Praying Through the Son by Mark Driscoll

Pray Like Jesus By Pastor Mark Driscoll

Day 4 of 21 Praying Through the Son According to 1 John 2:1, Jesus Christ serves as our advocate with the Father, speaking in our defense. Hebrews 7:25 tells us, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." How amazing that is! Jesus Christ "always lives" to intercede for us. Jesus makes it his purpose to intervene for us, to act on our behalf, to reconcile us to the Father out of love for us.  Just as Jesus offered himself as the atoning sacrifice, becoming our substitute and thereby securing our redemption, he continues after his resurrection and exaltation to stand in the gap for us, interceding for us with the Father. Christ's atoning for us at the cross endures for all time. We aren't left to our own devices after first believing. Christ's reconciling us to the Father is always in effect. 1 Timothy 2:5 informs us that "there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." So when we pray to the Father, we are praying by and in the power of the Spirit living in us, and we are praying through the power of Jesus Christ living for us. As we seek to pray through the Son, we should seek to pray as the Son prayed. One thing we notice as we look through the Gospels for instances of Jesus praying is that he didn't exactly devote a large amount of time to direct teaching on prayer. Rather, we find that Jesus' direction on prayer is woven throughout his life and teaching. His prayers and his teachings on prayer are part of the fabric of his day-to-day life and ministry. Jesus perfectly embodies the command of 1 Thessalonians 5:17: "pray without ceasing." Praying without ceasing means we don't have to put on our burlap Jedi robe, climb up a high mountain, get in the lotus position, drink decaf oolong tea, and say "om." We don't have to do that.  To pray like Jesus means living a prayerful life, where prayer is a constant and recurring habit like breathing, in our life lived in the Spirit. So we get out of bed and pray. We eat breakfast and pray. We get in the shower and pray. We get in the car and pray. We go to work and pray. We go shopping and pray. We study and pray. We clean out the garage and pray. Every day and in all facets of our day, we have the great privilege of getting to talk to our Father. Spend some time in prayer today, thanking Jesus that he intercedes for you, and brings your prayers to the Father.  1 John 2:1 NASB 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; Hebrews 7:25 NASB 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 1 Timothy 2:5 NASB 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB 17 pray without ceasing;