Jesus did not pray in order to inform his Father of things he did not know. He did not pray in order to impress the Father, or in order to persuade the Father to do what he otherwise would not do. He did not pray towards a relationship with the Father but out of a deep and intimate relationship with the Father.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the prayer Jesus prayed on the night he was betrayed and arrested, recorded for us in John 17. That prayer begins with the words Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you … (v. 1). Later in the prayer he will address God as Holy father (v. 11) and righteous father (v. 25), but throughout the prayer the default form of address is simply Father .
Jesus prayer demonstrates a deep and abiding trust in God. As the Son he came to glorify the Father, to make known the Father, to manifest the Father’s name, to do the Father’s will, and to become himself the one avenue of approach to the Father. And on the night that it all came to a head, knowing all that he would suffer in the next few hours, Jesus prayed. He prayed to his Father.
Prayer, for Jesus and for us, is the first and foremost expression of our trust in God, the evidence that in the midst of life’s hurdles we understand that God is our only refuge and with fatherly care he will keep us to the end.
As you pray with us at College over these next three months — and we deeply need and appreciate your prayers — may you delight in the care and trustworthiness of the one to whom we pray, our heavenly Father whose will is never overthrown and whose love is more than a match for our weakness and need.
Mark Thompson
Dr Mark Thompson is the prinicpal of Moore College and Head of the Department of Theology, Philosophy and Ethics.
To mark Moore College Sunday held on August 3, we decided to share some resources on prayer to be a helpful ministry resource for you in your spiritual life. How can Moore be praying for you? Let us know: here.
*This blog post was originally published as a letter from the principal included in the June – August 2013 Moore College Prayer Bulletin.
