Jesus! why He prayed so much?

I feel like sharing some scattered thoughts about Jesus and His humanity. I often, and for good reason, put Jesus up on a high pedestal, forgetting what He must have experienced as a man living out His Father’s will. The lofty, transparent story is this; that Jesus was born and we have presents at Christmas, that Jesus did some cool miracles to prove He was God, that Jesus made some people mad so they killed Him on the cross; that, in the end, Jesus gets to say “I told you so” because He was resurrected. Simply put, John 3:16. All of this is true and wonderful, but there is more I think. Don’t you?

You see, scripture teaches us that Jesus was fully man and fully God. Furthermore, that He chose to lay down His deity to be a man while on earth. See Philippians’s chapter 2. Here is what I really want to get at, that Jesus rarely found earthly comfort as a man. I have been thinking that this is why He prayed so much. Those of you who know the stories about Jesus, ponder a moment and think  of some times when Jesus was validated on earth by humans. Hmmmm….I can think of a few, then again, upon a casual mental scan, it seems to me that most of the time someone was in the background plotting or grumbling about the things He said or did. This is why He prayed. Jesus found His relational security with ONLY God the Father. Go ahead, name one fully stable and comforting relationship that Jesus had with a person. Come on now, just one! I cannot think of any.

To the world Jesus must have seemed like an unstable guy and I think He must of known this–another reason He prayed. Think of the things that Jesus said and did for a while. Imagine yourself challenging the establishment without anyone to truly understand and give support. See what I am seeing?

What’s more is that everything Jesus did culminated in the cross. (Something by the way He was willing to do, but did not really want to do. See Gethsemane.) God was telling Jesus to do and say things that would upset people. Imagine yourself doing this all the time. Yeah, some people liked the miracles and that is cool, but even the fact that He could do the miracles made Him different than everyone else. This is why He prayed. Imagine yourself saying to yourself and then to some friends “hey, on Easter Sunday, I am going to get all dressed up, go to the biggest and most celebrated church in the USA and tell everyone that I am Christ, the Second Coming is here!” To me that is what He did when He rode into the city and everyone yelled Hosanna!

I cannot fathom having the fortitude to do something like this. Hate to end this but work is beckoning! Really, this is why Jesus prayed. No one understood Him but the Father and He was OK with it. Blessings!

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