Lent 31 - Jesus' Prayer Life

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Hebrews 5:5-10

Today's reading informs us that throughout his life, Jesus offered up prayers and petitions to God with fervent cries and tears.

We also learn that Jesus' prayers were heard by God, not because he was God's Son, but because of his reverent submission and obedience to God. This realisation should be so encouraging to us as Christians today.

Just as Jesus had a direct line to God, so do we also have direct access to God through the Spirit of the High Priest who lives within us, Jesus Christ.

There is no greater honour and privilege that we have as Christians than to pray. Even when the world is falling apart around us and we don't know what to do, we can pray. Even when we do not have the words to say, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf.

And yet prayer is still one of the most neglected spiritual practices in our world today. Perhaps it is because people have a false that they have to say the perfect words or set aside the same amount of time every day to speak to God.

Prayer is a conversation. We can do it whenever and wherever we like, as often as we can. We can use words that are familiar to us (even the not-so-holy ones). We can cry out to God with our fears, hopes and dreams, just as Jesus did.

And if we are living in reverent submission and obedience to God, we can take hope that God will hear our prayers, just as he heard those offered by Jesus.

But let us not forget that a conversation is a two-way street. In order for a conversation (and prayer) to be effective, we need to take time to listen to what God is saying to us in response. This is usually done best in silence, but sometimes we hear God's responses to us in Scripture, music or conversations with others.

It is time to take our prayer lives seriously.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for the relationship that You offer us and that You hear our prayers. Help us to be more intentional in our prayer life. May we speak to You often and find time to listen to Your responses to us. Amen.

Image Source: Jack Sharp

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