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Thread: Why Did Jesus Pray?

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    Senior Member Nikos's Avatar
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    Why Did Jesus Pray?

    I have often wondered why Jesus who was a man of perfect faith, the God-man, had to pray. Yet we see him in the scriptures praying often. He prayed all night at times. Why? I would think that he would be in constant contact with the Father God.

    Your thoughts?

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Heb 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nikos View Post
    I have often wondered why Jesus who was a man of perfect faith, the God-man, had to pray. Yet we see him in the scriptures praying often. He prayed all night at times. Why? I would think that he would be in constant contact with the Father God.

    Your thoughts?
    He did walk the earth as a man, empowered by the Holy Spirit as a man, emptied Himself of His divine privilege (Phil 2:5-8). So as a man He had to pray as He instructed other humans to pray in order to walk out the same relationship/fellowship with the Father that He was instructing others to do. All the benefits of prayer that He and the NT teach He had to partake of Himself. There's nothing that indicated in the Bible that just because one has perfect faith doesn't mean they don't need to pray. You exercise that perfect faith in prayer. He maintained His fellowship with the Father in prayer just like we do, and instructed by Him to do. And although He was God, He did not walk as God, but as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit. He needed to pray just like we need to.

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    I can't recall a verse that says that Jesus raised himself from the dead by faith of the mountain moving kind. In that case he could have prayed the Lazarus prayer in Gethsemane and just thanked God that he would raise him again.

    There are many miracles that he could have performed and didn't. If everything had been a matter of exercising faith at will then why didn't he for instance rearrange the stars in the sky until they spell "Jesus is Lord" in every language ?

    Some times the power to heal was present with Jesus which means that sometimes it was not. If he could have healed people at will then that would not have been necessary. Jesus moved in the anointing of the Spirit and depended on that. Did something restrict that flow and did his prayers affect that in the positive direction ? There are mentions of angels intervening, prayer activates angelic activity.

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    Super Moderator Quest's Avatar
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    Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God...prayer develops relationship which matures our faith and obedience....

    Jesus, as a human had to develop the sensitivity of following the voice of the Spirit...and, no doubt he loved communing with His Father...

    One instance Jesus had done many miracles and had been in one place for awhile...he rose early to pray...when the disciples found Him and told Him the people were looking for Him His response was, 'We must go' and immediately left that city...

    Jesus prayed for the same reason we do...communion and direction...

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