Faith Expressions

In the Bible, the book that holds the distinction as a book of prayers is the Psalms. In the gospel stories, Jesus is depicted as a man of prayer, one who finds time to communicate with God. Below is a list of five prayers, three of them are prayers by Jesus.

“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-13) - This is the prayer which Jesus taught to his disciples, and it is a prayer of faith, hope and love. It is a prayer of faith because it puts one’s trust to an invisible God. It is a prayer of hope because it recognizes the fulfillment of one’s needs as being dependent on God. It is a prayer of love because it professes to obey the will of God, which is love of God who is holy, and to love and forgive others in order to be forgiven by God, which is love of neighbor. Indeed, it is a prayer of faith, hope and love and it is a JESUS tradition.

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48) - This was the song of praise by Mary to God during the time when she visited her cousin Elizabeth. The prayer was truly a joyous outburst of praise from a lowly woman gifted by God to be the mother of His Son through the power of the Spirit of God.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47) - This statement was said (shouted) by blind Bartimaeus who wanted Jesus to heal him of his blindness, and Jesus healed him. It was a prayer said with so much gut-level faith and without an iota of hypocrisy. It was a prayer that recognized Jesus as God who had the power to forgive sins.

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet, I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42) - This prayer was made by Jesus on Mount Olives. His hour of death was near, and he had to suffer all the humiliation and physical abuses associated with death on the cross. God the Father wanted him to continue the mission of saving humankind and, thus, Jesus took all the insults and injuries. Jesus died on the cross but three days after he was buried, he rose from the dead. Jesus was obedience personified.

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) - This prayer was made by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. It was one of the seven last words of Christ. It was a prayer for the forgiveness of sins, an expression of love for humankind for whom Jesus died for. It was a gut-wrenching prayer – the most extreme type which Jesus had to do in order to fulfill God’s promise, his promise to save humankind from sin and destruction.

Note: Bible Verses Reference for the “LIST: PRAYERS” - NLT 2013

Recommended Reading: John 17:1-26