(A brief devotion on prayer)
“In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”
The primary theme that this author seems to have chosen and adhered to throughout his letter is, “Consider Jesus”. Better than the prophets, better than Moses, better than the angels, better than the feast days and the sacrifices; “Consider Jesus”, Author and perfecter of faith, Captain of our salvation, our Great High Priest, “Consider Jesus”, the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. “Consider Him”.
So let’s briefly glean just a couple of nuggets from this one verse before we go to prayer this morning, focusing on the specific example set for us in the things said about Jesus here, and consider Him; “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” (Piety being in the Greek, “eusebeo”, meaning a cautious, devout reverence)
Revealed to us here are two very significant things about Jesus that we can learn from and apply to ourselves: His prayers were pertinent and urgent and His character was humble and submissive (reverent).
The verse says that in the days of His flesh he offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears.
Now I realize that it is generally accepted that these words refer to His struggle in Gethsemane; primarily due to the reference to the “One able to save Him from (or out of) death”
But I am intrigued by the writer’s choice of words in saying, “In the days of His flesh”. He did not say “on the night of His arrest”, or “while His disciples slept”, or any other specific phrasing that would single out this one instance of prayer.
In addition there is the glaring contradiction in thought here, that the gospels tell us that Jesus went back several times during the course of the evening to awaken His disciples from slumber, yet the writer says He “offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears”.
Now I only bring your attention to these details to say this. If, in the days of His flesh, or the entirety of His sojourning here, Jesus approached prayer with the attitude that seems to be expressed here; then it would indeed behoove us to take note and follow our teacher.
These specific words about prayer used in this verse are used nowhere else. They refer to an earnest appeal in great need, and an urgent entreaty for aid; or put simply, “HELP!”
In all the examples of the prayers of Jesus that are given to us, we never see Him flippant, or glib, or uncertain, or indecisive, or wavering in faith. Prayer was a serious business to Jesus. Having temporarily set aside the independent exercise of His own divine attributes and become deliberately dependant on the Father, Jesus placed Himself in the same position of need in which we find ourselves (apart from a sin nature). He did this for our example, and therefore not only should we follow His example in prayer, we should expect the same results.
Let’s compare some of our praying with what we know of Jesus. It calls for some speculation, but I think you’ll understand what I am getting at.
When Jesus spent all night in prayer before choosing His twelve apostles, can you imagine that it went anything like this:
“Ok Father, then we’ve settled on Peter and Matthew and John and Andrew and...
well Father before I go further I want to talk to you about this Judas Iscariot. I’m getting some bad vibes from him, Father, and besides, we already have one Judas in the group...that could cause some confusion. Anyway Father, if you want me to choose Iscariot as one of the twelve, give me a sign.”
What about at the tomb of Lazarus?
“Father, I felt really led to delay coming here...so I did...and I don’t know what you intend to do but I’m just putting it all in your hands Father. I’ve read the scriptures and I know you have the ability to heal and even to raise the dead. If that’s what you want to do today Father then I pray that you will raise Lazarus, and I will give you all the praise and the glory...”
Or in the Upper Room with his disciples?
“Father, I have taught them and led them, and have not lost any of them except the son of perdition. Now I’m asking that you do some kind of miracle in the hearts of the rest, Father, because they don’t seem to have a clue. I’ve poured myself out as a drink offering on them for over three years Father, and I know you can see that they are simply devoid of any spirituality; fighting and backbiting and gossiping as we walk down the road daily,...and well Father, the time has come for Me to be delivered into the hands of evil men, and quite frankly, I don’t expect to be able to find one of these guys hanging around three days from now.
The prayers of our Lord were pertinent, and they were urgent. He was here for a very short time and there was work to be done before the darkness came.
He was aware of the present need (whether physical or spiritual) because of His constant communion with the Father; He was confident in the Father’s goodness and love and He was bold to enter the Throne room any time, day or night, and bring His pertinent, urgent petitions, and find grace to help in time of need.
How often do we insult God with prayers that sound as though we’re not sure He’ll be willing to answer, or as though we’re not even sure of what we want?
How often do we come groveling for deliverance, when we have not spent one honest moment looking for development?
How often do we avoid prayer about some particular thing, because in our heart of hearts we know what the answer would be, and like Jonah we’d rather not press the issue?
I have to keep this brief so I can move on.
As church pastors and leaders we need to be much more decisive and confident and willing in our prayer life. Prayer needs to be what it was to Jesus; all business. Our prayers need to be pertinent (which implies forethought; and often searching of the scriptures in preparation), and urgent. Time is short.
But His second example to us here is of a condition that must both pre and co exist with fervent, effectual prayer; and that is a humble, submissive (or reverent) spirit.
The writer tells us that He was heard “because of His piety”. Other versions say “godly fear”, “reverent submission”.
I can’t believe that what is meant here is that the Father honored a prayer of Jesus to save Him out of death because His prayer in Gethsemane was particularly reverent...or that He showed some special depth of submission at that given point of time.
I have to believe that the writer wants us to consider that we have a High Priest whose very life, (“in the days of His flesh”) was characterized by devout, careful, reverent submission to the Father’s will.
The sufferings of Christ didn’t start when they bound His hands in the garden. His sufferings began when He emptied Himself taking the form of a bondservant.
His very life was one of humble submission, waiting on the Father for guidance and then boldly and unhesitatingly setting His face like flint to do the Father’s will.
BY that, He who never in eternity past had to obey, constantly learned obedience. FOR that, His pertinent and urgent prayers were heard.
Fellows, how much more powerful and rich and spiritually successful could our ministries be...could our churches be...if we stopped being so busy, tore our focus away from programs and appointments and ritual and the traditions of man, and followed our great example of reverent submission to the Father’s will, and carefully pertinent, yet boldly urgent prayer...for ourselves, our churches, our congregations, ...the lost of our communities?
“Jesus was...obedience incarnate. I have only as much of Jesus in me as I have the spirit of obedience.” -A. Murray
If we would be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s frequent admonition in the letter to the Hebrews to consider Jesus, then we must strive to order our lives and approach our communion with the Father according to the example that Jesus set for us in His own piety...His reverent devotion that the Father honored by raising Him from the dead.
