Martha hesitated when Jesus told her to move the stone from Lazarus’ grave. Jesus said to her: “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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.”(John 11:40-41)

This is a picture of Jesus ‘ ministry on earth, and an actual bridge between us and our God. It is also a model for us of ways of praying to God, as Jesus begins with a thanksgiving for the benefit of those standing nearby and listening. This prayer is like a lesson in prayer at an emotionally charged moment. Jesus is teaching bystanders as well as all of us, who he is, and how to pray by starting with thanksgiving. It’s a prayer that serves as a direct message to our hearts of how to pray, and ranks along with Jesus’ teaching the disciples the “Lord’s Prayer,” and his “Gethsemane” prayer. In these prayers we have a blueprint of the way to approach God. We are witnessing the model for prayers of petition, probably our most frequent type of prayers. We express our belief and trust in Him, and gratitude for the opportunity to come before Him.

All this the people witnessed, not even imagining that the words would be fulfilled with what happened next: Jesus called out in a loud voice, “ Lazarus come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen. . . (John 11:43-44)

Jesus meant to restore Lazarus to life, but he also meant to restore all of us to believe and to pray with thanksgiving. He thanked God even before God responded with the healing. It was, as Jesus said to Martha, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” She could not have imagined the depth, the width, the strength and the reality of what would fill her heart when she saw her brother alive. Mary and Martha were both believers, and this was an indescribable confirmation of their faith. It was God’s glory in the center of their lives. It was life itself from death.

Jesus waited to arrive until after Lazarus’ death. His Father God knew that this moment would reverberate through all of history in the lives of many generations. Jesus did this for all those generations, including ours. He did this to show us who he is, and to teach us to pray as Jesus prays.

Love in Him,

Prue