If Jesus is God, why would he pray? The above video is two minutes long…and/or read below for a summary:
- There is a great example of his mother, Mary, praising God, praying and singing in Luke 1:46-55. His earthly father, Joseph, prayed before Jesus was born. His parents would likely have taught young Jesus to pray
- He prayed publicly and told us he’d give us an example to pray, with what we know refer to as the Lord’s Prayer, found in Matthew 6:5-14. However, he also warned us not to pray out loud as if we’re showing off.
- Several examples are given of Jesus praying alone, among them are Matthew 14:23 and Mark 1:35
- Jesus desired to align his will with the Father’s. This is painfully clear during his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where he submits his will, after stating his own found in Luke 22:42
- He taught us to pray persistently in the parable found in Luke 18:1-8
Importantly, Jesus was united with the Father and the Holy Spirit for all of eternity BEFORE he came to earth as a man. Now, he is separated from them for the first time ever. I enjoy when my children visit me or I have the opportunity to visit an old friend or even speak with them on the phone. We are wired to be connected to others and are also made in God’s image.
Jesus seemed to simply desire to be in the Father’s company and loved to be in communication with him. He also allowed us to peek into his prayer life so we have the best example of all of how and why to pray.
For more on why Jesus prayed and how his humanity matters to us, check out my new book Amazed: Why the Humanity of Jesus Matters available on Amazon.
All the proceeds go to Threshold to New Life ministries, providing relief and restoration for the Twin City homeless.
Richard Bahr 