JESUS AND PRAYER (BOOK OF LUKE)
1. It
is said that Jesus was tempted in all points like we are yet He did not sin
(Heb.
2. How did the Lord manage to live to adulthood and not sin?
A. How could Jesus have been a perfect man?
B. Prayer was a tool that helped Jesus live a sinless life.
C. There is a great deal of information given in scripture about Jesus and His prayer life.
D. While
we may look at some of the specific material at a later time, today’s lesson
offers an
overview.
E. This summary is taken from the book of Luke.
3. Our study begins in Lk. 3:21-22.
A. This is one of the passages that describes the baptizing done by John the Baptist.
B. As most know, Jesus was baptized by John.
C. After the Lord was baptized He is pictured as praying.
D. Lk. 3:21-22.
E. Immediately after His baptism Jesus is pictured as communicating with God.
F. Perhaps this information is related to Eph. 6.
G. Paul described the Christian armor in Eph. 6:13-18.
H. The Christian armor is the battle gear for God’s people.
I. If our nation were to send its troops off to war, when should the men and women be armed?
J. When should our soldiers receive their equipment?
K. Should they fight for a year and then receive the supplies they need?
L. Should we wait a month to provide them with the proper clothing and tools to do battle?
M. What about waiting a week?
N. Soldiers need to be ready for battle before the fighting begins.
O. Prior to the battle soldiers are to be give the provisions they will need.
P. Notice from Eph. 6 that prayer is part of what God’s people need to battle the Satan.
Q. Eph. 6:16-18.
R. If we are going to fight the devil we need to pray.
S. Let’s relate this to the life of Jesus.
T. The Lord, at His baptism, was entering into a special period of His life.
U. John
was ready to announce Jesus as the Son of God (Jn.
V. As
the Lord prepared to enter into a new phase of life He prayed (Lk.
W. He used his spiritual armor.
X. We may relate this to those who become Christians.
I). Those who leave the world to become Christians enter into a new phase of life.
II). They are preparing to serve in the Lord’s church.
III). During this transition others can and should pray for them.
IV). At Goshe, after people are baptized, fellow Christians do pray for the newly converted.
V). Lk. 3 tells us to remind new converts that they too can and need to start praying.
VI). Whenever we start something new we generally adopt some new habits.
VII). If we start a new job we begin to do some things differently.
VIII). When we become a Christian some new habits need to be started.
IX). One of these habits, according to Lk. 3, is prayer.
4. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW OFTEN JESUS PRAYED BEFORE HIS BAPTISM BUT WE DO HAVE SOME INDICATION AS TO HOW HE PRAYED AFTER BEING IMMERSED.
A. This information comes from places like Lk. 5:15-16.
B. This passage is a text that has information that will help some Christians get back on track.
C. This passage solves some of the problems that occur in congregations throughout the world.
D. Let’s read the two verses – Lk. 5:15-16
E. People had heard about the Lord. “Great multitudes” came together to hear the Son of God.
F. People were pouring in to be healed.
G. I have told a couple of stories about working at Pondersa; here is one more.
H. Those who cooked the food inserted the order tickets on a metal strip that was several feet long.
I. Working on 15-20 orders at once required a lot of concentration.
J. There were nights when cooks were working on 40-50 orders at once.
K. Sometimes we had so many orders they wouldn’t all fit on the metal strip.
L. There were nights when we had cooked so much food we didn’t want to see another order.
M. We had cooked enough stakes for that night and passed out French fries till we were tired of them.
N. Most people can a similar thing about their job.
O. Painters get to the point where they have painted enough for the day.
P. Those on the assembly line don’t want to do another unit for the day.
Q. In a similar way Jesus had been through enough so He went away.
R. He withdrew into the deserts and prayed.
X). At times we find Christians who leave the faith.
XI). They become tired, discouraged, or too hurt to continue living as a Christian.
XII). These conclude they have “had enough of the church.”
XIII). When this type of situation arises there is a solution.
XIV). The life of Jesus recognizes this type of situation and offers a way out.
XV). Get away and pray.
XVI). From what is indicated in Lk. 5:15-16 Jesus left some sick people.
XVII). There were some people who wanted to hear Him but He didn’t stay in the area.
XVIII). Jesus understood that to be effective He had to leave and pray.
XIX). The next time you find your spiritual life declining or plunging downward, apply Lk. 5.
XX). Find a quiet place and make some quiet time to pray.
XXI). This single passage contains one of the keys to preventing burnout among church members.
5. JESUS USED PRAYER AND
PRIVACY TO AVOID SPIRITUAL EXHAUSTION.
THIS COMBINATION STILL WORKS. IN
THE NEXT CHAPTER OF LUKE’S RECORD (
A. Jesus planned to select some people who would be known as the apostles.
B. Before Jesus selected these men He prayed.
C. This is how Luke described the Lord’s prayer.
D. Lk. 6:12-13.
E. Jesus went to a “mountain” (this location may imply privacy and seclusion).
F. We are also told that the Lord continued all night in prayer.
G. The next day came (verse 13), and He chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles.
H. These disciples were the ones who would continue the work after the Lord returned to heaven.
XXII). What if Jesus had picked the wrong men?
XXIII). What if He had picked people who were unreliable, sloppy, or lazy?
XXIV). What if He picked people would twist and pervert the gospel?
XXV). The right men needed to be selected and to insure this was done Jesus prayed all night.
6. This example shows us that major decisions should be made in conjunction with prayer.
A. In our society many rely upon several tools to make decisions.
B. We may get input from friends and co-workers by asking them, “What do you think?”
C. There are consumer magazines and web sites that rate products.
D. We may compare literature from different companies.
E. We even have the ability to do comparison-shopping.
F. There is nothing wrong with any of these things.
7. The life of Jesus shows us to also approach major decisions with and by prayer.
A. The ways we may apply this principle are numerous.
B. Do we have small children?
C. Should we not pray, especially in this day and time, about where they should attend school?
D. What about praying that suitable teachers will teach them?
E. When young people begin to date, isn’t dating an appropriate subject for prayer?
F. Young people may pray for suitable companions and dates.
G. Parents may pray for their children as they date.
H. Where should those who graduate from High School attend college or go to work?
I. These are major decisions that can have a major effect on life.
J. Thus, they are suitable subjects for prayer.
K. What should we do when we enter into the workforce?
XXVI). If another job offer arises, should we take it?
XXVII). Should we transfer to another department?
XXVIII). Should we taken an early retirement?
XXIX). Throughout life we are faced with several decisions that are major.
XXX). If we want to live as Jesus lived, pray before life’s big choices.
8. WHAT HAS BEEN SAID UP TO THIS POINT HAS BEEN PRIMARILY DIRECTED AT OURSELVES. HOWEVER, LUKE SHOWS THAT JESUS SOMETIMES TOOK ALONG OTHERS TO PRAY. JESUS INVOVLED OTHER PEOPLE IN HIS PRAYERS. LK. 9:28-29.
A. How many of us here have asked another person to pray for us?
B. How many of us have asked others to do that 5 times? 10 times? What about 50?
XXXI). I recently spoke with a preacher from another congregation in the area.
XXXII). At the present time this church is without elders.
XXXIII). This preacher stated that church business meetings have not always been pleasant.
XXXIV). Some of them can be contentious.
XXXV). This brother said, “We need more prayer meetings and fewer business meetings.”
XXXVI). H understood that men praying together would significant lessen contention.
XXXVII). Christians need to spend more time praying with and for each other.
XXXVIII). At
XXXIX). The phone tree has been used a time or two.
XL). We have a prayer list that is published.
XLI). To pray with and for people is consistent with the example left by Jesus.
XLII). This example not only accomplishes things, it influences others.
XLIII). It encourages others to start praying as they should.
9. We have examined several passages from Luke about Jesus and prayer.
10. Towards the middle of this book we have another one (Lk. 11:1).
11. By this time in the Lord’s life the disciples had seen Jesus pray.
12. They must have realized that He prayed often and He was good at praying.
13. In view of what they had seen and knew they said this:
14. Lk. 11:1.
A. This is a beautiful passage.
B. How many times have we seen a child watch someone?
C. The child then said, “Teach us to do that. Teach me so I can do it too.”
D. Those who love the Lord will surely have the same attitude.
E. “Lord, teach me how to pray. I want to learn. I want to do a good job when I pray.”
F. We can learn to pray and pray well.
G. Some of what we need to know has been given this morning from the book of Luke.
H. These principles are pieces of information we may start applying today.
I. We hope you are someone who prays like Jesus did.
J. If you need some help to do that we are ready to assist you.