How did Jesus navigate each phase of His life? Jesus was uniquely prayer conscious, evident in each phase of His life.
This article aims to present a general outline of the various phases in the life of Jesus, the central prayer highlights of each phase, and to provide a model and inspirational guide for believers today to follow.
In Luke 22:42, Jesus expressed the clear view that He lived His entire life only to fulfil the Will of the Father. Additionally, that ‘Will’ was received and executed primarily through Prayer.
On one occasion, Jesus prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
As excruciatingly painful as it was, He did precisely as the Father required. Never a moment did He deviate from heaven’s expectations.
The emotional and physical strength required for the task of man’s redemption was acquired by deliberate, intentional, and strategic prayer.
His emotional state of brokenness was expressed prophetically in Psalms 22:14-21 “I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; My Strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver Me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog.
Save Me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen!” Yet in this state, He cried out to the Father. Prayer constituted an integral part of His life.
While many phases in His life can be identified, the navigation process was similar. Prayer.
Phase one: His Pre-existence
Phase two: Birth to 12 years
Phase three: 12-30 years- 18 Silent years
Phase four: 30-33 years- Ministry years
Phase five: Death, Burial, and Resurrection- 3 days
Phase Six: Post-Resurrection Ministry- 40 days
Phase Seven: Ascension to Present – Over 2000 years
Phase one: The Pre-Existence of Jesus
As evidenced from the scriptures, this phase was foundational in understanding the scope and vicissitudes of His life as it relates to Redemption.
The apostle John wrote in John 1:1,14, “In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” In terms of time, these verses span all of eternity and some of time (the time span during which he was on the earth, in verse 14 when the Word became flesh)
In Revelation 13:8, John gives us an insight into the pre-existence of Christ. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
This insight points to two directions: the intense deliberation between the Father and Jesus, and man’s redemption.
He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Jesus and the Father agreed on man’s redemption before the world was created.
The pre-existence of Christ and man’s redemption were also expressed by the apostle Paul in Philippians 2: 5-11.
Perhaps the most potent reference to prayer, set up by the Father for the pre-existing Christ, was what the Father had put in place through Anna and Simeon, Lk. 2:25-38.
Both were intercessors set up by the Father to intercede for the birth of Christ, resulting in the will of the Father to prevail. Anna was put into operation well over 84 years before the birth of Christ.
“Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old.
Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.
She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon talked with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God.
She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.” The satanic efforts to destroy Him before and after birth were all thwarted because of the prayer efforts the Father put in place.
