“Look at the Book” is Bible Gateway’s series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. The book of Acts is a direct sequel to the Gospel of Luke, written by the same author and picking up directly where the gospel left off.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
Beginning with Jesus’s ascension, through the birth of the church on the Day of Pentecost, to Paul’s preaching at Rome, Acts chronicles the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church.
Category: History
Theme: Church
Timeline: Written together with the Gospel of Luke around 60 AD
Key Verse
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” — Acts 1:8 (NIV)
Paul’s Missions
Paul’s three missionary journeys in Acts:
Twelve stops, nine cities, from around 46-48 AD
Nineteen stops, 19 cities, from around 49-52 AD
Twenty-six stops, 23 cities, from around 53-58 AD
These events serve as a kind of microcosm of Paul’s entire ministry: stiff opposition from most Jews and joyous acceptance of the gospel message by many Gentiles.
Paul’s joyful perseverance in the face of extreme persecution is testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
True to their nature, demons in the Bible are a tricky category — much harder to pin down than angels. Angels, despite having many types or kinds throughout the Bible, are mostly referred to as malakh in the Hebrew Old Testament and angelos in the Greek New Testament — both literally meaning “messenger.” Demons, though, can refer to many different beings in the Bible.
As a rule, demons in the Old Testament are more varied, ambiguous, and frightening than demons in the New Testament. While the latter are not to be trifled with — they can cause all sorts of harm to people — the former often appear to be much more ancient and cosmically powerful. But there are exceptions.
This article will explore the many types of demons and associated evil beings, and where they can be found in Scripture.
Demonology: A Brief Biblical and Historical Background
Christian demonology developed gradually and comes from combing through and combining a variety of Biblical and extrabiblical sources.
Terms for ‘Demons’ in the Bible
The English word “demon” comes from the Greek daimon, which appears in the New Testament more than 80 times. The two words sound very similar, but their meanings are quite different. The Greek word originally had a broad application: it can mean any divine or spiritual being, good or bad. In the New Testament context, though, they are usually bad.
On the other hand, there is no single word for “demon” in Hebrew, so they do not appear as such in the Old Testament. When you see “demons” in the Old Testament, they could be any of a variety of Hebrew terms, such as shedim, elohim (a word that’s, confusingly, also used for God), or se’irim.
Because of this diversity in their terminology, the Bible is not clear on the overlaps and differences between classes and categories like demons, fallen angels, pagan deities, and other strange, frightening, and sometimes evil entities. Many such figures are named in the Bible (and its adjacent literature), but it seldom specifies their origin or purpose in God’s design.
Ambiguous Purpose
It’s also not clear which of these spiritual beings operate on their own, or in service to Satan, or are themselves manifestations of Satan. Sometimes they even seem to operate under the command — or at least approval — of God!
All of these ambiguities meant that Christians had to do a lot of guesswork in the centuries after Jesus, piecing together the puzzle of what demons are and how they came to be — especially when it comes to their leader, Satan. Not all of their conclusions are actually found in the Bible, but for the most part they were very careful not to contradict it. Still, there remains much we don’t know (and perhaps aren’t meant to).
As for what we do know — it’s usually not hard to discern which spirits are evil (key word, usually: the devil is known as the “Prince of Lies” for a reason). Let’s take a look at each of them now.
Demons and ‘Unclean Spirits’ in the New Testament
Let’s get these out of the way first, because they’re the most straightforward.
Demons in the New Testament refer almost always to malign spirits who take possession of unwitting human beings (and occasionally animals) sometimes causing physical or mental afflictions and other times urging them toward immoral behavior. They are also often referred to as “unclean spirits” (cf. Mark 1:21-28, 5:1-13, Acts 5:16).
But despite their prevalence in the New Testament, we never learn where they come from, nor do we receive any physical descriptions of them. It’s likely that they are invisible, at least to those without divine sight. It’s worth mentioning, though, that many of the church fathers believed them to have been connected to the Nephilim, the giants or fallen angels mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4 — perhaps as their disembodied spirits.
The other kind of demon that crops up a few times in the New Testament, mostly in Paul’s letters and Revelation, appears to be of a higher order — perhaps fallen angels or pagan gods, whom we will look at below. These demons receive sacrifices (1 Cor. 10:20), offer teachings (1 Tim. 4:1), and are worshiped as alternatives to the Lord (Rev. 9:20).
Demons, Fallen Angels, and Other Semi-Divine Beings in the Old Testament
The Hebrew of the Old Testament lacks a single, specific word for demons — but it certainly does not lack for evil creatures! Some of these beings appear to be fallen angels (or descended from them), while others are specific entities with proper names who appear to be in a class of their own. A few even seem to be in the service of God.
Nephilim
The Nephilim are a class of angel mentioned briefly in Genesis 6:1-4 and Numbers 13:33, who descended (or fell) and coupled with human women, spawning a race of fearsome giants. Though referred to as “sons of God” and “heroes of old,” they soon took on a more sinister character. They are a central focus of the extracanonical (though highly influential) book of Enoch.
Shedim and Se’irim
The shedim and se’irim are the two types of being in the Old Testament that come closest to what we now think of as demons. Neither appears frequently, but they left a strong impression on the ancient Israelites.
Shedim appear only twice, in Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalm 106:37, where they are associated with foreign deities who demanded child sacrifice. Their physical appearance isn’t mentioned, but in other ancient texts they are described as winged, sometimes serpentine spirits.
The appearance of the se’irim on the other hand is much clearer: the word is associated with male goats and “hairiness,” and is often translated “goat demon.” Because of this, they are often associated with the goat-legged satyrs of Greek mythology — and are probably where the later depiction of Satan as a goat-legged figure originated. They are usually seen as a much lower form of demon, though. They appear in only four passages: Leviticus 17:6-7; 2 Chronicles 11:14-15; Isaiah 13:21; and Isaiah 34:14.
Lilith
Did you read Isaiah 34:14? It’s also the only mention of Lilith, known as the “Mother of Demons” — though only in later, Medieval thought. In fact, the word in Isaiah is disputed: it could refer to Lilith, or simply a “creature of the night.”
Despite the ambiguity, a dense mythology developed around Lilith in the Middle Ages (long after the Bible was written), describing her as Adam’s disobedient first wife and a consort of witches and succubae.
Azazel
Like Lilith, Azazel is mentioned only once in the Bible (Lev. 16:6-10) and it is similarly disputed whether the passage in question refers to a named demon/fallen angel (as in the ESV, NRSVue, NABRE, CEB, and NLT) or simply to the Hebrew word for “scapegoat” (as in the Septuagint, Vulgate, KJV, NIV, and NASB).
The Hebrew meaning is unclear, but early church fathers interpreted it through the influential extracanonical book of 1 Enoch, which identifies Azazel as one of the fallen angels who fathered the Nephilim. According to this legend, Azazel later gave various gifts (such as weapons and cosmetics) to humanity, before being defeated and chained to a rock by the archangel Raphael.
Prince of Persia (and Other ‘Princes’)
The Prince of Persia is another spiritual or divine being — perhaps a fallen angel — who appears only once in the Bible, though in more detail than Lilith or Azazel, in Daniel 10.
In this chapter, Daniel describes a vision in which an unidentified angel (traditionally associated with the archangel Gabriel) delivers an apocalyptic message about the “end of days” (Dn. 10:13). But first, the angel says he was delayed 21 days in conflict with the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” before “Michael, one of the chief princes” came to his aid. Afterwards, Gabriel will have to return to fight against the prince of Persia, and then the prince of Greece, along with Michael, “your prince” (Dn. 10:20-21).
This passage has led many commentators to believe that there are perhaps angelic or spiritual beings watching over every nation — some evil (e.g., the princes of Persia and Greece) and some good (e.g., Michael). It’s also likely that the angels, principalities, and powers that Paul refers to in Romans 8:38-39 are these very princes.
Mavet (Mot)
Mot — spelled mavet or maveth in Hebrew — was the Canaanite god of death. In Hebrew the word (which appears over 100 times in the Old Testament) usually just means “death,” and that’s nearly always how it’s translated into English.
But there are some places — such as Job 28:22, Psalm 49:14, Isaiah 28:15, and Habakkuk 2:5 — where it seems to become more personified. Is that simply poetical, metaphorical language? Or does it suggest Mot is a demonic entity of some kind? We can’t be sure.
Early Christians debated about whether pagan gods: a) didn’t exist; b) did exist, yet were impotent; or c) did exist, and were malevolent. The score was never really settled, and the conversation continues to this day.
Abaddon
Like Mot, the word abaddon is a Hebrew word with a general meaning — in this case, “destruction.” Unlike Mot, it only occurs six times in the Hebrew Bible, and is understood to be a proper noun — either as a place or an angel. Abaddon is closely associated with Sheol, the place of the dead — and with Mot: they appear side-by-side in Job 28:22. (See also Job 26:6, 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 15:11, 27:20).
Abaddon also appears in the New Testament under the Greek name Apollyon (Rev. 9:11), where he guards a bottomless pit (probably Sheol, though it’s not named in the passage) from which smoke and horrifying locusts emerge to scourge the people who do not have “the seal of God on their foreheads” (Rev. 9:4).
Destroying Angels: Are They Good or Evil?
Many of the creatures on this list are pretty squarely evil, while a few (such as Mavet and Abaddon) are somewhat ambiguous as to whether they are demonic foes or divine agents of vengeance.
Destroying angels, though, are a special case: also known as “destroyers,” “death bringers,” “messengers of death,” and sometimes simply “the angel of the Lord,” they are fearsome and (as the name implies) destructive. Yet they operate under God’s control to deliver his retribution.
In 2 Samuel 24, the Lord asks David to conduct a census. Yet after he has done so, David comes to believe he has sinned, and the Lord sends pestilence upon Israel in punishment. God’s angel is then about to destroy Jerusalem, when God relents and tells him to stop. David then sees what must have been a terrible and astonishing sight, the angel with sword outstretched over Jerusalem. David repents and asks God to punish only him rather than his people.
This story is retold in 2 Chronicles 21, yet curiously, here it is Satan that asks David to conduct the census. But it is still God who sends (and recalls) the destroying angel.
The angel of the Lord slaughters 185,000 Assyrians when King Sennacherib launches an invasion against Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:35).
The Bible (specifically the Old Testament) mentions quite a few pagan deities (elohim) worshiped by neighboring peoples of the Israelites — and all too often, by the Israelites themselves.
As I said above (while discussing Mawet/Mot, the Canaanite god of death), it’s not altogether clear — either in the Bible or from rabbinical and church authorities — whether these deities should be seen as real demonic entities or impotent idols. But either way, they did often distract the ancient Israelites from true worship of the Lord, and sometimes led to abhorrent practices such as child sacrifice.
Here are some of the more prominent pagan gods mentioned in Scripture:
Baal/Ba’al: “Ba’al” is a word that simply means “Lord” in some ancient Semitic languages, so it can and does refer to a lot of different gods in the Bible — especially in the books of Judges, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, and Jeremiah. (For example: Numbers 25:3; Judges 2:11; 1 Kings 16:31-32, 18:16-40; 2 Kings 10:18-29; Jeremiah 19:5; Hosea 11:2)
Baal-Zebub/Beelzebub/Beelzebul: The most famous of the Baals, a Philistine god whose name means “Lord of the Flies”; later associated with Satan. (2 Kings 1, Matt. 12:22-32, Mark 3:20-30, Luke 11:14-23)
Molek/Molech/Moloch: An ancient god to whom some cultures (like the Ammonites) sacrificed children, often by fire. (Lev. 20:2-5; 1Kg. 11:4-8; Isa. 57:9; Jer. 32:35)
Ashtoreth/Astarte: A major goddess in ancient Semitic cultures, particularly the Phoenicians, associated with fertility, love, and war. (Jdg. 10:6, 1Sm. 12:10, 1Kg. 11:5)
Dagon: An agricultural god of the Philistines, often depicted as half-man, half-fish. (Jdg. 16:23, 1Sm. 5)
Chaos Monsters and Dragons
Not demons exactly, chaos monsters were common figures in Near Eastern mythology who represented the forces of nature or supernature that even the gods could not control. The God of the Bible can, of course, control them (in fact, Genesis 1:21 might refer to him creating them — or just to large sea creatures like whales and sharks). But they are often depicted as being in opposition to him.
Dragons, on the other hand, can represent several different possible creatures, depending on the translation. In some versions, such as the KJV, NRSVue, and NABRE, the word “dragon” often translates the Hebrew word tannîn (e.g., Psalm 74:13). Other times you might see it rendered “sea monster,” “serpent,” or even just “snake” (e.g., Deut. 32:33).
In the book of Revelation, where the word translates the Greek drakon, the translation is much more consistent. Here, it clearly depicts a fearsome being that has come to be associated with Satan himself (see Rev. 12). The question is: which Old Testament “dragons” should be, too?
Satan, Prince of Demons
Satan is of course the leader (or prince) of the demons. He goes by many, many different names, and indeed many of the other entities in this article are frequently associated with him, either as servants, aspects, or epithets.
In other words, exactly who Satan is and how he is connected to the many other angelic, demonic, spiritual, and divine entities mentioned in the Bible is very unclear and a topic of ongoing discussion. Again, that’s partly the point: he’s not known as the “Father of Lies” for nothing.
We don’t have space here for the full picture of how the different understandings of Satan in and out of the Bible developed. But here are a few important aspects to be aware of.
The Adversary/Accuser
Like Mavet and Abaddon, the word “satan” is not actually a proper name but simply a Hebrew word meaning “adversary” or “accuser.” Yet also like Mavet and Abaddon, it became increasingly associated with a very particular Adversary in ancient Israel.
In the Old Testament the word appears many times in both meanings — mostly as a general term in the historical books and as a name in Job and the prophets.
The other most common name of Satan in the Bible is the Devil, a translation of the Greek word diabolos meaning — surprise — “accuser” or “slanderer.” So in other words, while the Hebrew word for “accuser” had become the proper name Satan, Satan was also still referred to by the Greek word for “accuser.”
You can also find diabolos in its more general meaning of “slanderer” or “false accuser” in a few places, namely 1 Tim. 3:11, 2 Tim. 3:3, and Titus 2:3.
Other Names Associated With Satan
Many other names and entities in (and outside) the Bible have come to be associated with Satan, though in many cases the Bible itself isn’t explicit about the connection. Here are some of them — you can look up the verses and do your own research using Bible Gateway Plus or your favorite Study Bible.
The Serpent (Gen. 3:1-15) is often believed to be Satan based on his manipulative dishonesty and references to “that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” in Rev. 12:9 (RSV, ESV, NRSVue).
Belial (Jdg. 19:22, 1 Sam. 2:12, 2 Cor. 6:15), a Hebrew word meaning “wicked or worthless,” later became used as a proper name in the same manner as we have seen in other examples above.
Taking a long look into the wild, phantasmagoric world of the Bible’s demonology, as we’ve done in this article, can feel like an adventure into a fantasy world. Indeed, angelic and demonic imagery has been mined for many incredible works of fiction — including an excellent Christian board game.
It’s an open question and point of ongoing discussion (for thousands of years) how literally Christians should take all of these demonic creatures. But regardless of whether Lilith, Azazel, and Mavet are real beings or symbolic representations, they speak of the indisputably real evil that Christians (and all people) must contend with in the world. In general, it’s good to be aware of these forces — but not to spend too much time looking into them. Instead, let them be a reminder to put on your spiritual armor every day and turn your gaze to the saving light of Christ through Scripture and prayer.
Hungry for more?Try Bible Gateway Plus free and find dozens of resources to deepen your knowledge and engagement with the Bible — and equip you to combat the forces of darkness — all for less than a pack of highlighters.
How cool would it be if there was a Control+F (Command-F if you’re Mac-fancy) function in life? Hear me out. If you could somehow look back over your life, hit Control+F, and “find” all the places where certain issues, patterns, and words come up. Think about how much faster that could make the process of figuring out why you do the things you do, why you say the things you say, why you feel the way you feel.
I got to have a Control+F experience, literally, while working on my last book, Becoming Free Indeed. It revealed something about my life with greater frequency and importance than I’d ever realized before. If you were to go into a digital copy of that book, which is about my journey of breaking free from the harmful beliefs and influence of the religious system I was raised in, and you were to search for the words people pleaser, your screen would light up like a Christmas tree. Even though people pleasing wasn’t what that book was about, there was no denying that both by the way I’m wired and from the environment around me, people pleasing has had a grip on me for a long time.
It makes sense now, but I have to tell you that it took me by surprise, realizing that people pleasing was a phantom heartbeat in my life. Someone recently asked me when I became truly aware that I was a people pleaser. After all, from the way I was raised to how I’m naturally wired, trying to keep everybody happy and on an even keel was simply part of my original operating system.
I didn’t know why managing my emotions, my stress, and my jitters felt so hard. I was doing everything I knew to avoid any kind of confrontation or failure. I was doing everything I knew to be the most “perfect” I could be. I also knew that I was miserable.
What I didn’t know was why.
People Pleasing at Its Core
As it turns out, a lot of different feelings come with pleasing people. For me, people pleasing has felt like dread and anxiety. But I can remember other times it felt like sadness or nerves. And I remember still other times I felt really proud that I had accomplished or said or done something in the way that another person wanted me to.
People pleasing feels a lot of different ways.
But people pleasing at its core is this: when we put everyone else’s preferences and opinions above our own or above what we know is true and right for the purpose of gaining acceptance and approval or to avoid criticism. It’s when we feel like someone else’s approval is critical to our survival and our understanding of our worth. It’s when we lose the ability to stand up for ourselves in order to keep someone else happy. It’s when we’d rather just go along than have that tough conversation or confront harmful behavior in someone else.
In a nutshell, people pleasing is when someone else’s approval, happiness, preference, or opinion comes before anything else in your world. And your whole world is built around accommodating those things for them in order to gain their approval, whether they’ve directly told you that’s what they expect or you’ve imagined it all on your own.
Doesn’t God Want Us to Prioritize Other People?
If you’re someone who was raised in church, you might think, Now wait a minute, Jinger. I thought God wanted us to put other people before ourselves. And you’re not wrong; Scripture does talk about not thinking more highly of ourselves than we should (Romans 12:3). Jesus does teach about going the extra mile for others (Matthew 5:41).
But here’s the difference. It’s all about motive — what you’re trying to get by people pleasing. Are you walking in humility? Are you walking in generosity for the right reasons? Or are you appeasing people around you because you want their approval and acceptance back? Seeking acceptance or seeking to avoid disapproval are the two big mile markers on the people-pleasing path. And both of those paths will get you twisted in knots eventually.
Avoid the Snare of Fear
While some verses talk about serving others well and caring for them, there are plenty of other places in Scripture that talk about not trying to please others. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe” (ESV). It’s that word snare that really stands out to me. My people pleasing has always been about me trying not to get “snared” or “trapped” by someone’s upset or anger or disappointment. But in turning myself inside out in that effort, I was trapped in my own skin, mute to speak what I really thought or needed, caught between bars of the expectations of others and the ones I’d put on myself.
I also entered the trap of seeking approval. My understanding of my own worth was so wrapped up in someone telling me I was doing a good job or that I was so easy to be around. And when all you know of yourself is what someone else is telling you about yourself, it’s a cage like no other.
The Cost of People Pleasing
What has people pleasing cost you? Have you let yourself down, making a choice you wouldn’t have otherwise, were it not for the pressure you felt from others? I have. Have you put up with someone treating you in a way you wouldn’t let them get away with toward a friend? Maybe you have let the idea of possibly letting someone down consume you so much that you haven’t gone for a particular opportunity. Maybe you feel a pulse of people pleasing course through you when you know you should say something … but you don’t.
Feel like I’m reading your journal? It’s because I’ve been there, and on bad days, I still go there a little bit, the muscle memory of people pleasing leading me down some of the same familiar paths and feelings.
The Good News
But I’ve got good news for us. I’m learning that it is possible to get free from the web of it. It’s not easy. It takes staring down yourself and your motives and your behaviors with an honest eye. It requires honesty and courage and failing and trying again. It means you’ll have to let go of some patterns, definitions, and relationships that are keeping you tangled up.
Are you a people pleaser? Can you even begin to measure how the approval of others has shaped your heart and mind? Your faith and relationships? Your habits and identity? In People Pleaser, New York Times bestselling author Jinger Vuolo shares her personal journey of constantly seeking approval from others and how she found her true identity.
Through her faith and reliance on God, Jinger began to break free from the need for approval and discover true freedom. This book is a guide for anyone struggling with people-pleasing tendencies and seeking to find their true identity and purpose in life.
Beliefs about angels are typically an amalgam of what people pick up from popular culture, what they remember from childhood cartoons, and what they have culled from casual Bible reading.
Consequently, there are a lot of misconceptions — some harmless, others theologically problematic. For instance, the idea that people become angels when they die seems to persist, despite having no biblical support. (I blame Looney Tunes.)
What Do We Know About Angels in the Bible?
The Bible refers to angels in sixteen of the Old Testament books and seventeen of the New Testament books, and yet the primary focus of Scripture is on God and our relationship with him. This means that a lot of details about angels aren’t spelled out with specificity. They aren’t supposed to be.
Why?
Because they are a sidelight to the central plot of the Bible and unnecessary information for us to have at this point. A lot of what we can discern about angels, then, is inferred from what is revealed in the text.
Nevertheless, when we look at the totality of the Bible, we see that angels are active from beginning to end. Graham Cole, who served as a professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, highlighted how angels were present at these key moments of redemptive history: “The exodus of God’s people from Egypt (Ex. 14:19) and subsequent journey (Ex. 23:23), the giving of the law (Gal. 3:19), the incarnation of the Son of God (Luke 1:26), his ordeal in the garden (Luke 22:43), his resurrection from the dead (John 20:12), and his return in judgment (2 Thess. 1:5–8).”
What Can We Know About Angels Today?
Although Cole recognizes that angels were “minor players in the drama of redemption,” their activities clearly made a difference in a lot of ways during biblical times and — if various accounts are credible — in the contemporary era as well. So when exploring the supernatural realm, it makes sense to delve into what we can know with confidence about these elusive celestial spirits.
“The greatest of Christian thinkers have consistently recognized that angels and demons are far more than a divine embellishment designed to make the Bible interesting,” said theology professor Peter R. Schemm Jr. “Angels are actual beings whose existence affects human life.”
Ron Rhodes agrees. “Angels are real. Angels are alive. And though we rarely perceive their presence, they are very much with us here on the earth,” he wrote in The Secret Life of Angels. “A vast world of intelligent, powerful, invisible spirit beings is all around us and warrants careful study.”
To investigate how these spirit beings influence our lives, I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, to meet with Douglas Potter, a professor who had collaborated with prominent theologian and apologist Norman Geisler to write a book called The Doctrine of Angels and Demons.
Potter earned a master’s degree in apologetics and then a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES). Now in his mid-fifties, Potter serves as a professor of apologetics and theology and director of the Doctor of Ministry program at SES.
What About Guardian Angels?
At one point in the interview, I broached a controversial topic that Australian theologian Michael Bird has conceded is “complex”: Does each individual have a “guardian angel” assigned to them by God to watch over and protect them?
“The issue is not whether angels guard,” Graham Cole observed. “They clearly do. The issue is whether a specific angel is assigned guardianship of a specific human person. The great early church Bible translator Jerome (347–419) certainly thought so. … In the medieval period, Aquinas, following Jerome, whom he quotes, certainly thought so.”
Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft put it this way: “There are twice as many persons as we see in every place, every kitchen or classroom, every hospital or nursery. Only half are human persons. There is an angel standing next to each bag lady.”
Moreover, the Orthodox tradition teaches that at baptism God assigns every individual a guardian angel.
Theologian Herman Bavinck is among the scholars who disagree. “There is not even a hint that every elect person is assigned his or her own angel,” he wrote. “The idea is found only in the apocryphal book of Tobit.”
I said to Potter, “One scholar says the idea of individually assigned guardian angels is a text-less doctrine. What’s your opinion?”
“I wouldn’t characterize it as a text-less doctrine,” he said. “How many biblical texts do you need to establish a doctrine if there’s a fairly clear reference? And there is a reference to guardian angels in Matthew 18:10, where Jesus himself says, ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven’” (NIV).
Potter cleared his throat. “Notice that Jesus is referring to their angels. T-H-E-I-R. Jesus doesn’t elaborate, but that doesn’t diminish the reference here. This is Scripture, and it’s not denied anywhere else in the Bible.”
I interrupted to point out that according to Graham Cole and Michael Green, the emphasis of that text is not on guardianship but on representation of these “little ones” before God.
“Still,” said Potter, “it’s a reasonable inference that guardian angels exist based on the specific language of the verse. There’s another interesting passage too.”
“Which one?”
“In Acts 12, Peter, fresh from escaping prison, showed up at the house of Mary, the mother of Mark, where some Christians had gathered. He knocked on the door and the servant Rhoda recognized his voice and announced it was Peter, but the others doubted it because they thought he was still imprisoned. So in verse 15, they say, ‘It must be his angel.’”
I pointed out that some scholars believe this reflects a popular Jewish belief in the first century that every Jew had a guardian angel and that the author of Acts is reporting this rather than endorsing this view.
Potter shook his head. “Given Jesus’ teaching, I don’t think the author of Acts would intentionally mislead readers if the belief about Peter’s angel was a falsehood. Why would he do that?” said Potter. “All in all, it’s a reasonable inference that guardian angels are real. The texts are sufficiently clear, and they aren’t negated elsewhere. Besides, we know there are certainly a sufficient number of angels to carry out this task.”
“How does it affect you personally to believe there’s an angelic being who is overseeing your life?” I asked.
“It’s encouraging. It’s comforting. It’s such an expression of God’s love,” he replied. “You know, we can protect ourselves from physical harm by learning martial arts or getting a permit to carry a gun. But what protection do we have in the spiritual realm? There are battles going on there that affect us personally. And knowing I’ve got some protection immediate to me is reassuring.”
He paused. “I’ll add this,” he said. “The overall study of angels has highlighted to me that what I see and touch — this physical world in which we live — is only part of reality. There’s an enormous but hidden supernatural arena populated by angelic spirits that are as real and active as you and me. And when I think that God created them to minister to us — well, that’s a blessing that deserves our gratitude.”
Discover solid answers to the provocative questions you have been asking about the supernatural world — healings, angels, demons, mystical dreams, near-death experiences, heaven, hell, and more — through the investigative work of a former spiritual skeptic.
If you’re going through a period of trial or feeling sapped of strength and wondering if God is there for you, the Bible has good news: the Lord is with you especially when you feel weak and small.
With a few exceptions, the Bible is clear and consistent on this point: we are not to rely on our own strength, but on God’s. Nowhere does the Bible say “the Lord helps those who help themselves.” Instead, it says, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10), and “it is not by strength that one prevails” (1 Sam. 2:9), and “the Lord is my strength and my power” (Ex. 15:2).
In other words, human strength is weakness, and true strength comes from the Lord alone — so place your faith in him.
Here are over 30 Bible verses on strength for when you need encouragement. (We have provided them in a variety of different Bible translations; click on each verse reference to open it in your own favorite version.)
The Lord Is Strong
The Lord is my strength and my power; he has become my salvation. This is my God, whom I will praise, the God of my ancestors, whom I will acclaim. — Exodus 15:2 (CEB)
God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. — 2 Samuel 22:33 (KJV)
Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. — 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NASB)
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. — Psalm 28:7 (ESV)
God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. — Psalm 46:1 (GNT)
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. — Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)
So You Don’t Have to Be
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails. — 1 Samuel 2:9 (NIV)
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. — Psalm 73:26 (CSB)
The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. — Psalm 118:14 (NKJV)
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. — Zechariah 4:6 (NRSVUE)
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. — 1 Corinthians 1:25 (NABRE)
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. — 2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)
But He Will Make You Strong
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. — Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV)
The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger. — Proverbs 24:5 (NLT)
A woman of strength who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. … She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong. — Proverbs 31:10,17 (NRSVUE)
But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak. — Isaiah 40:31 (GNT)
Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. — Isaiah 41:10 (NABRE)
He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 1:8 (NET)
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. — 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV)
I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit,and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love,may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love. — Ephesians 3:16-18 (CSB)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. — Ephesians 6:10-11 (NASB)
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:13 (ESV)
May he encourage your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do or say. — 2 Thessalonians 2:17 (CEB)
So You Can Strengthen Others
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. — Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)
We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves. — Romans 15:1 (GNT)
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, — 1 Timothy 1:12 (ESV)
Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. — 1 Peter 4:11 (NRSVUE)
Above All…
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. — Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV) (cf. Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27)
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“Look at the Book” is Bible Gateway’s series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. The Gospel of John differs sometimes drastically from the other three (“synoptic”) gospels, presenting a more theological depiction of Jesus.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
John wrote to all people to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God who operated with his Father’s full authority. John’s gospel goes the deepest theologically, touching on issues such as the incarnation and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Category: Gospels
Theme: Belief
Timeline: Written around 85 AD by the Apostle John
Key Verse
“Jesus answered, ’I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” — John 14:6 (NIV)
I Am Who I Am
Seven “I am” statements identify Jesus as God and Messiah:
John and James, his older brother, were known as “the sons of Zebedee,” and Jesus gave them the name “Sons of Thunder.”
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
Our childhoods shape who we are for the rest of our lives.
Our relationships with our parents are foundational for how we form bonds with others. Our connection with our ancestors can shape our dreams for the future. The customs and values of the town we call home can influence everything from what dishes we serve on holidays to which policies are the highest priorities for us during election seasons.
It is with good reason that one of the first questions we ask someone when we meet them is, “Where are you from?” Even though the answer doesn’t tell us everything, it gives us a starting point for understanding who a person is now.
So, where was Jesus from? And how do we, 2,000 years and many cultures and languages removed, make sense of the answer to help us better understand Jesus in adulthood?
Jesus had a mom and dad with personalities and commitments that shaped him.
Jesus had younger siblings who followed him around, and maybe even relied on him.
Jesus had a weighty lineage that could be traced all the way back to King David and Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the reign of a paranoid and violent king.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth under Roman colonization and amid whispers of revolt.
Getting to know Jesus the boy is a significant piece of understanding Jesus the man. But, besides the birth stories in Matt. 1-2 and Luke 1-2 (with a short story about 12-year-old Jesus at the Temple at the end of Luke 2), we have nothing in the Bible that addresses Jesus’ formative years. At least, not directly.
What we can do is use context clues from the gospels, Paul’s letters, ancient historians like Josephus, and archaeological discoveries to paint a fuller picture of what Jesus’ childhood was like.
Jesus’ Family
In many societies, especially those in the modern West, where we normalize and celebrate individualism, we often imagine Jesus as quite singular, solitary, and set apart. We might even impose individualistic narratives on him, like that he discerned and accomplished his mission alone or that he “pulled himself up by his bootstraps.”
But the truth is that Jesus was fully human, and like all humans, Jesus — his birth, identity, perspectives, priorities, and sense of purpose — did not emerge from a vacuum. He was heavily influenced by the people around him, and, being from a more collectivist culture than many of us alive today, it makes sense that the people around him would shape who he is.
Jesus’ Parents
First, we have Jesus’ parents. Much has been written about Jesus’ mother, Mary, since we hear from her at Jesus’ birth and glimpse her relationship with Jesus as an adult. The song Mary sings when she is pregnant with Jesus (Luke 1:46-55) reveals how well-versed she is in the Bible, and we can assume she passed that wisdom to Jesus. She also seems to know of Jesus’ power even before his ministry has begun at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), and she ends up following Jesus all the way to the cross, presumably as one of his disciples (John 19:25-27).
Less has been written about Jesus’ relationship with his (human) father, Joseph. Besides his brief appearance in Matt. 1-2, Joseph is not mentioned at all in the Bible, and most scholars believe he probably died before Jesus started his ministry. However, that doesn’t mean that Joseph had little impact on Jesus’ formative years.
If we read Matt. 1-2 from Joseph’s perspective, we can see that Jesus would have been immersed in stories about his own birth and childhood, not just from Mary, but from Joseph, too. Joseph understood Jesus to be his own son, conceived miraculously before he and Mary consummated their marriage. He did everything, including flee his homeland, to protect his wife and infant son when their lives were threatened.
Having a model of protective, intimate, parental love from both his mother and father may have helped Jesus articulate a compassionate and present God, who is close enough to refer to as “Abba,” Father, and in whom Jesus urged us to place our unequivocal trust.
Jesus’ Siblings
The New Testament also gives us glimpses of Jesus’ relationship with his siblings: James, Joses, Simon, Jude, and his unnamed sisters. Because Jesus was the oldest, it is likely that Jesus was responsible for helping with his younger siblings in childhood, and depending on the age gap, also for caring for them after Joseph died.
While John 7:1-5 tells a story where Jesus’ brothers were skeptical of his ministry, Acts and Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:18-19) tell us that Jesus’ brother James became not only a disciple of Jesus, but one of the most important leaders of the church after Jesus’ ascension. It is James who makes the final judgment at the pivotal Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:13-21; Gal. 2:1-10), where the Jewish leaders decided that Gentiles did not need to convert to Judaism to follow Jesus.
Because of James’ leadership in the early church, it is reasonable to guess that we have the stories of Jesus’ birth and childhood thanks to his siblings. They would have told their family stories repeatedly as they talked about Jesus. Caring for his younger siblings during his formative years and navigating his relationship with them over the course of his ministry would have been immensely formative for Jesus’ character and priorities.
Jesus’ Ancestries
It was not only Jesus’ immediate family that shaped and influenced him. Communities of the ancient world were far more tight-knit than what many of us experience today, especially in the modern West. Ancient communities also felt far deeper connections to the people of the past. It’s not just where a person was from, but who a person was from that defined how they saw the world — and how the world saw them.
Jesus as a Descendant of David
Stories about our birth and early childhood provide each of us with a sense of identity, belonging, relationships, and expectations. One of the defining elements of Jesus’ early life is that he was born into the royal line of David. It is unlikely that this sort of heritage would have or could have been invented, since genealogies were closely remembered and orally tracked in the ancient world, and since Jesus’ siblings were around to correct any outright fabrications.
As a descendant of David and first-born son, Jesus would have felt an immense weight. First, being in the Davidic line was a liability. King Herod, who was from a family who converted to Judaism, was verifiably terrified of losing his power, and he was willing to kill, including his own sons and countless innocent people, to keep it.
To compound that reality, having David in his ancestry would have provided Jesus with a sense of destiny, especially since there was the lingering promise from God of future leadership from David’s line. People believed there would be a king-Messiah from the descendants of David who would save Israel from oppression. This expectation weighed heavily on Jesus and influenced how other people perceived him. When he rides into Jerusalem on the donkey at the end of his ministry, it is with this identity-marker that the crowds greet him: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matt. 21:9).
This means Jesus was not only rooted in Jewish Scriptures as a story he could learn from; he was born into a family and a context where the story of Jewish Scripture was his story.
Jesus as a Jew, Judahite, and Judean
While many are familiar with the idea that Jesus was Jewish, we are not always familiar with the dimensions of what that actually means. Jesus was a Ioudaios, which is the Greek word that the New Testament uses as a rendering of the Hebrew word Yehudi. Our English word, “Jew,” is a contraction derived from these terms. To be a Ioudaios, for Jesus, was tridimensional:
Jesus was a “Jew,” in terms of his ethno-religious identity. To be Jewish in this sense meant identifying with a specific ethnic group that saw itself as chosen and called by God in a unique way. It also meant worshipping the one true God, under the guardianship of the Law and with a special focus on the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was a born Jew, not a convert to Judaism, which heightened this identity for him. This dimension of Ioudaios is a theological and philosophical outlook, which means it would have shaped everything about how Jesus saw the world.
Jesus was a “Judahite,” in terms of his tribal heritage as a descendant of one of Jacob’s twelve sons, Judah. For those of us from the West, we probably have a hard time understanding the importance of Jesus belonging to a “tribe,” but in many indigenous cultures, tribal belonging remains an important part of identity. For Jesus to be able to trace his lineage back to a founding ancestor would have provided him with a sense of rootedness within his community and a shared history with his neighbors. In addition, the story of the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) is largely the story of Judah, as a tribe, within the broader tribes of Israel (e.g. Gen. 35:22; 42:13,32; 49:28; Ex. 24:4). This story would have been told to Jesus over and over, at the family dinner table as much as in the synagogue. It was the story that belonged to him, his family, and his community.
Jesus was a “Judaean,” in terms of his physical regionality in the area known as Judea. As the ancestral land assigned to his ancestor Judah, Jesus would have felt a deep emotional tie to the land through his heritage. He would have been tangibly and intimately familiar with the landmarks mentioned throughout much of the Bible. As a native resident of the land, he would have spoken their language (Aramaic), dressed in their clothes, eaten their food, danced to their music, and felt most at home among their architecture and art.
Being Judean also means that Jesus would have experienced firsthand the violence and unrest that took place in Judea in the first century, too.
Jesus’ Traumas
Identity is about selfhood developed through social interaction. It governs how we relate to others and the world. It includes gender, ethnicity, culture, heritage, family, tribe, race, socio-economic class, occupation, politics, nationality, place, religion, physicality, sex, sexuality, parenthood, relationship status, age, ability/skill, and more.
One’s identity can also be linked to life experiences, and trauma is especially formative for a person’s perceptions of themselves and the world. Consider, for example, how survivors of crime, abuse, wars, health crises, or environmental disasters are shaped by their experiences.
As we consider Jesus’ formative years — where and who and what shaped him in his early life — we must include trauma. Before Jesus turned 12, he endured the threat of violence, escaped a horrific massacre, was hunted by political powers, lived as a refugee in a foreign land, and immigrated back to his own home, where political unrest and economic instability reigned.
Herod’s death and Jesus’ family’s move to Nazareth did not end the threats to Jesus’ life before he even began his ministry. There is a well-attested cultural memory of resistance to Roman rule in Judea during Jesus’ childhood. Rome met these rebellions with extreme violence.
Sociopolitical turbulence, imperial atrocities, and terrible pain and suffering at the hands of the Roman Empire defined Jesus’ childhood — and the hopeful expectations of his community as he grew up.
As we flesh out Jesus’ childhood, we get a fuller picture of how Jesus, having taken on human form, became the teacher, leader, and Messiah that we get to know in detail — and meet personally — in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Dr. Joan Taylor, a world authority on the history and literature of the first century AD, draws both on the latest archaeological findings and on the historical clues to be found within ancient texts of the period. The result is a book that brings the story of Jesus’ childhood clearly and vividly to life as never before, while also pointing to the many ways in which Jesus’ experiences as a child are likely to have influenced his life, attitudes, and actions as an adult.
After Jesus had entered the water, God’s Sacred Breath entered Jesus to fill and indwell him, so he followed his voice into an area where all noise was cut off. He went without food to worship for as many days and nights as two people have digits, and his hunger ate him. There his soul was tested by the head of the worldlings.
Does this sound vaguely familiar? You may recognize the passage as the first two verses of the fourth chapter of Luke — the beginning of one account of Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness, but it’s been translated with an amalgamation of terminology from eleven different languages that renders a recognizable story strange and somewhat startling.
Some terminology might seem curious to English speakers, but these phrases are all drawn from real Bibles read by and for real people with real Christian faith.
This familiar story of Jesus’s temptation is told in all three of the synoptic gospels and holds a special place in how we view and think of Jesus, especially at this time of year during the 40-day season of Lent when many of us also fast or undertake other spiritual practices.
A New Lens for Lent
During Lent, as we take a step back from business as usual to reflect and remove distractions from our lives, it may be especially valuable to also take a step back and “unfamiliarize” ourselves with this pivotal passage of Scripture in order to understand and embrace it even more deeply — not just seeing it with fresh eyes, but bringing us closer to fellow believers the world over.
Let’s look at this passage in the hybrid translation above a little more closely. If you want, you can follow along with all this information and more in the Translation Insights & Perspectives (TIPs) tool on the pages for Luke 4:1 and Luke 4:2.
After Jesus had entered the water…
In the original Greek text and English translations of Luke 4:1, there is no mention that the temptation happens immediately after Jesus’ baptism. In fact, unlike the other gospels, Luke inserts Jesus’s genealogy at the end of chapter 3.
But in a recent Italian translation, the translator felt there was a need for a clear connection between these two events, especially because the episode about the temptations is placed at the beginning of a new chapter. When tempted by the devil, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit because the Spirit had just descended upon him at baptism.
English uses “baptism” for “entering the water” — a transliteration of the Greek baptizo, which also means “immerse.” As a result, most languages use an actual translation of baptize, often as a form of “dip,” or, like the Indonesian Uab Meto, “to enter into the water.”
…God’s Sacred Breath entered Jesus to fill and indwell him…
Baptism as “entering into the water” seems particularly fitting since it corresponds so seamlessly with his then being “filled with (the Holy Spirit)” expressed right afterward as “fill and indwell.” This translation from Tagbanwa, a language in the Philippines, beautifully encapsulates how the Holy Spirit not only fills us at first but stays and “indwells” us.
Interestingly, the name used here for “Holy Spirit” is “Sacred Breath,” which follows the example of famed French translator A. Chouraqui, who drew his inspiration for that translation from one of the other meanings of the Greek Pneûma or the Hebrew Ruach. The translation for the Spirit as “Sacred Breath” connects the Spirit’s indwelling nature with God’s lifegiving breath in Genesis 2:7 and Jesus’s Spirit-giving breath in John 20:22.
…he followed his voice into an area where all noise was cut off.
After entering the water and being “indwelled” with the Spirit, Jesus “followed” the Sacred Breath’s “voice” (according to Bariai speakers and readers in Papua New Guinea) to a place where “all the noise was cut off.”
This spatial translation for desert comes from Australian Noongar speakers, and though it misses the important parallel to the desert where Moses and the people of Israel spent their 40 years, our own Lenten practices might also benefit from finding quiet places where “all the noise is cut off” — even if we don’t necessarily travel to a desert or wilderness.
He went without food to worship for as many days and nights as two people have digits, and his hunger ate him.
The Mexican language of Isthmus Mixe adds clear purpose to Jesus’s long fast, specifying that his intent in going “without food” was “to worship God.”
Using “as many as two people have digits” like the Mairasi of Indonesia to designate the number forty may seem unusually anatomical for English speakers, but many languages around the world use similar body part tally systems.
And the Ugandan Kupsabiny expression for Jesus’s intense hunger during his fast, “the hunger ate him,” gives a new physical intensity to his experience in the wilderness. You might reflect on this language if you do your own fasting practice this Lent.
There his soul was tested by the head of the worldlings.
We are familiar with the English account of Jesus’s temptation, but the “soul test” of the Tibetan Bible adds another layer that brings out the experience of spiritual warfare. It’s one thing to withstand a temptation (only to know that there’s another temptation right around the corner), but “soul test” reminds us that our soul grows during these tests — and becomes more equipped to handle them in the future (Rom. 5:3-5).
“Devil” is often translated with a term that describes the commander or leader of an army of evil spirits, but “head of the worldlings,” a translation from the 40,000 Ojitlán Chinantec speakers in Oaxaca, Mexico, seems to work very well for this passage in particular. After all, later in verses 5 and 6 the devil claims the power to offer Jesus authority over all the “kingdoms of the world.” And it calls to mind Paul’s designation of Satan as “god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Make More Room for God This Lent
There are many ways and reasons to observe Lent. Some believers choose to fast to prepare themselves for the glorious news of the Easter resurrection. Others fast as a form of sacrifice to ever-so-faintly shadow the sacrifice of Jesus. Some see it as a form of service or obedience.
In contrast to many of the other liturgical seasons throughout the year, Lent happens mostly quietly and privately, so the motivations and practices tend to vary greatly. Even so, most if not all practitioners of Lent share a common desire to make more room for God, to have a greater focus on him.
And one primary way to sharpen this focus on God so he gains more room in our lives and hearts is to study Scripture.
During this Lenten season, consider immersing yourself in a different kind of Scripture reading through the lenses of languages from around the world in the TIPs tool. If you’d like to immerse yourself more fully in the story of the temptation (or “soul test,” as our Tibetan brothers and sisters would say), you can start in Matthew, in Mark, or in Luke.
The question “how do I pray?” has been searched millions of times on Google, but the first time we see it recorded in our human history is in Luke 11. As Jesus finished his prayer time, one of the disciples approached with this question:
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
It’s a question we’re still asking today, especially if it seems like nothing happens when we pray or we’re hearing conflicting teachings on what prayer should sound like. Others fear their lack of prayer skills will keep God from listening or helping us. The good news is, your prayers don’t change God’s love or faithfulness. But your prayers can change you.
Jesus teaches us a framework, not a formula, for effective prayer.
He wants your prayers to transform your life and for God to use your prayers to make a lasting and eternal impact on our world. One of the clues indicating that you’re using prayer like a formula is that you use prayer like God is your vending machine. Or you resort to calling on God when your life is on fire and God is your emergency fire extinguisher. One other clue is if you treat prayer like a monologue where you talk to God and tell Him what you want, but you don’t develop the skills to hear Him.
Ultimately, the point of prayer isn’t for us to change God’s mind but rather to be willing for God to change us.
Here are four principles we can draw from Jesus’s teaching on prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. We’ll use Matthew’s version for our time together.
Begin Prayer with a God-Centric, Not Problem-Centric Approach
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, — Matthew 6:9 (NIV)
Jesus teaches us to begin prayer by remembering our relationship with God, our Father. The original Greek uses the Aramaic word Abba, which means a personal, trusting relationship, not cold or distant. We tend to begin our prayers by telling God our problems, but that’s like starting a conversation with a friend by handing them a to-do list instead of greeting them first.
When we approach God as Abba, we release our stress and anxiety by stepping into His presence. God is safe. In prayer, heaven meets earth, and we step into God’s protective space. We’re reminded and reassured He is bigger than our biggest challenges or anxieties. This is why people often say they feel better after praying.
As we open our prayers centered on God, we reconnect with the confidence that whatever the outcome of our prayer, we can trust in God’s goodness, love, power, and presence.
If you tend to pray problem-first instead of God-first, here’s a helpful tool I developed called a “God-Centering Exercise.” It has four parts:
God Is: Remembering God’s character, goodness, and love.
God Has: Replaying God’s faithfulness in my life and others’ lives.
God Can: Reflecting on God’s power.
God Will: Reminding myself of God’s promises for my life and eternity.
Prayer Refreshes Our Heavenly Perspective
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. — Matthew 6:10 (NIV)
Our world gives us a near-sighted perspective. We react to what’s in front of us. But without prayer, we lose sight of God’s eternal perspective.
Prayer gives us God’s spiritual vision and fixes our earthly nearsightedness so we’re able to see beyond the chaos and live out the gospel and God’s purpose for our lives.
Prayer Nurtures Humility
Give us today our daily bread. — Matthew 6:11 (NIV)
The phrase “daily bread” is connected to how God provided daily food for the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4). They had no means or agency to provide for their needs. God gave them literal daily bread for their survival.
Jesus teaches us to tell God what we need. One of the etymological roots of prayer is “to beg.” There are health crises we can’t fix, relationship problems we can’t heal, financial insecurities we can’t change, and dreams we can’t achieve without God.
Not only that but notice how Jesus instructs us to pray using plural words like “us” and “our.” Jesus didn’t teach individual prayer. He taught us to pray as a community and for each other. It means that each body of Christ needs to check in with the different parts of the body and respond if there are needs, not ignore them. It’s not effective prayer if we’re not praying for others on a regular basis. God cares about everyone.
More on humility in Jesus’s next teaching point:
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. — Matthew 6:12 (NIV)
For decades, medical professionals, including mental health experts, have known the importance of forgiveness on our physical and psychological health. King David writes about how his unconfessed sin weakened him but confession healed him (Psalm 32:3-5). God’s desire is for us to live free from guilt or shame, especially since those are easy tools for Satan to use to tempt us to lose faith in God’s love for us.
On the flip side, forgiving others is just as important. When we hold onto resentment or bitterness, we hurt ourselves. Yet, Jesus teaches forgiveness must be a regular part of our prayers because we’re humbly reminded that God has forgiven us of far more than we could ever forgive of anyone else (Matthew 6:14-15).
Prayer Keeps Our Spiritual Warfare Toolbox Close at Hand
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ — Matthew 6:13 (NIV)
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told Peter and the disciples to stay awake and pray. Peter fell asleep and didn’t take time to pray as Jesus requested. Later, Peter succumbed to the temptation to anger by slashing off the ear of Malchus, a servant (John 18:10-11). He also denied Jesus three times and was devastated.
Jesus knew spiritual warfare was cloaked from our earthly eyes until Satan saw an opportunity. We can stay prepared for spiritual opposition when we’re praying. As we pray, we’re more likely to keep other spiritual weapons like reading our Bibles, staying in the Christian community, and obeying God sharp and ready for battle.
Conclusion: Pray Like Jesus and Be Transformed by Him
Jesus taught us to pray so we can experience God’s life-transforming love and power. This framework is for everyone!
I love Corrie ten Boom’s well-known words: “Make prayer your steering wheel, not your spare tire.” Your next step is to apply Jesus’s teaching principles in your prayer life today and experience the transformative power of prayer.
When you pray like Jesus, you will learn more about God’s character and His eternal plan and purpose for you. In Matthew: Pray Like This, Bible teacher Barb Roose guides you on a six-week Bible study of the Gospel of Matthew, taking a deep dive into Jesus’s prayer patterns.
Along the way you’ll learn that prayer is the place where God meets you with His heart set on conversation and time spent with you.
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