(John 5:19 NLT) So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life.” In John chapter five, after healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus explained how He did it by saying; “The Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” What did Jesus mean when He said He saw the Father do it? What He meant was that He was being led of the Father. Jesus spent much time in prayer every morning and throughout the day. It was like He was receiving His marching orders from the Father. After having prayed, and after receiving the will of the Father for the day, Jesus set out to DO what he SAW, to PERFORM what He RECEIVED. In this passage Jesus went on to say, “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing. In fact, the Father will show Him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished” (John 5:19,20). Jesus was led of the Father to do all He did. Jesus acknowledged that He was not the manufacturer of what He was doing, but rather simply the distribution center. Said another way, He was not coming up with His daily divine appointments. The Father was orchestrating Jesus’ agenda and He was simply cooperating with the Father’s will.
Later on in the same passage Jesus said, “I can do nothing on My own.” Isn’t that amazing to you? It is to me. Here we have Jesus, the King of Glory Himself, saying that He could do nothing on His own. What did He mean by that? He meant that He was not on the earth to perform His own will. He came as a human, and as a human He had to seek the Father just like we do. He did not have an advantage over us, because if He did then He would not be a true example. We could never replicate what He did if He came as God, but since He came as a man, then we have every opportunity to walk as He walked and to do as He did. Jesus went on to say, “I judge as God tells Me. Therefore, My judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the One who sent Me, not My own will. If I were to testify on My own behalf, My testimony would not be valid” (John 5:30,31). Once again, Jesus was driving home the fact that He was NOT performing His own will. Jesus walked the earth as a man, and as a man He sought guidance from the Father to do all that He did, and since the Father was leading Him, then it is obvious to see why everything He put His hands to do was blessed!
In John chapter 14 Jesus said, “The words I speak are not My own, but My Father who lives in Me does His work through Me” (John 14:11). How do you think Jesus received the words of the Father? The answer is simple; Jesus received the will of God daily in prayer. We will learn more about this in this series and we will also learn how to replicate what Jesus did in our own lives.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully man. One of the reasons He came as a man was so that we could emulate what we see in His life.
2. As a man Jesus needed to pray for guidance. If Jesus attempted to do things without hearing from the Father it would be no different than us when we get outside of His will.
3. Jesus could not to ANYTHING on His own. If Jesus saw a clear need to spend time in prayer, then how do you think you can ever succeed in life without it? Jesus counted on the Father daily and so must you. Receive your marching orders for today in prayer.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this revelation. I am learning how much Jesus relied on His prayer life and it is humbling to me. I realize I have been selling myself short by not cultivating and developing my prayer life fully. That stops today! I declare, by faith, that I will learn how to pray, I will develop in prayer, and I will pray daily. I want to hear from You. I know that without You I can do nothing. Just like Jesus needed to hear from You, I need to hear from You; and I will, from now on, in prayer. My ears are anointed to hear, my eyes are anointed to see, and my heart is anointed to understand all that You desire to share with me in prayer. I am open to hear from You Father. Speak Lord, Your child is listening. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
