How did Jesus pray?

Matthew 26:39 onward -  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” 

Luke 22:39 onward - Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 

Romans 12 - I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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I have always struggled with one question - What do I pray for? Do I demand for healing or do I ask for strength to bear the illness. Do I claim His power to change the situation or do I ask for trust to face the situation. When I pray that His will be done in my life even in sickness/illness/suffering, am I suggesting that I lack in faith? 

These questions have always plagued my mind. Everyone has an opinion in this regard. One person may say that you should rebuke every sickness, small or big, and name and claim stuff because our loving God desires that in our life. Another person may claim that doing so would suggest a lack of faith, and is in fact contrary to what the Bible teaches. They may cite numerous passages written by Apostle Paul supporting their point of view. Certainly, the scripture and the Christian faith offers so much leeway in matters of faith that both answers could be right. It could be a personal choice - the way of life, prayer, and faith. 

But I really wanted to know what God, Jesus Christ want in our lives. 

And then he led me to a passage that I have read numerous times in the past. Not one, but several interconnected passages - like pearls strung into a beautiful necklace. Suddenly, the answer became obvious. I do not claim it is doable for a mere mortal like me. But if Christ wants us to be Christ-like, that necklace is what we must hope for. 

Let me explain. 

In the passage from Matthew and Luke, we see descriptions of Jesus's last moments as a free man. Here he is crying, in fact, wailing aloud, asking God the father to take away the cup of suffering from him. But then he adds on a phrase to that prayer - not my will, but yours be done. A prayer of the highest order of faith. The passage in Matthew shows the options Jesus had - he was fully man and fully God, in equal measure. 

Jesus tells his disciples - paraphrased as "don't you think I can pray to God my father? He can easily provide me twelve legions of angels and this whole things will be over". Yes, Jesus could have avoided the pain of Crucifixion. He had several easy ways out. But he knew that doing so would not fulfill God the father's plans about his son Jesus Christ. Doing so would have left us having to pay the wages of our sin - death. Jesus knew how to exercise his options - he could have prayed and avoided suffering. But he knew to submit to God's will, and withhold the prayer for relief from the impending suffering, because he knew that it was God's will for him to go through the experience of Golgotha. 

Here, the critical phrase is 'he knew God's will'. That's important. I realized that God was not showing me that I should suffer through every sickness, and every failures in life. He was not showing me that I should not pray in faith, for relief from my failures. Instead, he sent me to Romans 12 which instructed me on how to know God's will. 

First, present your body as a living sacrifice to God. Sacrifice involves pain. It involves forfeiting things that we would normally seek and love and enjoy. Such a sacrifice should not be legalistic way of worship. You should not deny yourself things or opportunities for the sake of fulfilling the law. But, such an act of sacrifice should be a form of spiritual worship. We sacrifice things when we love someone dearly. The sacrifice that God is demanding from us is out of love, and is a form of worship. 

Second, do not be conformed to the world. This is huge. Spend a moment here. Realize the magnitude of this phrase - do not be conformed to the world. 

Be transformed, and renew your mind. How do you do that? Study the word of God. Pray. Exercise spiritual discipline. 

Finally, test and discern the will of God. I have a video instruction that will tell you how to discern the will of God. Click here for the brief three minute video. 

There you go. How did Jesus pray? He knew God's will and submitted to it completely. God's answer to our life's biggest issues may not lie in the solution that some preachers may give you. Sure thing, it may help you tide over your crisis. God will provide for you if you pray in faith. The scripture tells us so. But the key question is this - are you praying for God's will to be fulfilled? There is a big difference between praying in faith and receiving the answer in the form of a miracle, and praying in faith after testing and discerning God's will and then waiting for his response, fully knowing that his response could be "son, my grace is sufficient for thee". 

Both are acceptable. But the latter is Christ-like. 

This is a guest post based on meditations shared by my dear wife.