christ's

way
to pray
Books by Philip G. Samaan
Christ’s Way of Reaching People
Christ’s Way to Spiritual Growth
Christ’s Way of Making Disciples
Blood Brothers
Portraits of the Messiah

To order, call 1-800-765-6955.

christ's
way
to pray
P H I L I P G. S A M A A N
Author of Christ's Way to Spiritual Growth, Christ's Way of
Reaching People, and Christ's Way of Making Disciples
Copyright © 2003 by
Philip G. Samaan
All rights reserved

The author assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all facts and
quotations as cited in this book.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible texts in this book are from the
New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Texts credited to Message are from The Message. Copyright ©
1993, 1994, 1995, 1996. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing
Group.

Cover designed by EstiDzyn

Cover illustration by PhotoDisc
Typeset: 12/15 Bembo

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

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ISBN 0-9741001-0-2

Printed by Review and Herald® Publishing Association

 Dedication

Dedicated
to my beloved mother
whose passionate prayers were my first glimpse of
the embrace of the praying Jesus.
 Contents

Introduction…9

One He Is Able…13

Two He Lives to Pray…21

Three He Prays Passionately…30

Four He Prays for Us…43

Five He Prays With Us…56

Six Embraced by His Prayers…75

Seven Praying in the Spirit…91

Eight The Eyes of the Lord…104

Conclusion…118

Bibliography…121
 Introduction

o your prayers seem to bounce off the wall and back

D into your face? Do you feel as if your petitions barely
reach the ceiling before falling back shattered at your feet?
Do your supplications seem like hollow and helpless
echoes? How can our tainted prayers avail much when our
righteousness is like filthy rags? How can our puny prayers
become like those prevailing prayers we hear about?
Often we focus on the prayers of others in the Bible or
in the church, hoping that their faith and fervency will rub
off on us. While we gain much by studying the prayers of
men and women like Jabez, Hannah, or Daniel, such prayers
are not magical formulas for getting what we want. Prayer is
not primarily about meeting our needs or promoting our
prosperity; it is about deepening and enlarging our relation-
ship with God. It is about widening His rule in our harried
hearts and expanding His sovereignty in our sinful souls.
The prayer life of Jesus powerfully demonstrates His
trusting and intimate relationship with His Father. Jesus’
consuming passion was His Father’s good pleasure, honor,
and glory. Love and loyalty to His Father were His prior-
ities. The domain of heaven was so enlarged in His heart
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 CHRIST’S WAY TO PRAY
that it knew no boundaries. How marvelous for Jesus to
desire to engage us in His mighty prayer life! For in such
a holy engagement His priority becomes our priority, and
we experience God’s all-encompassing reign in our hearts.
Knowing that we have faithful prayer warriors inter-
ceding for us and with us as we confront life’s problems is
encouraging. It buoys up our faith and confidence. But
how much more encouraging it is to have Jesus as our
faithful prayer warrior who ever lives to pray for us. How
much more awesome to experience Christ as our prayer
partner. For me, the experience of engaging my prayer life
with that of Jesus’ has been life-transforming. It has set me
on a spiritual path with the praying Jesus, and helped me
tap the inexhaustible resources of heaven. Our Mighty
Petitioner is indeed “The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jer.
23:6), and His mighty prayers do avail much. My prayer
life has never been the same since my puny and pitiful
prayers became interconnected with His powerful and
prevailing ones. Just as our righteousness is but filthy and
tattered rags unless covered with His pure and perfect righ-
teousness, so also our prayers are weak unless covered by
His powerful prayers. Likewise, even our faith is feeble
unless riveted in His mighty faith.
God wants to imbue our hearts with the unflinching
courage that comes from knowing that Jesus perpetually
prays for us. May the invincible confidence that comes
from Christ’s way of praying be ours. May we hear His ve-
hement cries on our behalf, and may we see His shed tears
as He prays passionately for us and with us. Jesus yearns to
enfold us in this refuge of prayer. He longs to encircle us
with His sympathizing human arm, and carry our prayers
10
 INTRODUCTION

upon His mighty divine arm all the way to the throne. He
desires to mingle the “much incense” of His perfect inter-
cession and merits with our prayers. To take the sluggish
trickle of our prayers and mingle it with the mighty flood
of His prayers for us.
Are you ready to take the plunge? Let’s go with the flow.

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 C HAPTER O NE

He Is Able
“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who
come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).

triking up a pleasant conversation with my seatmate on

S a recent flight from Sacramento, I was startled to hear
his assertion that Jesus could never save someone like him.
When I inquired as to why he was so sure, he confided
that he had been bearing a bitter grudge against his father
since childhood. His heart had been full of hate toward
him for more than 50 years. He remembered his drunken
father beating and torturing his mother mercilessly before
his eyes as he stood by helplessly. And then one day the
father slashed his wife’s throat while his son looked on.
Amazingly, she survived this vicious assault. The son,
however, became consumed with bitterness and hatred.
I asked him what had become of his father. “Ten years
ago he put a gun to his head and killed himself,” he blurted
out. Yet this heavy load of hatred still poisoned and para-
lyzed the son’s life. I explained to him that he had carried
this crushing load for too long, that Jesus was longing to
free him from this deadly bondage. Opening my pocket
Bible, I read to him that Jesus is able to save to the utter-
most those who come to Him. I told him that the word
“uttermost” refers to complete deliverance for now and for

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 CHRIST’S WAY TO PRAY
all time. Jesus is capable of doing the impossible for us, the
things that no one else can ever do.
As I explained how to release his long-held hatred over
to Jesus, I found myself silently joining Jesus, the Mighty
Petitioner, in praying for his deliverance. When he asked
me to pray for him, I sensed as I prayed that Jesus was fi-
nally gaining the victory in this lifelong battle over his soul.
He followed me in earnest prayer, giving over his hatred to
Jesus, the Burden Bearer. The heavy fog of hatred finally
lifted, and Christ’s divine peace flashed across his face.
God’s amazing grace finally rescued him. His countenance
was miraculously transformed. Unshackled, he kept repeat-
ing: “I’m free! Thank God I’m free! I’m finally free!”

HE CARES AND HE CAN

What an awesome and unique blessing we have in
Jesus’ ability to save to the uttermost. Often we do not
pause to contemplate such an inestimable gift. It liberates
us from the crushing burden of guilt. Releases us from the
clutches of monstrous sins. Delivers us from a dreadful
eternal death. Even the most skilled psychologist cannot
do that. Billions of dollars for therapy would prove inade-
quate. The greatest power on earth is totally helpless to do
anything for our souls. But the power of Christ is able to
save us to the uttermost.
And why is He so infinitely able? Because Jesus lives
for the purpose of praying for us. That is the solid basis for
all that He does for us. He is not only a sympathetic friend
but also an able intercessor. He cares and He can. With His
gentle human arm He embraces us, and with His mighty
divine arm He connects us with God’s throne. Our friends

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 HE IS ABLE
may express some sympathy in the midst of our trials, but
how many possess the ability to adequately deal with
them? But, you see, we are Christ’s project, and He is
totally committed and capable to complete the project He
started. Many of us can conceive of an idea but not follow
through with it, or begin a project but never finish it. Isn’t
it quite refreshing to realize that Jesus stays the course to
the end? He’s not a quitter; He’s a finisher.

HIS ABILITY, OUR AVAILABILITY

Whether Christ can start and finish His project depends
on our response to Him. Do we let the Potter do His work
on our clay? The secret for victory in our lives is continu-
ously coming to Him, relinquishing self for the sake of
seeking Him first. The greatest “good work” we can do be-
fore God is to continue coming to Jesus—no matter what.
This is the easiest yet the most challenging work. Often this
heart work—the uniting of our hearts with His heart—is
the hardest work of all because it takes the total submission
of self. But Jesus is always available and always able to help
us. Availability and ability are His expertise.
So how then can we connect with His ability for us?
By our availability to Him. Those who come to Him pos-
sess His solid promise that He will never cast them out
(John 6:37). Thus we have absolutely no reason to shy
away from coming to Him. This unshakable promise is
combined with His invitation to go to Him with all our
heavy burdens and exchange them for His peace that passes
all understanding (Matt. 11:28).
This talk of Jesus’ availability and ability takes my mind
back to an unforgettable visit of a leprosarium in Africa.

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 CHRIST’S WAY TO PRAY
Lepers were cast away by their relatives and left alone to
suffer a slow and miserable death. Yet at that leprosarium,
brave missionary nurses would defy the horrible sights of
their oozing wounds, decaying flesh, and hideous disfigu-
ration to minister to them every hour of every day. One
morning after a few hours of visiting the place, I simply
could not see anything more. I couldn’t handle it; I had to
stop and leave. I know that these devoted nurses could not
have ministered so lovingly and patiently without the
compassionate Jesus ministering through them. It is hu-
manly impossible. “But with God all things are possible”
(Matt. 19:26). There is absolutely no limit to what Christ
can do through one person’s availability to His ability.
One who is available can truly say with Paul, “I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
In the leprosarium a thought pierced my mind: If these
nurses were able to show such compassion for shunned
lepers, how infinitely more is Jesus able to wrap His strong
arms around me and to cleanse me of sin! If an earthly
father engages in heroic feats to help his child, how ex-
ceedingly more is our all-loving and all-mighty Lord able
to save to the uttermost those who come to Him. His
valiant acts flow out of His big heart.
God’s awesome ability is unleashed in response to our
availability. When Jesus passes by, do we avail ourselves of
His ability? The people of His hometown blocked His
ability with their unavailability. He passed by Nazareth in-
tending to work great deeds on their behalf, but He could
not “because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58). Tragic, isn’t
it? They missed out on what Jesus had already planned to
do simply because they would not avail themselves of His

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 HE IS ABLE
blessings. Could it be that Jesus had been passing by our
Nazareths too, time and again? Has our unavailability been
blocking His ability to do the great works He longs to do
for us?
How often we scurry here, there, and everywhere—
everywhere but to the presence of Christ. We desperately
search for help from many experts before seeking the help
of the Expert. He is able, all-loving, and wise. Why not tap
into such a limitless resource? Why not see things from His
perspective so that our lives may flow out of His gracious
will? He longs to show Himself strong in our behalf when
we place our full confidence in Him (2 Chron. 16:9). It
greatly pleases Him to show off His amazing ability in re-
sponse to our trusting availability.

HELP MY UNBELIEF
The unbelief of the people of Nazareth obstructed
Christ’s wondrous works among them. But don’t we all
have unbelief sometimes? Our faith falters and wanes. What
sort of unbelief did the people of Nazareth have? According
to the account, their unbelief resulted from their lack of ap-
preciation of and trust in Jesus, possibly mixed with a good
dose of arrogance and jealousy. No trust relationship with
Jesus: that was the root of their problem.
Someone else confessed his unbelief to Jesus, but his
heartfelt confession was born out of his distrust of self and
trust in Christ. Remember the father who came to Jesus
pleading for the healing of his tormented son? He burst
into tears, throwing himself at His feet with the cry “Lord,
I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Yes, while we
ponder our shaky faith and our struggle with unbelief, we

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need not despair. Let go of the bewilderment at Jesus’ feet.
Look away from yourself to the Savior. “Cast yourself at
His feet with the cry ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine un-
belief.’ You can never perish while you do this—never”
(The Desire of Ages, p. 429; italics supplied).
Minutes earlier, the father had told Jesus that His dis-
ciples attempted to heal his tormented son, but they “could
not” (verse 18). In this context, the father’s urgent plea
makes so much sense: “If You can do anything” (verse 22).
In other words: “Your disciples could not. Can You?” It
was a question of ability—their inability contrasted with
His ability. And Jesus got down to the point when His dis-
ciples asked Him privately about their inability to heal the
boy. “Why could we not cast it out?” they asked. Jesus an-
swered: “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer
and fasting” (verses 28, 29).
So to experience God’s ability manifested in their lives,
they should have made themselves available to Him
through prayer and communion. Instead, they focused on
their personal problems (The Desire of Ages, p. 431). Jesus
Himself had just been transfigured, and even His ability re-
sulted from His availability to His Father through prayer
and communion. “He took Peter, John, and James and
went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the
appearance of His face was altered” (Luke 9:28, 29).

JESUS IS ENOUGH
Recently I read a report about a frail mother who
shifted a massive and crushing weight away from her child,
saving him from certain death. If such a frail mother could
accomplish such an incredible act because of love, how

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 HE IS ABLE
much more our mighty and loving Jesus is able to save us
to the uttermost! In His genius of mind and in His big
heart, He has innumerable ways to accomplish heroic feats
on our behalf. We see only our situation—a tiny sliver of
our reality; but He looks at the whole spectrum of reality.
His ability, manifested in our availability, is born out of His
infinite love and wisdom. We may recount His miraculous
ability in answering many of our prayers. Yet the greatest
answered prayer is for Him to dwell in our lives and to be-
come the center of our existence. When all is said and
done, Jesus is enough. He is all we truly need.
I know a man who was severely beaten by thugs. He
suffered head trauma, partial paralysis, and severe depres-
sion. He could not hold a job, lost many friends, and was
on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He desperately
sought human help, but soon discovered that it was inad-
equate. Even his devoted family could not help. He finally
recognized that humanity—even at its best—could do
only so much to help him. One dark day, when he was
ready to end it all, he heard this encouraging voice pierc-
ing through his gloom: “You tried everything; why not
try Jesus? When everything is said and done and you come
to the end of your rope, you will finally discover that Jesus
is able, Jesus is enough.” In his despair these words about
Jesus’ ability and sufficiency seized him to the core.
Burning in his mind as letters of fire, he kept repeating and
believing them—Jesus is able, Jesus is enough—until his
sanity returned and divine peace flooded his being.
Oh, let Jesus’ ability and sufficiency seize my heart too.
May my focus on Jesus turn me away from analyzing my
own inability and inadequacy. This is the kind of divine

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help I really need. I can’t still the raging storm and I can’t
calm the roaring sea. No, I can’t; I am only human. But I
know the One who can!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What is the basis of Jesus’ ability to save to the ut-
termost? How does His perpetual intercession play a part
in this (Heb. 7:25)?
2. Jesus is both available and able. What does this
mean to you?
3. Compare the relationship of Christ’s ability and
your availability. Why is it that we often focus on our own
ability or inability? What difference does our focus make?
4. Contrast the unbelief of the people of Nazareth
with the “unbelief” confessed by the father of the sick son.
5. Do you think that the father doubted Jesus’ ability
when he said, “If You can”? How does that relate to the
disciples’ inability to help him earlier? What attitude do
you bring with you when you go to Jesus for help?
6. What are some things in your life that may block
Jesus’ ability to be manifested in you?
7. Think of a time in your spiritual journey when in
your desperation and helplessness you finally recognized
that Jesus was enough. What are some of the challenges
that may hinder you from coming to the All-sufficient
One? Do you now know the Man who can?
8. How would you pray this prayer in your own
words: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief ”? Explain the
apparent tension between belief and unbelief.

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