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Jesus’ Prayer Life: The Revelation of God’s Glory and Purposes
Luke 9:18-36 says, “18And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? 19They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 21And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; 22Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. 27But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
28And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. 30And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: 31Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. 32But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. 33And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. 34While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 35And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 36And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.”
In the first part, Jesus was alone praying, but the disciples were with Him. Why were they not praying with Him? Maybe they were just spectating and observing Christ’s prayer life, but our objective is to not watch everyone else pray us through. We glean, learn from and are inspired by other people’s prayer lives, but we do not live by them. It is about coming into agreement with each other’s prayers and being aligned with heaven, knowing that if two or three agree together God’s presence is there, and if two touch on any one thing in agreement in prayer it will be done (Matthew 18:18-20). Unity is where God commands the blessing (Psalm 133)! It is from this moment that Jesus breaks out the revelation of not only His death, but we ourselves taking up our crosses and following Him. A cross prophesies a death!
In the second part, Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him to prayer. There will always be a remnant of a remnant who will be closer to you and willing to join themselves in prayer with you. This was at the Mount Transfiguration, where Jesus’ body was transformed into His glorified body, being elevated to a supernatural level where He was now communicating with Moses (symbol of the law) and Elijah (symbol of the prophets). While these these three disciples were sleeping, now suddenly they were awakened! How could you not? Being mesmerized by this majestic glory and as Moses and Elijah were ascending to heaven, Peter blurts out, “Let’s build a tabernacle for all three of these guys.” He said what most people in the church do today: make a religion out of an experience! That is why the voice of the Father boomed from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him.” It was to tear down even just the suggestion of this religious thought! While the impact of Christ’s personal prayer life fully shows how God can take us from glory to glory in Him as well as defend us as sons and daughters, it also shows how quickly we are to nip every religious lie of the adversary!