Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 22 : 39-46; Matthew 26:36-46 "THE DISCIPLINE OF PRAYING ALONE"
Day 290 – Luke 22
Text: Luke 22 : 39-46; Matthew 26:36-46
THE DISCIPLINE OF PRAYING ALONE
Jesus taught His Disciples many lessons of faith and life. One of the most vital lessons on personal faith must be the subject of prayer. The Disciples had once asked their Master to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:2-4), because they must have been deeply impacted by the way Jesus would withdraw Himself to pray alone (Cf. Luke 5:15,16 ; 22:41).
It is not difficult to pray when you are praying with people. We draw strength and encouragement from our prayer partners. The greater challenge however is to develop the discipline of praying alone.
There will be times when one must pray alone. There are depths of thoughts and feelings that nobody can share with us. Jesus had mastered the discipline of solitary prayer. Right at the beginning of His public ministry, He had devoted 40 days and 40 nights for personal solitary prayer. Throughout His public ministry, He would always set aside time to commune with His Father in solitary prayer (Cf. Luke 6:12).
THE KNEELING POSTURE IN PRAYER
Luke noted that Jesus would withdraw Himself from the crowds to pray (Luke 5:16). He also observed that Jesus would sometimes spend the whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12). However, in his record of Jesus praying in Gethsemane, Luke noted that Jesus “knelt down and prayed” (Luke 22:41).
In the Parable of The Pharisee and Publican (Luke 18:9-14), though both differed in the way in which they prayed, both offered their prayers standing up (Luke 18:11,13). To pray standing up was the usual way in which prayers were offered to God.
Kneeling to prayer was therefore a significant posture that Luke noted. The kneeling posture was of great symbolic significance. Prostration symbolizes abject humility. Jesus truly humbled Himself in prayer, even though He was communing with His Father in prayer.
Prostration in prayer expresses total submission. The person who kneels in prayer is in fact throwing himself at the mercy of God. He yields himself to the will of God in absolute surrender.
Kneeling in prayer often reflects great sorrow in the heart. The petitioner feels the weight of the burden in his heart, and he cannot but kneel humbly before God, before he pours out his heart before the Lord.
Kneeling in prayer is not an easy posture to assume, especially for those who are not used to praying in this manner. It is hard on the knees. It is difficult to maintain this posture for any great length of time, unless one is used to kneeling. We would not be wrong to suggest that Jesus spent much time on His knees in prayer to His Father. Such was His sense of total submission to His Father (Philippians 2:5-11).
Whether we kneel in prayer or we stand while praying, we must always have a heart that is humble and submissive to God. Let us train our hearts to be humble before God whenever we come to Him in prayer!
A PROFOUND THEOLOGY OF PRAYER
The words of Jesus offered in prayer were the simplest ever. Let us consider the following words he uttered in prayer,
“Father, if it is Your will,
take this cup away from Me;
nevertheless not My will,
but Yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42
What words would you have chosen to use were you in the same position as the Lord Jesus? Yes, these were simple words, but they display great profundity! Jesus had a definite theology of prayer, and no matter how desperate the circumstances in His life, He never deviated from what He believed in.
Jesus’ theology of prayer always began with acknowledging God as Father in Heaven. This was how He taught His Disciples to pray in the famous “Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:2-4). He was consistent with His own teaching and emphasis on speaking to God. He addressed Him as “Father” .(John 17: 1,5, 11, 21, 24, 25).
There was no presumption on Jesus’ part, even though He addressed His Father in the most intimate way! He was The Only Begotten of the Father (John 1:14), yet Jesus never presumed on His unique relationship with His Father. He still bowed His knees and sought His Father in the humblest way possible.
We must guard ourselves against the danger of the sin of presumption! How dangerous it is to promote the teaching of some to “CLAIM” the promises of God. Were there not numerous promises that Jesus could claim from His Father?
“But we see Jesus…” and we see Him prostrating Himself before His Father in full trust. There was no need to plead anything than the will of God. What profundity is to be found in the simple words that Jesus uttered in humble prayer.
How should we use the term “Father”? Let us never presume upon our privilege given to us as “sons of God”. Let us consider the excellent example of Jesus as He prostrated Himself before His Father, and let us cry out in shame for forgiveness, for we have too often presumed upon our relationship with God. If THE Son of God only prostrated Himself before His Father in prayer, dare we be presumptuous and lay claims on God’s promises, as if He would not respond unless we claimed! This is not faith but fearful and foolish presumption. It is certainly not reflective of the spirit Jesus displayed.
“IF IT IS YOUR WILL…”
There are some who teach that we must not pray, “If it is Your will”. They claim that when one says such words, it is reflective of a lack of faith. One must boldly declare one’s faith before God and declare one’s wishes and He would then give us what is asked for.
This was certainly not the way Jesus prayed. Did Jesus lack faith when He prayed thus? Why did Jesus not lay any claim on any of God’s promises? The theology of Jesus with reference to prayer did not lead Him to offer anything but these deeply moving words. “If it is Your will.” Let us be moved to emulate Jesus’ manner of praying.