There is something I wondered about for many years and it was the prayer of Jesus in Mark 14: 36,37 before his trial and crucifixion:
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? ''
And in verse 39 reads ''Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.''
I wondered how he could have prayed the same thing for one hour... if indeed that is what he was doing. However, whatever he was doing worked because he rose up with strength and confidence to face the purpose ahead of him as seen in verse 41, ''Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Prayer is power. It works. However, what makes it powerful?
It cannot be in the many words or repetition because Jesus himself told us in Matthew 6:7' '' And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.'' Neither is in the eloquence and dignity of the prayer or posture: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.'' (Matthew 6:5)
Jesus however did say in the next verse (6): ''But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.''
The Greek word interpreted as 'secret' in this verse can also be translated as 'hidden' and 'inner'. Often we think what Jesus was alluding to is just the privacy of the prayer but I believe in a play of words, he is also referring to the intimacy of your heart. In other words, as the Evangelical Heritage Version puts it, ''But whenever you pray, go into your private room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what others cannot see, will reward you.''
The Father sees and hears the heart.
For many, prayer is mostly speech for others it is silence. I have found out that it is both. Prayer is communication. Communication involves speaking but it is not just words. Communication with God (YHWH), who is spirit, is spiritual.
''The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being.'' Proverbs 20:27
So how can Jesus pray for an hour, come up empowered and full of hope having just, as suggested in the scripture, uttered one sentence twice? Maybe because the prayer was not mainly about his words(though important), but about the communications of his heart. It is about what his heart was saying to the Father.
Read James 5:16-18. There, James said the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. The point there however is the heart state of the person praying: it is right. Jesus had a heart in right relationship with his Father, and so do we because of what he did for us and in us by his sacrifice on the cross.
''It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.''1 Corinthians 1:30
So prayer is about intimacy and trust in the presence of a Father who knows what we are about to say before we say it. He rewards our coming to him with his presence (Holy Spirit) which strengthens and renews hope. This is not because of our eloquence but because in our coming, he sees our trust in his fatherhood and in our relationship of acceptance with him. Prayer works because YHWH cares and we pray because we know this.
''May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit''.Romans 15:13
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