In what ways did Jesus, our ultimate example, model a healthy prayer life?

Mark 1:35Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

Luke 4:16-21When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Luke 4:31Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day.

Jesus began his days with prayer and included in his weekly practice a time to meet with others in the synagogue to study God’s Word and pray together.

Luke 9:28About eight days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain to pray.

Jesus chose others to spend special times with him in prayer.

Luke 10:1-2The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

When he sent out his disciples, he instructed them to pray for guidance, for resources, and for others to join them in the work of evangelism.

Luke 11:1-2Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.”

Interestingly, the disciples didn’t ask “Teach us how to pray”; they asked, “Teach us to pray.” Knowing how to pray doesn’t mean much if we don’t pray. The Lord’s Prayer was not so much a prayer to be repeated over and over as it was a framework for prayer, including the various areas of life to be discussed with our heavenly Father.

Luke 18:10-14“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus taught by this illustration the profound emptiness in praying self-justifying prayers and the spiritual healthiness of humility in prayer before God.

Luke 22:31-41“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” . . . Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed.

Jesus prayed to his heavenly Father for protection for his disciples. We also can pray for the long-term protection of others in our care, even as we pray that we will not give in to temptation.

Luke 9:15-17So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

Luke 22:17-19Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Luke 24:30-34As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”

Jesus’ mealtime prayer habits were so regular that his disciples recognized him by the way he blessed their meal. The Lord’s Supper, as well as every meal, provides us with a moment where we can give thanks to God for his provision, just as Jesus did.