Spare Tire or Steering Wheel
Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch-born Christian who hid Jews and survived a Nazi concentration camp, once asked the question: “Is prayer your spare tire or your steering wheel?”
I’ve seen it many times as a local pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force, nothing drives a man or woman to their knees in prayer like hardship, failure, or confusion. But what about when things are going well? How is your prayer life when you’re walking in what David described as a season of green pastures and still waters (Psalm 23)? Do you prioritize prayer even in seasons of success? To borrow from David’s prayer again, the Shepherd in the valley of the shadow of death is the same Shepherd in the fields of life. Jesus models for us a life of prayer that is not contingent on his circumstances. Prayer wasn’t just his spare tire. Prayer was his steering wheel. He sought guidance and communion with the Father through prayer whether he was in a season of plenty or in a season of difficulty. In our text, Luke 9:18, we find Jesus faithful in prayer in a season of relative success and plenty.
Jesus’ Ministry is Advancing
In Luke 9:1-6, the kingdom of God is advancing. Jesus sends out his disciples “to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.” Their missionary efforts are a resounding success. Luke records, “And they departed and went throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere” (Luke 9:6).
In Luke 9:7-9, the earthly king is mystified by the works that Jesus and his disciples are doing. Luke tells us that King Herod was astounded by Jesus and his ministry: “Who is this about whom I hear such things?”
In Luke 9:10-17, Jesus performs a miracle. Jesus feeds the 5,000, “And they all ate and were satisfied” (Luke 9:17a).
On the heels of the kingdom of God advancing, an earthly king amazed, and thousands satisfied, what do we find Jesus doing? He goes to the Father in prayer.
Luke 9:18 (ESV) Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him.
Seek God Regardless of My Circumstances
Jesus retreated to pursue private communion with the Father away from the crowds. Luke notes that “the disciples were with him” to distinguish between the previous scene and the private question he’s about to ask his disciples: “And he asked them [the disciples], ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’”
Although prayer here in Luke 9:18 is merely mentioned in passing, we ought not to miss Jesus’ steady practice of prayer highlighted by Luke. Jesus models for us a life where prayer is the steering wheel and not the spare tire. He pursues communion with the Father regardless of his circumstances. He seeks satisfaction with the Father when the crowds are satisfied, and the ministry is booming. He also seeks the Father when he knows the crowds will soon be yelling to crucify him and the ministry seems to be at its most difficult season. As Daniel Henderson states in Old Paths, New Power, “The only enduring motive for prayer is that our never-changing God is worthy to be sought” (Henderson 2016, 115). Jesus knew this and consistently demonstrates our need to seek God through prayer regardless of our circumstances.
The same Shepherd who is there with you in the valley of the shadow of death is there with you in the green pastures of still water. Seek him with all your heart in all of your seasons because he is worthy to be sought.
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