Praying As Jesus Did

During this season of Lent, I am studying the prayers that Jesus prayed during the last week of His life, as He walked the one-way road from the last supper to the cross. The prayers have come alive to me.

Jesus trod a lonely journey which not even His closest friends understood. Every prayer He prayed was a prayer of submission to His Father’s will. His days of ministry were almost over. His closest friends lived two miles from Jerusalem, and the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus was always open to Him. It must have seemed like a refuge from the constant demands on Him.

When Lazarus became sick, the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord the one you love is ill.” They expected Jesus to go to Lazarus immediately, but He deliberately waited four days before He went to Lazarus. The sisters’ emotions were overflowing with grief. Jesus had let them down, disappointed them, and they were being comforted by a group of mourners. The welcome Martha gave to Jesus was in the form of an accusation. “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 But Jesus had followed the Father’s will, and He had done what the Father was telling Him to do, not what the sisters thought He should do.

I wonder how often we are like those two sisters, when we pray. Are we specifically asking for what we want, in the way we want it, and then feeling let down when it doesn’t happen our way, instead of trusting God to do things His way, the best way?

When Jesus was taken to the grave where Lazarus was buried, He wept. He Was deeply moved. He was on His way to Jerusalem to die for the sins of the whole world. When He told the mourners to remove the stone in front of the cave where Lazarus was buried, Martha was shocked and dreaded the dreadful stink there would be. Resurrection was far from everyone’s mind. Yes, they believed in the healing power of Jesus, but resurrection was unheard of. They didn’t have the faith to go beyond their experience.

What about us? Do we have the faith to believe that God doesn’t repeat the past, but is always doing something new? We have to let go of the past in order to move into the new thing God desires to do, for us, and through us. It’s not for our glory, but for His.

The unbelieving mourners were about to have their eyes opened. Jesus called with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out” (of the grave). The dead man came out, wrapped in grave clothes, and the mourners were told to “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:45). Lazarus couldn’t take them off himself.

We often wear grave clothes too. They are things that bind us and limit us freely moving on into the fullness of life Jesus purchased for us with His precious blood shed on Calvary. Many people fear facing their grave clothes, and they console themselves by saying, “This is just the way I am.” But the big question is does God want you to stay just the way you are? Most of us need someone alongside us to help us face our graveclothes.

They can be sinful heart attitudes, thoughts, and reactions. They can be secret sins, addictions, behaviour patterns, selfishness, and self-centredness. The Holy Spirit will convict us and show us our graveclothes, if we seek Him, humble ourselves, come out of denial, and allow another person to speak honestly into our lives. ‘So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36).