41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
Speaking audibly to God in the hearing of the crowd - having His gaze fixed upward toward heaven - our Lord commences His prayer prior to the working of His mightiest miracle. There was certain unity with His Father in all that He did and in all that He taught. Jesus’ gesture of looking toward heaven is significant indeed – He looks above the difficulty straight to the Solution – demonstrating to us the proper focus of our soul in prayer.
“He looked up. What is prayer, but the ascent of the soul to God, and the directing of its affections and motions toward heaven?” Matthew Henry
I am first reminded - and perhaps a bit convicted - by these verses of the great importance of cultivating a sincere and passionate attitude of gratitude in my life. Through Jesus’ perfect example of believing prayer, we see that He begins with the simple act of thanksgiving. I am reminded of Paul’s exhorting words in Philippians:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil 4:6 (NIV)
"Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan's temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. It does not exist in hell”..."Hot gratitude melts our hard pride. It is the means of remaining in Christ.” Ellen Vaughn
Secondly, we see in these verses that when the miraculous is demonstrated, it is to point us to God. It is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that is to receive the glory - not man. We are to be ever leery if we begin to see too much flesh glistening and nothing pointing us to God. Flesh should get a grip. We are to fear the Lord, we are to revere Him. He is the One who spoke and it came to be, He is the One who commands and it stands firm. It reminds me of King David’s question demonstrating for us the correct attitude of man in comparison to Almighty God:
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalms 8:4 (NIV)
Psalm 33 states:
13 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-- 15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. 16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. Psalms 33:13-19 (NIV)
Man has such a tendency to glorify man while God silently waits and stays His omnipotent hand. Yet He will not always remain silent nor will His hand always be stayed, there will be a day of reckoning that we can be certain of. All the while, it is His desire for us to turn to Him, to be reconciled to Him through His Son. Thus, through signs and wonders He shows Himself strong - ever desirous to get our attention. I am reminded of the Prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel when he dueled with the “distractions” of the people of his day. Calling the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a show-down on top of the mountain and in full view of the people from all over Israel, Elijah, through the power of God, demonstrates a mighty miracle. The prophets of Baal and Asherah were, of course, dismal failures in their frantic efforts. The prayer Elijah prays in the hearing of all has the same flavor as our Lords:
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 1 Kings 18:36-37 (NIV)
Guess what? God acted – He moved His mighty hand in response to the prayer of a prophet of flesh and blood and the people turned:
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD--he is God! The LORD--he is God!" 1 Kings 18:38-39 (NIV)
Do it again, Lord. Turn the hearts of the people back to you.