Mark 1:35 – Study Number 11
Jesus Prayed
Objectives:
By the end of this study all participants will have:
- Understood why Jesus prayed and why we must pray.
- Written about the advantages and disadvantages of having a daily routine for prayer.
Anchor
In our verse today we hear for the first time that Jesus prayed. It’s a good opportunity to reflect on prayer, what it is, why we should be praying as well as when and where we should pray.
Discussion – (5 minutes)
- What are your priorities for the rest of today? For tomorrow?
- Be honest, do they include prayer?
Add
Read Mark 1:35
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Reflections
- How, are we told, Jesus prayed?
- Jesus is the second person of the Trinity so why did he need to pray?
Here are two readings that help us answer that question:
John 5:30
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
Hebrews 5:7
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence”
- What does the word “reverence” mean?
Apply
Learning Task 1 – Read and Discuss (10 minutes)
Why should we pray?
Martin Luther thought prayer so important that he wrote an entire book on the subject for his barber containing practical advice on prayer. (“A Simple Way to Pray, 1535). He also wrote extensively about prayer in the Large and Small Catechisms, as well as other pamphlets and books.
He wrote:
“Let this be the first and most important point, that all our prayers must be based and rest upon obedience to God, irrespective of our person, whether we be sinners or saints, worthy or unworthy.
In the second place, we should be the more urged and incited to pray because God has also added a promise, and declared that it shall surely be done to us as we pray, as He says Ps. 50:15: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee.” And Christ in the Gospel of Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you. For every one that asks receives.”
Learning Task 2 – Read and Discuss (20 minutes)
What should we pray for?
- When we pray, should we expect God to give us everything we ask for?
Read 1 John 5:14-15
- What’s the key phrase in these verses?
Read Luke 18:1-8
Sometimes God delays in answering prayer according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be persistent in prayer.
Read James 1:5
Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth, and through prayer we can find what His will is.
Read Matthew 6:7-8
- If God “knows what you need before you ask him” what’s the point of praying?
- How did Jesus teach us to pray? See Matthew 6:9-13.
Martin Luther:
“There is no nobler prayer to be found upon earth than the Lord’s Prayer which we daily pray, because it has this excellent testimony, that God loves to hear it, which we ought not to surrender for all the riches of the world.”
Learning Task 3 – Read, Reflect and Write (15 minutes)
Where and when should we pray?
Read Matthew 6:5-6
Luther said:
“It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night.”
We see Jesus doing this by getting up before sunrise to commune with his Father before doing anything else.
Take 5 minutes to think about what we’ve read and discussed today. Write a list of the advantages and disadvantages of:
- Finding an isolated place to pray.
- Praying first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Away
Luther’s Small Catechism beautifully explains and expands on each part of the Lord’s Prayer.
Read Part 3 of the Small Catechism “The Lord’s Prayer” Read the Daily Prayers section of the Small Catechism and this week get into the routine of praying first thing in the morning and last