Why did Jesus need to pray when He was the Son of God?

Author: BibleAsk Team


Jesus Prayed

Jesus being an example to fallen man and being in the likeness of fallen mankind needed to pray. The Ministry of the Son of God included a strong prayer life and even spending entire nights in supplication (Luke 6:12).  Jesus sought the Father for wisdom and strength to fight the powers of darkness that surrounded Him every moment. Usually such nights took place before a decision or crisis in the Savior’s life or ministry (Mark 1:35).

The Savior took upon Himself human nature, and with it the possibility of yielding to sin. He was allowed to face life’s temptations like every human being, to fight the war like every child of God must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal death. Only thus could it be said that He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Otherwise, if, as some claim, Jesus, being the Son of God, could not be tempted—then His temptation was a mockery.

It was through His human nature that He experienced temptation. Had His experience with temptation been in any degree less trying than our experiences with it, He would not be able to help us. “For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). We have a representative before the Father who can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” because He “was in all points tempted like as we are.” Hence, we are invited to “come boldly unto the throne of grace” for “grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15, 16).

Jesus knows by experience what humanity can bear, and He has promised to help us overcome the power of the devil according to our personal strength to endure, and also to “provide the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Within every human heart the great battle that Christ went through in the wilderness of temptation is repeated. Without trial—without the chance to choose to do right or to do wrong—there can be no growth in the Christian experience. It is by resisting the devil that we can overcome (James 4:7).

In His service,
BibleAsk Team

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