The very essence of prayer to God flies in the face of
atheism. The nature of prayer is a call to God in Jesus Christ powered by the
Holy Ghost. Within this chapter, we shall see the essence of prayer form the
Lord Jesus Christ. We shall see the prayers of Jesus demonstrate God’s
existence, God’s teaching, God’s communion with His Son, and God’s omnipresence
and supports the explicit possibility and actuality of prayers of God’s people
to the Triune God. This is merely a
brief presentation of the true reality of Christian prayer supported and
confirmed by the King of Israel.
The question arises, why did
Jesus of Nazareth pray to the Father, if such a person did not exist? Moreover,
why did Jesus of Nazareth communicate to the Father in prayer, if such a
person, could not hear, comprehend and understand the mere prayer intentions of
Jesus? If there is no justification for the prayers of Jesus, why would Jesus
engage in them? Why would a man who claimed to be God Incarnate, and taught in
accordance with God’s ancient commandments, and manifested perfect humility,
lie or erroneously give the outward impression of praying to God, when such an
activity of submission is genuinely bogus according to atheism? Is atheism
right to claim, that Jesus did not communicate to a supernatural person? That
the Gospel accounts in general are merely religious myth?
The Christian Scriptures are a
collection of books; therefore it is not circular reasoning. Within the
totality of the Christian Scriptures is an inspired special revelation from God
through the work of holy man by the Spirit of truth: “All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NIV). Jesus Himself declared that His word is truth (John
17:17). The burden of proof is upon the
skeptic who denies the trustworthiness of Holy Writ.
Atheists
claim that the supernatural prayer or uncanny accounts in the New Testament
Gospels are not genuinely true. If Jesus is not who He claimed to be, then the
atheist has right to substantiate and cast serious reservation on the
statements of Jesus opposed to His claims abut God’s existence, claims about
Himself, prayer and other profound values of Christianity. However, if the
claims of Jesus are true, the atheist ought to acknowledge the Truth. The
atheist argues that morality can be known apart from God’s existence. If the
atheist rejects Jesus, the chapter attempts to demonstrate that the atheist has
betrayed his own principles, and thus shown by the face of reality itself to be
inconsistent. The prayers of Jesus speak
to the reality of existence about prayer itself. The atheist is inconsistent because he denies
the reality of the Incarnate King. The
reality of Jesus is a plain and real reality that the atheist has no business
rejecting because it is true based upon inerrant Scripture.
The prayers of Jesus reflect
profound philosophical, theological and historical truth. Before we investigate
the significance of the prayers of Jesus, we must turn to the examination of
the identity of Jesus. For the identity of Jesus will demonstrate the validity,
trustworthiness, legitimacy of His claims. What Jesus says is true because He
is God incarnate. The Holy Scriptures
records significant essentials about the identity of Jesus. Christianity
acknowledges the Hypostatic Union of Jesus refers to his two natures: human and
divine in one person, Jesus Christ. In Christian thought Jesus is fully man and
fully God. Jesus is not partially man and partially God. Jesus is entirely man
and entirely God. Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The theology of the Trinity is that, God is
one in essence, three in person. The three persons are co-equal, co-existing, co-eternal.
The three persons existed as Jehovah God. Jehovah refers to the being of God:
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In regards to Jesus, he always
existed as God. There never was a time when Jesus was not God. Jesus entered
into humanity through the Incarnation (John 1:1-4; 1:14 cf. Phil. 2:5-8). Jesus
pre-existed before His birth in Bethlehem (Ps. 2:7; cf. John 8:58). Jesus took
upon Himself the nature of man (Phil. 2:5-11). Jesus Himself acknowledged His
own divinity (John 20:28-29). The apostles taught the divinity of Jesus (Col.
1:15-19 cf. Heb. 1:8). The testimony of Jesus about Himself is sinlessness.
Jesus said: “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do
you not believe me?” (John 8:46 NASB). If Jesus is sinless, He is free from
error, and if He is free from error, what He speaks is absolute truth. His apostles proclaimed the sinlessness of
Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21 cf. 1 Peter 1:19). Therefore if Jesus is fully God and fully
man apart from sin or error; He must be acknowledged as possessing (divine
truth without error) as totality of Holy Scripture possesses of which atheism
objects.
God
the Son existed before man existed. It
is hardly inconsistent for the God-man to be submissive to the God the Father;
for the God-man humbly submitted to His Beloved Father. Within the family, a wife is submissive to
her husband, yet both are equal in value.
So too, then, the God-man is co-equal with the Father yet
submissive. The Holy Spirit is
submissive to the Father and the Son yet co-equal with the Father and the
Son. What a radical Christian thought it
is for the God-man to converse to the Father!
If you wish to understand prayer, look to Jesus. If you wish to comprehend how to pray, look
to Jesus. Why, oh man, do you deny His
example? Perhaps you call Him a good
teacher, yet you do not follow His good ways.
How inconsistent! Your ways of
rejecting the gospel light is a sure indication of divine judgment. This does not demonstrate three “Gods,” but
One God Who is Eternally Self-Existent.
Jesus said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 KJV). Jesus is of the same substance as God the
Father. He is the God-man who died and who
lives forevermore. God created the
“heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The Incarnate Son of Man demonstrates who
he is by His divine words and actions. Jesus believed He was God in human
flesh. Jesus believed in the existence of the Father (John 17) and in the Holy
Spirit (Gen. 1:2). Jesus spoke of God on many occasions. He was called Immanuel
which means “God with us” (Matt. 1:23; cf. Is. 7:14). Jesus makes a plethora of
statements of the pronouncement of God’s existence. In Mark 12, Jesus rebukes
the religious leaders because of their bogus tradition, which was alien to Him,
His teachings, the written Word of God. In accordance with what Jesus said,
“Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of
God?” (Mark 12:24 NIV).
The
New Testament exhibits unique circumstances of prayer by Jesus of Nazareth. The
Holy Scriptures define prayer in basic terms, as a request and general
communication to a heavenly God on behalf of the believing individual. The New Testament
provides actual accounts of Jesus’ prayers. The New Testament demonstrates
prayer by Jesus in connection with the existence of God. Jesus in the New
Testament Gospels provides confident models of prayer of the existence of God
and the legitimacy of prayer. The prayers of Jesus demonstrate that,
communication between God and man is a genuine actuality. The prayers of Jesus
displays further that, prayer is an opportunity to establish, possess, maintain
a personal relationship with a transcendent God.
The
consistent demonstration of Jesus in the action of prayer exhibits Jesus’
commitment to a work of obedience. The nature of the prayers of Jesus are
thanksgiving (John 11:41-42), adoration (Matt. 11:25-27) and intercession (John
17:1-26). If Jesus is God incarnate as the Gospels reveal, is it not true that
the Father is real? There is perfect
unity between the Father and the Son.
Jesus prayed in the act of intercession for His people. The prayers of
Jesus are always answered in accord with the will of the Father; for He always
does what is pleasing to the Father (John 8:29). Jesus is the Impeccable One; He did not have
the capacity to sin or error. His
prayers represent perfect efficacious petitions. Jesus committed Himself to the Father in righteousness,
trustworthiness, high esteem. Jesus gave adoration to the Father. Jesus
worships God as He Himself appropriately commands (John 4:23). Jesus also
prayed at His baptism by John the Baptist (Luke 3:21- 22), previous to choosing
the apostles (Luke 6:12-16), at Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9:28-29) and
within Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-42). Jesus prayed on a mountain (Matt. 14:23),
in secret (Luke 5:16) and taught about prayer (Luke 11:1). As Jesus prayed to the Father, Christians
ought to pray to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Jesus
believed and acknowledged the existence of God in recorded history in the New
Testament. Jesus Himself believed to be God incarnate. His signs attested His
divine identity in a sure divine fashion.
Jesus provided credible substantiation of His resurrected self, and
spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Jesus by His own testimony is
sinless, free form error or mistake. His bodily resurrection guarantees His
teaching about Himself and other profound religious matters are necessarily
true. Ipso facto! Therefore all the teachings of Jesus about Himself and His
overall teaching vitae are propositionally true. If the atheist truly holds to
morality or ethics, the atheist cannot deny the truth for the reality of truth
itself (i.e., the preponderance of Jesus’ evidence in Holy Scripture) and,
ethics by which he claims to philosophically hold. Jesus Christ is Incarnate
Truth. Submit, then, to the King of
truth!
Dear
atheist, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a message of
good news. The good news is the gospel
of Jesus Christ. His gospel is about
grace, truth, forgiveness. Repentance is
turning from sin to Christ. Confess your
sins to God through Christ crucified:
“…repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 NASB). Will you surrender to Christ and give your
life to Him? Will you live a life of
faithful obedience to Him? Will you be
zealous in constant and faithful repentance?
Does your life fall under the approval of Christ? Is your thought life consistent with
godliness? Turn from your life of
sin. I rightly assume you are
sinner. We are moral creatures, and
there will be a sure Judgment. It
approaches; the question is, will you be ready?
You stand now in the spiritual clothes of a sinner. How shall you stand before a sinless, holy,
just, righteous God? Tell me, you
suppose your scheme will avail before God if such a judgment is true? No mere human argument conceived can get you
out of His judgment. You must turn to
Christ, and be forgiven. Do not think “I
choose what to do with Christ.” No, my
friend, it is Christ Who will choose what to do with you. But all of humanity has the sure
responsibility to repent: “…repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 NASB).
