They’re gambling for his garments. Verse 34, Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. So the obvious example is we don’t just pray for our friends. Sometimes it is so difficult, even in prayer, name the names of those who have made themselves your enemies, who have misrepresented you.

People maybe that in the past have been friends and yet you feel betrayed by them. And yet, as we follow the example of Jesus, we pray for those who persecute us. We pray for those who would despitefully use us. We pray for those who would misrepresent us. That’s what Jesus did. And we’re his pupils. We’re his disciples. We’re wanting to be like Jesus, not just when it’s easy, but all the way to be conformed to him. So Jesus would make special arrangements to pray. He would leave where he was and go out and make sure that he had time uninterruptedly to pray. He would pray privately, he would pray publicly, and as we follow Jesus, we will likewise spend much time in prayer privately as well as congregationally or in a group kind of situation.

Conclusion

Well, there are other passages we could look at in terms of the early church and other passages about prayer, but as I said, for tonight, I was wanting in particular to look at the gospel of Luke and what we learned there about Jesus’ prayer. We began, we began with Matthew and Luke, we conclude where we started. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It’s enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a servant like his master. Everyone, after he’s been fully trained, will be like his teacher. Now, this week we’ve been talking about this theme. And the application has to be made individually. But what I’m hoping and praying is that there will be many of you who will make some serious inspection, take inventory, and perhaps in a way you’ve never done before, that you will be following Jesus, that you’ll take that seriously, and that you will see yourself as one who wants to be in his image.

That it’s it becomes like Paul, this one thing I do. And so what you’re saying is, give me Jesus. I want him, I want to reflect him. I want to be pleasing to him. And if you do that, if there’s just one person that does that, our time will be well spent. But I hope you see the value of taking these passages and making them your own and becoming more like Jesus. I want so much to be pleasing to him. I want to go to heaven. And that’s what I want for you. Tonight, if you have not yet obeyed the gospel, we touched on that a bit in the beginning, and this will be a wonderful time for you to make that good confession. Be baptized into Christ for the remission of every sin.

If you strayed from the Lord, like we mentioned about Peter, you need to return. And if we can assist you in praying with you and for you, make your way to the front as together we stand and sing.