All of the prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ are powerful and important. The ones selected here are only a few, but we can learn from each.
Jesus’ Prayer For Those Who Mistreated and Crucified Him
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing ….” (Luke 23:34)
IF they knew who Jesus was and what he was doing to help us all, they would never have treated the Lord Jesus the way they did. Because they SINNED by their cruel mistreatment, they were in serious spiritual trouble.
Jesus prayed that those sins committed against them would be forgiven. This prayer seemed to be a model in that type of situation, for Stephen prayed to Jesus that same similar way when people were stoning him to death (Acts 7:59,60).
(For those specific sins to be forgiven, as Jesus prayed here, does not mean all their sins were forgiven and they went to heaven after their death.)
Jesus’ Prayer To Escape The Painful Crucifixion
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)
Jesus was true man and true deity. He felt pain, hunger, etc. Here he prays to escape what was going to happen, IF that would be the Father’s will. Since there was no other way for mankind to be redeemed except by the blood of Jesus Christ (the lamb of God without blemish), then Jesus would have to die on the cross for the sins of everyone. It was our ONLY hope for salvation and the Lord Jesus came through for us all. He is most worthy of our devotion and love.
Jesus’ Prayer For Peter
“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32)
The first half of that prayer is magnified, but the context is ignored which is vital for a proper understanding of what happened to Peter. Peter needed to turn back to God for he disowned Jesus thrice (and Jesus disowned him). The NKJV says Peter needed to be “converted,” the same word used in James 5:19,20 where a person in the truth falls away and turns back (gets converted again) for salvation’s sake. There is nothing in Luke 22:32, or anywhere, which denies Jesus disowned Peter for what he did (Mt. 10:33)! Don’t allow false teachers to mislead you about this, based on Jesus praying so his faith wouldn’t fail.
Jesus Prayers From The Throne For The Saints
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Rom 8:34)
Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17 (called his high priestly prayer), but here in Romans 8:34 the resurrected Lord of Glory is praying also in a generic and undesignated way for the saints! There is no way of knowing how bad this spiritual Christian battle would be without his powerful prayers for us, but they are necessary! Also, even though the Lord is presently praying for us, many saints still get misled into sin and various types of false doctrines. That reveals free will and human responsibility on our part to maintain our relationship with God. Unfortunately, spiritual casualties continue and too many of the righteous die spiritually by turning to evil (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Eph. 5:5-7). Because that is a very real possibility, the devil continues to tempt. If that could not occur, his temptations would be futile. Jesus’ prayers are and have been vital.
