Jesus's Prayer at Lazarus's Tomb

Illustration of Jesus's Prayer at Lazarus's Tomb
Before the stone-cold tomb, Jesus gave thanks as if the answer had already come - then called the dead man out by name.

Standing before the opened tomb of his friend - having already wept, and with Martha warning about the four-day smell - Jesus lifted up his eyes and prayed a thanksgiving before the miracle happened: 'Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.' It is prayer with the tense reversed - gratitude spoken in advance, from a settled confidence that the Father always hears. Jesus then cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth,' and the dead man came out bound in graveclothes. The prayer reveals the inner life behind Jesus's miracles: not incantation summoning power, but unbroken communion overheard aloud for the crowd's sake.

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Category
Worship & Praise
Prayed by
Jesus

Key Chapters

John 11 The Raising of Lazarus 7 min read

Key Passages

"I Thank Thee That Thou Hast Heard Me"

John 11:41-44

T41hen they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

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Characters

Jesus Jesus is portrayed in the Bible as the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah whose coming fulfilled Oldโ€ฆ Lazarus Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha from the village of Bethany, fell gravely ill and died while Jesusโ€ฆ Martha Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus who lived in Bethany and frequently hosted Jesus during hisโ€ฆ Mary of Bethany Mary of Bethany was the sister of Martha and Lazarus who lived in the village near Jerusalem. In Lukeโ€™sโ€ฆ

Places

Bethany Bethany was a small village located on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives about two miles east ofโ€ฆ

Themes

Worship From Abel's offering to the elders casting crowns before the throne, worship is humanity's highest purposeโ€ฆ Gratitude Only one of ten healed lepers returned to say thank you. That moment captures a universal truth inโ€ฆ Joy Joy in Scripture is not happiness that depends on circumstance - it is a deep gladness rooted in Godโ€ฆ

Did You Know?

1

Jesus gives thanks in the past tense - 'thou hast heard me' - before Lazarus emerges; the only prayer in Scripture where gratitude precedes the miracle it acknowledges.

2

Jesus states he prayed aloud purely 'because of the people which stand by' - a rare glimpse of the difference between his unbroken communion and his public speech.

3

The prayer sits two verses after 'Jesus wept' - thanksgiving and grief occupy the same scene, from the same heart, at the same tomb.