(Greek) Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ βαπτισθῆναι ἅπαντα τὸν λαὸν καὶ Ἰησοῦ βαπτισθέντος καὶ προσευχομένου ἀνεῳχθῆναι τὸν οὐρανὸν,
what prayer was always meant to be
There is a detail in the Gospel of Luke
Topics covered :
Why did Jesus pray if he was already God
The habit of prayer
Luke records across multiple chapters
What the word "Abba" actually meant in first-century Jewish culture
The Greek word epiousios and why it rarely appears anywhere else in ancient literature
What the cup in Gethsemane really refers to in Hebrew prophecy
Why the cry of dereliction is a quote from Psalm 22- and what that means
John 17 is the most concentrated definition of eternal life in all of Scripture
What the prayers of Jesus reveal about what prayer is actually for
Scriptures referenced:
Luke 3:21, Amplified Bible,
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, the [visible] heaven was opened,
Luke 5:16, But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].
Luke 6:12, Now at this time Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Luke 9:18, Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Luke 11:1, It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 22:44, And being in agony [deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death], He prayed more intently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.
Luke 23:34, And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His clothes among themselves.
Luke 23:46, And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT!” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Matthew 6:8-15, ⁸ So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. ⁹ “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. ¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ ¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 26:36-46, ³⁶ Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane (olive-press), and He told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], He began to be grieved and greatly distressed. ³⁸ Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and stay awake and keep watch with Me.” ³⁹ And after going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible [that is, consistent with Your will], let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
⁴⁰ And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?
⁴¹ Keep actively watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” ⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”⁴³ Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words once more. ⁴⁵ Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Listen, the hour [of My sacrifice] is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners [whose way and nature is to oppose God]. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us go. Look, My betrayer is near!”
Matthew 27:46, About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud [agonized] voice, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
Mark 14:36, He was saying, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; take this cup [of judgment] away from Me; but not what I will, but what You will.”
John 17:3-20, ³ Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent. ⁴
Hebrews 5:7, I have glorified You [down here] on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.
Hebrews 7:25, Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God].
Psalm 22, To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijeleth Hashshahar (The Doe of the Dawn). A Psalm of David.
¹ My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.
³ But You are holy,
O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
⁴ In You our fathers trusted [leaned on, relied on, and were confident];
They trusted and You rescued them.
⁵ They cried out to You and were delivered;
They trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed.
⁶ But I am [treated as] a worm [insignificant and powerless] and not a man;
I am the scorn of men and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me laugh at me and mock me;
They [insultingly] open their lips, they shake their head, saying,
⁸ “He trusted and committed himself to the LORD, let Him save him.
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
⁹ Yet You are He who pulled me out of the womb;
You made me trust when on my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ I was cast upon You from birth;
From my mother’s womb You have been my God.
¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
And there is no one to help.
¹² Many [enemies like] bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
¹³ They open wide their mouths against me,
Like a ravening and a roaring lion.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
It is melted [by anguish] within me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery;
And my [dry] tongue clings to my jaws;
And You have laid me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me;
A gang of evildoers has encircled me,
They pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones;
They look, they stare at me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothing among them
And cast lots for my garment. [A prophetic reference to the long, seamless shirt-like tunic worn by Jesus as an undergarment. ]
¹⁹ But You, O LORD, do not be far from me;
O You my help, come quickly to my assistance.
²⁰ Rescue my life from the sword,
My only life from the paw of the dog (the executioner).
²¹ Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
²² I will tell of Your name to my countrymen;
In the midst of the congregation I will praise You.
²³ You who fear the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence], praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him.
Fear Him [with submissive wonder], all you descendants of Israel.
²⁴ For He has not despised nor detested the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He listened.
²⁵ My praise will be of You in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows [made in the time of trouble] before those who [reverently] fear Him.
²⁶ The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the LORD.
May your hearts live forever!
²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will bow down and worship before You,
²⁸ For the kingship and the kingdom are the LORD’S
And He rules over the nations.
²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust (the dead) will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve Him;
They will tell of the Lord to the next generation.
³¹ They will come and declare His righteousness
To a people yet to be born--that He has done it [and that it is finished].
This psalm may have been prayed by Jesus when He was on the cross. It begins with, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” and ends with a thought of finality. The psalm is quoted in Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34; and alluded to in Matt 27:35, 39, 43 and John 19:23, 24, 28 as being fulfilled at Christ’s crucifixion.
Psalm 31:5 , Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, the God of truth and faithfulness.
Every prayer Jesus prayed is recorded in the Gospels - but most people have never stopped to study them all together.
Here we examine every prayer Jesus prayed, from his baptism in the Jordan River to his final words on the cross, and discover what they reveal about who God is, who Jesus understood himself to be, and what prayer was always meant to be.
We dig into the original Greek and Aramaic words - Abba, epiousios, dunaton, thromboi - and show you why the English translation alone leaves out details that change everything.
We walk through Gethsemane, the Lord's Prayer, the cry of dereliction from Psalm 22, and the High Priestly Prayer of John 17, and we connect them into a single, unified picture that most Bible studies never reach.
Whether you have been praying your whole life or have not prayed in years, this study will show you something about the prayer life of Jesus you have never seen before.
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