Laszlo Gallusz is a senior lecturer in New Testament studies at Belgrade Theological Seminary and a member of the Biblical Research Institute Committee of the General Conference. He has written several books and scholarly articles in English, Hungarian, and Serbian. The Seven Prayers of Jesus is his most recent book, in which he explores the prayers of Jesus in order to gain a better understanding of the topic. Instead of gathering together the key biblical passages on prayer to draw from them theological ideas, Gallusz uses an inductive approach—that is to say, he examines the content of Jesus’ prayers and allows them to determine his conclusions. He examines them in terms of their literary and socio-historical context to point to their theological significance in the lives of believers today.

The book has several goals. First, by examining the prayers of Jesus the reader gains a better and deeper understanding of the significance of prayer in the life of the Son of God. Second, by analyzing the life of prayer of the Incarnate God, the author seeks to move Christians to follow their common Lord in a life of profound fellowship with the Father through prayer. Third, Gallusz explores the prayers of Jesus to unpack their theology, thus unveiling some of the most important theological elements encased in them. As a result, we are offered a reading of the life of Jesus and His teachings on prayer that is theological, pastoral, and deeply spiritual. The readers are invited to rest for a while to listen to the voice of Jesus addressing His heavenly Father as He prays for others and for Himself.

In the “Introduction” to the book, Gallusz synthesizes some of the theological elements he uncovered during his study of Jesus’ prayers. He grounds the practice of prayer in the longing for God that the Lord Himself has implanted in the human heart and that challenges our pride and autonomy as we search for meaning in our lives. Prayer has transforming power and sets us free from the enslavement of selfish self-realization. Gallusz also explores the essence of prayer and the need to learn to pray. The first chapter is an exposition of prayer in the life of Jesus discussing the attitude, the practice, and instructions of Jesus on the topic, including His response to prayers addressed to Him during His ministry. This chapter is theologically and spiritually rich and provides practical guidance for a life of prayer grounded on Jesus’ own life of prayer.

The second chapter discusses the Aramaic term ’abba (Greek, patēr; English, “Father”), used by Jesus to refer to God as He prays to Him. This is not a tedious linguistic analysis, but a study of the theological and experiential meaning of this way of addressing God that characterizes the life and prayers of Jesus. Gallusz briefly discusses the scholarly debate on the meaning of ’abba—whether it means “daddy” or simply “father” as an expression of profound respect—and concludes that both ideas are conveyed by the term. This is still a matter of debate, but Gallusz correctly suggests that in the context of prayer, ’abba presupposes that prayer is an experience of intimacy with God. He argues that Jesus constantly used it and inspired the apostolic church to enjoy the same intimacy He had with the heavenly Father while on earth.

In the rest of the book Gallusz discusses the seven prayers of Jesus: the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9–13); Prayer of Thanksgiving (Matt 11:25–26); Prayer at the Resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:41–42); Prayer Answered by a Heavenly Voice (John 12:27–28); the Farewell Prayer (John 17:1–26); Prayer in Gethsemane (Matt 26:39, 42); and Praying on the Cross (Luke 23:34; Matt 27:46; Luke 23:46). It is simply impossible to summarize here the wealth of the theological and pastoral content offered to the reader in the analysis of the passages. I will concentrate on the discussion of Jesus’ prayers in Gethsemane and on the cross. Gallusz argues that in these two settings the “humanity of Jesus surfaces more evidently than anywhere else in the New Testament” (111). He discusses the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane and relates it to the cup that He must drink, defined by him as the cup of God’s will for Jesus—facing suffering and death on behalf of humanity by bearing their sin as their substitute—which Jesus could resist but that He finally accepted. In this attitude, argues Gallusz, Jesus was embodying what He taught the disciples in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your will be done.” Gethsemane is then not only a place of agony, but also a place of victory—the place where an angel comes to strengthen Jesus. Gallusz explores the significance of this prayer for believers from the perspective of our individual Gethsemanes where we also experience anguish and our prayers go unanswered. He concludes that our Gethsemanes are practically inevitable but they are the place where we submit to the will of God, remembering “that there is no Gethsemane without its angel” (122).

The author finds in the prayers of Jesus on the cross three main topics. The first is love for our enemies. Jesus’ prayer for the forgiveness of His enemies embodies His teachings to the disciples to love and pray for their enemies (Matt 5:44). The cross, according to Gallusz, is a place of contrast: His enemies hate Him while He still loves them. Second, Jesus is praying “in the dark night of the soul” (131). The author notices that in Matthew 27:46 Jesus speaks to “God” and does not use ’abba. In His prayer, Jesus feels that He is no longer in the presence of the Father, and this leads Gallusz to conclude that Jesus “experienced the cross in deepest despair,” tasting “the pain of the absence of God” (ibid.). These topics are explored by him in some detail. Finally Jesus offers a prayer of unconditional trust, addressing God as ’abba/Father (Luke 23:46), and committing His spirit to Him. In this last prayer, “Jesus taught his disciples what they are to do when they are not delivered from evil: commend their lives into God’s hands” (134).

This book will certainly open the eyes of the reader to new insights on the topic of prayer from the perspective of Jesus and their contribution to the Christian life. I only wished that Gallusz would have spent a little more time on petitionary prayer and how it relates to an omniscient and loving God. The book is highly recommended to anyone interested in the meaning and practice of prayer, be they theologians, ministers, or lay members.