PASSIONS, PATTERNS AND PERSEVERENCE IN PRAYER
The word “passion” comes from the Latin word for suffering. It is used in this way to describe the suffering or “passion” of Jesus, which is the story of His arrest, trial, suffering and finally crucifixion. That passion, or suffering, that Jesus experienced came because of the passions that dominated his life.
Jesus was passionate about His Father’s business. From our earliest introductions to Jesus in the Gospels, He is in the temple with the rabbis and tells his parents who had searched for him that they should have known that He would be about His Father’s business. He told His followers that he ONLY does what He sees the Father do (John 5). In the high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus acknowledges before the Father that He has completed the work that was given to Him. Jesus worked to completion all the Father had given Him to do.
His passion for lost people is illustrated in His parable of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son. It is also seen in his description of the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 and goes to find the one that is lost, or in the reminder that the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.
He was passionate about his relationship with His father. John 10:30 records Jesus’ words, “I and my Father are one.” They are one in essence; one in purpose; one in mission. Jesus’ passion for his Father is seen in his prayer life. Jesus frequently slipped away from the crowds to pray — to have a conversation with His Father. We don’t know what He prayed except for those few times that His prayers are recorded (John 17) and when He was in the Garden. His passion for His Father informed His prayers and directed His every move. It was His passion for the Father that led the disciples to request that He teach them to pray. They weren’t so much interested in the mechanics of prayer but in the passion to pray. Any human passion that distances us from our relationship with Jesus should frighten us.
The passion for His father led him to a passion for prayer — for the place of communion with His father that led to established patterns of prayer. We know from Scripture that Jesus often got up early to pray and other times prayed late into the night, and at least on one occasion, He prayed all night. He also would have observed the hours of prayer practiced by all faithful Jews. There were morning, afternoon, and evening prayers. There is incredible value in patterns of prayer — practices that keep us connected to Jesus.
Those patterns of prayer are developed out of our passion to be with Him and to know Him better. It is often said that couples who are married for a long time become more and more alike. They have developed patterns that connect them with each other. It is the patterns of prayer, born out of a passion for Jesus, that lead us to become more like Jesus. What are the patterns, the rhythms, that He would have you establish — not just as a discipline but as a plan to pursue a deeper intimacy with Him?
Our passion for Jesus and the patterns of prayer we develop enable us to persevere in prayer during the dry seasons, during those times when it seems there are no answers. Jesus taught his followers, “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). It is more than a discipline. “Prayer is about love, and that means it cannot be sustained on fluttery feelings, good intentions, and spontaneous moments alone. It needs a container, something like the fidelity of a marriage, a set of practices or rituals within which that love can grow, mature, and blossom” — Tyler Staton.
It is from the depths of our relationship with Jesus that persevering prayer emerges. We persevere because we have a passion for Him and have developed patterns of prayer that continue to help us grow. When the storms come or there are periods of silence from heaven, we persevere because we know the One who loves us and who has been faithful.
A passion for Jesus helps us develop patterns that fuel that relationship. The depth of the relationship sustains us so that we can persevere in prayer regardless of the storms that come our way. Could 2024 be a year of deep passion for Jesus and more consistent patterns that lead to greater perseverance in prayer?