"And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."
Luke 6:12
Part 3
Yesterday: Jesus’ Private Prayer Life
“That He went out into a mountain to pray.” (a)
Jesus had a familiar place where He went to pray.
Today: Our Prayers are to Have Direction
“That He went out into a mountain to pray.” (b)
How do believers pray? Did you notice that when we read in the New Testament of Jesus praying, He directs His prayer to God the Father? And only to His Father! Jesus demonstrates for us the principle of directing His prayer to the Father. This helps answer the question of “who” we should pray to. What do we need to know about the “form” of our prayer? Or we can ask it this way, “how” should we be praying? As a child, I remember addressing my prayer, “Dear Jesus…” and ending it with, “in Jesus’ name. Amen.” It wasn’t until a Bible teacher, many years later, challenged my thinking about how we address our prayer. Then, I began to look for what the Bible had to say about “directing” my prayer.
John Piper had an interview written up as a helpful article entitled, “Should I Pray to the Father the Son or the Spirit.” In the article, he said,
“…most of us in the evangelical family probably grew up beginning our prayers with ‘heavenly Father’ or ‘our Father’ or ‘dear Father’ and ending them with, ‘In Jesus’ name, amen.” That is a liturgy that we just learned. Pray to the Father, close in Jesus’ name. Amen. And, frankly, I am going to argue that is a great tradition.”
He goes on to say how we should teach our children to pray.
“I think children should grow up with that form as the main form of their prayer. Pray to God the Father in the power of God the Spirit, in the name or by the authority and the merit of God the Son. That is the trinitarian structure mainly of prayer in the Bible”[1] (Piper).
Here are some Scriptures that help us understand why we pray this way.
– We pray to God the Father:
Jesus said, “pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).
This is how Jesus taught His disciples to pray,
“After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9).
– We pray through the power of the Holy Spirit:
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18).
“But you, dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up even stronger. Pray with the help of the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20, HSB).
“…realize that your heart would never have an inclination to pray to God for true blessing apart from the humbling, transforming, faith-giving work of the Holy Spirit…. I rely upon the Holy Spirit when I pray in Jesus’ name to the Father”[2] (Piper).
– We pray in Jesus’ Name.
“If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).
“We have no access to God without Christ and his name. And so when we pray in Jesus’ name, we are saying that to the Father. I am coming not in my own name, not in my own merit, not in my own worth. I am coming because Christ loved me. Christ died for me. Christ rose for me. Christ intercedes for me”[3] (Piper).
Jesus said to the eleven, the night Judas betrayed Him,
“…that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it you” (John 15:16c).
Piper goes on to say, “I want to also say it is good and it is healthy to speak to Jesus as your friend and Savior and Lord and guide and to the Holy Spirit.” He ends the article with this,
“Let your normal, regular praying be prayer to the Father through the Spirit in the name of Jesus, but realize that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are persons and to speak to them as a saved sinner would not be unnatural” (Piper). (The link to Piper’s article is in the footnotes below.)
These questions often come up, “Why should I pray?” and “What should I pray about?” Please come back tomorrow when we think about these questions on prayer together.
Quote: “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as wealthy”[4] (John Piper).
[1] Piper’s quote Downloaded: Thursday, May 20, 2021. From: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-i-pray-to-the-father-the-son-or-the-spirit.
[2] Piper, ibid.
[3] Piper’s quote Downloaded: “Thursday, May 20, 2021. From: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-i-pray-to-the-father-the-son-or-the-spirit.
[4] Piper’s quote Downloaded: Tuesday, May 25, 2021. From: From: https://biblereasons.com/prayer-quotes/.