JESUS OUR PRAYER COACH

Jesus modelled for us what is possible for a man who lives in right relationship with the Father.  He was here as fully man – yes but also as God.  However, He gave up His rights to heaven’s titles and benefits so He could identify with you and me.

His entire life demonstrated or ‘re-presented’ Almighty God to His children. We’re targets for His love and power.

He gathered 12 men around Him, one of whom was a thief (and yet He put him in charge of the ‘cash tin’ - see John 13:29). He taught them how to do life and ministry by demonstrating the Father’s love, grace and power wherever He went to the lost, broken, ill and injured, hungry, naked, dead and rejected ones.

Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father (John 14:8).  His response teaches us a wonderful lesson “…anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). The Bible declares Jesus is the exact representation of God the Father (Heb 1:3).

The disciples asked Jesus how to pray.  They’d already seen Him heal multitudes of people, teach thousands on a mountainside with great wisdom they’d never heard before, feed the multitude before sending them away and also witnessed His power at work to set demonised people free.

It’s only natural His disciples wondered where He found this power or how was He able to do these mighty acts.  They asked Him “Lord teach us to pray.”  In other words, ‘can you show us how to do the same things you are doing?’

His instruction on prayer is found in Matt 6:9-15 (and Luke 11:2-4). “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is heaven.  The very first lesson on prayer given to his disciples, the first key to ‘operating in kingdom power’ was to honour God the Father and then ASK for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

There’s no sickness in heaven, no shortage of provision, no pain or sorrow, no sadness or rejection in heaven. Therefore, Jesus taught His disciples (and by implication you and me) to ask for the heavenly kingdom to come to earth thus ‘Lord would You bring from your place to ours that which we need, not just food and money to pay our bills but let everything we need to do life today, come from heaven to earth so we can also accurately ‘re-present’ You on earth to those with whom we have contact.’

So how is Jesus our prayer coach?  What does a coach do? – They demonstrate how to do something and by watching and then practising, we get to improve the skill in which we have been coached.

Let us examine 2 accounts from the gospels to illustrate this point. 

In Matthew 8 we read Jesus had come down from teaching the crowds on the mountain and a leper came to Him and said, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” More literally what he was saying was if you are willing, you can heal me completely.  Jesus’ response was more than the man could have hoped for.  Jesus said “I am willing.”  However, in the original language it actually means ‘it would give me pleasure or I would be delighted’ (to heal you). Moved with compassion for this desperate man, He then made a powerful declaration “Be clean”. It wasn’t a prayer but a command, a declaration of healing!  How could He do that?  Once again, because He walked in intimacy with His Father, so He could pronounce this man’s healing from the place of knowing what the Father wanted done for this man.  It’s important to note here, this man was not just healed physically, but as a result of his healing he would have been able to re-join society and no doubt work and provide for his needs and those of others.  He was no longer an outcast!  He was totally restored.

The second account we examine here is that of a Gentile woman who came to Jesus and told Him her daughter had a demon. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter (see Mark 7:26ff). She had heard or perhaps seen what Jesus had been doing around town.  Jesus basically ignored her and told her His role was to bring salvation and healing to the Jews first and foremost.  Did He not care about her daughter?  Of course He did!  However, His primary objective was to minister to the Jews at this point in time.  Salvation was to come to the Gentiles after His crucifixion through the ministry of Paul.  The woman wasn’t prepared to wait any longer for her daughter’s freedom.

She persisted even when He told her bread wasn’t for dogs.  He wasn’t calling her a dog but was making the point that healing and salvation for the Gentiles was to come at a later date.  (It is in this encounter we learn healing is actually the children’s bread).

She just kept persisting – there’s a lesson here for us in prayer.  Persistence achieves results!  Jesus told her it was due to her persistence that her daughter was free of the demon.  The woman went home and found her daughter totally healed!

Let us consider 2 lessons from this encounter.  

1. Prayer is about persistence even when we don’t ‘see’ any change.  I John 5:14-15 (NIV) teaches us: - “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him”. Prayer mixed with faith brings the promises of God into our lives.

2. Jesus didn’t have to go to her house to heal her daughter. The mother’s faith drew the miracle from Him.  He didn’t even pray with her – He simply made the pronouncement she was free of the demon.  

Jesus is our perfect role model. If we can’t find anything in the life of Jesus as demonstrated when He was here on earth then it is not in the heart of God.

He is the perfect role model.  He taught His disciples how to pray, when to pray and the need for persistent prayer all flowing from an intimacy with the Father.

Can I encourage you to draw near to the ‘coach,’ learn from Him and then practice what He’s taught you for the glory of His great Name!