Prayer
Prayer is the most direct means for fellowship with God this side of living in heaven with Him. Prayer is generally to be offered to God the Father, but can also be offered to Christ or the Holy Spirit (or to God in Trinity). It should, however, never be offered to God through idols, pictures, figurines etc.
It is only through the reconciliation that comes by Christ's death that we can pray, as He acts as the mediator between God and man; and this is why believers pray "in Christ's name". The Spirit intercedes in our prayers, making our godly desires known to God better than we know how.
The location of prayer makes no difference, but the Bible encourages us to pray both in private and as a community of believers. With regard to the time of prayer, it shouldn't be relegated merely to a certain time of day, but should be a response to all situations, "continuously" praying.
Prayers should be offered with faith, with a spirit of obedience shown by a life of obedience, with humility and with meaning; and our expectance of God's answer should drive us to wait on His response. In prayer, we should give glory and thanks to God, ask God to provide for needs (both our own and others'), confess of known and unknown sin, seek guidance and deliverance from evil and we must also ourselves forgive others. Continually and faithfully coming back to a topic of heartfelt need is encouraged and praying according to God's will is both expected and an important aspect of effective prayer.
God promises to hear the prayers of those who know Him, which are offered in faith and according to his will. More effective prayer is a result of humility, faithfulness and obedience towards God, as well as truly meaning what we pray. There is nowhere that God promises to respond to the prayers of those who do not come to Him through Christ, although He may choose to do so anyway in His mercy.
Content of this Study (top)
Introduction: (top)
The subject of prayer is much less a doctrine of belief than a real, living part of the Christian life. Prayer, at its core, is the most direct means for fellowship with God. I believe it is for this reason that, without planning it so, the content of the following study has a great deal more discussion and suggestions for application than other studies. I hope and pray that the Biblically proven content below can be mixed with the suggestions for application and discussion, as well as a meditation on God's reason for prayer in order to encourage you and build you up in your relationship with Him.
Whilst writing this study, I was made constantly aware of my own failings in prayer, but also understood even better the power of "theologizing" (as J.I. Packer calls it) to help us grow closer to God; that is, studying prayer gave me great insight into where I was failing and enabled me to pray better, more lovingly, faithfully and truthfully. I hope and pray it does the same for you.
The Biblical Teaching:
Why should we pray? (top)
- Prayer is a major part of the communication between Men and God. Remembering that man was created to be in a relationship with God, we see that communication, as in any other relationship, is integral to the strengthening of that relationship. Therefore prayer is an expression of love and fellowship with God.
- When we pray, we do not share with God so that He can merely find out what's happening in our lives, as He already knows this (Matt. 6:8). Rather, prayer shows trust in God: bringing worries and thoughts to God in prayer shows dependence on Him as "our Father in Heaven" (Matt. 6:9), and therefore trust in His goodness and mercy.
- Prayer allows us to be involved in the building up of God's Kingdom, as our godly pleas (those in line with His will) will be answered by Him, to His glory, and therefore to the building up of His kingdom.
Who should we pray to? (top)
Prayer is to be offered to God the Father (top)
A look at the prayers of the Bible clearly shows that most are offered to God (the Father). Although merely counting the occurrences of types of prayers will be misleading since the triune nature of God was less clearly understood in OT times, and because a great deal of the prayers offered in the NT are offered by Jesus (and therefore not to himself), it is still safe to say that in general, prayers are to be offered to God the Father (as in Matt.6:9).
Prayer can be offered to Christ or the Holy Spirit (top)
There are clearly examples of prayer to Jesus in the NT, and even direction to 'call on His name' for salvation:
- "Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'" (Acts 7:59)
- Paul wrote, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Cor. 12:7-9)
- "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom. 10:13)
Note, however, that these three represent the clearest examples of prayer to Christ offered in the Bible (apart from "Come, O Lord!" in 1 Cor. 16:22 and "Come Lord Jesus" in Rev 22:20), indicating that while prayer to Christ is acceptable, it is not the norm.
Similarly, there doesn't appear to be any reason why prayer can't also be offered to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is, after all, God (see trinity), with whom we live in a relationship. Further, the fact that He excercises personal discretion when outlaying the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 (1 Cor. 12:11) indicates that prayer to the Spirit when concerning this area is acceptable.
Other commentators have suggested that prayers of a specific nature may be directed to Christ. Packer writes, "Christ may be called on for salvation and healing, as in the days of his flesh (Rom. 10:8-13, 2 Cor. 12:7-9) and the Holy Spirit for grace and peace (Rev. 1:4). It cannot be wrong...to request any spiritual blessings from any one of the three Persons, but there is wisdom in following the New Testament pattern [of praying largely to the Father]." (Concise Theology p.188.)
It seems best, simplest and most easily in-line with Biblical evidence to pray mainly to the Father (or to God in Trinity), praying only to the Son or the Holy Spirit explicitly, when it is clearly appropriate to do so.
Prayer not to be offered to God through idols, pictures, figurines etc. (top)
It is nothing but demeaning to believe God to be, or to even imagine God to be, anything that is physically in front of us or even anything which we could imagine. Many believers fall into the trap of attempting to "focus their prayers" by praying to a crucifix (cross), to a painting or image of Jesus, to an image of Jesus in their minds, or similar (or worse). While this may be done with the best of intentions, it nevertheless demeans the glory of God and over time will condition that believer to associate that physical thing or image with God - which is not good and clearly a form of idolatry.
- "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:4-6 - the 2nd Commandment)
Christ our mediator makes prayer possible (top)
As sinners, we have no right to approach God, as He is perfect. But through faith in Christ, believers can approach God with confidence as Christ acts as the mediator between God and man:
- "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5).
- "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb. 4:14-16)
This is why believers pray "in Christ's name" - Jesus promised "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:13-14 cf. 15:16; 16:23-24). To come in Christ's name signifies coming in the authority of Christ - much like the apostles who invoked Christ's authority when driving out demons and healing people (e.g. Acts 3:6). Coming in Christ's name also signifies our desire to pray according to the will of Christ - we would not come with His authority if we were not aligned with His will - therefore, to pray in Christ's name is to pray in such a way that is in-line with the character of Christ, seeking His will, knowing that it is only through Him that we can come.
Prayer and the Holy Spirit (top)
The Spirit intercedes in our prayers, making our godly desires known to God better than we know how:
- "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Rom. 8:26-27)
The physical approach to praying (top)
I now have a page devoted to the approach to prayer - find it here - but the below is what can be gleaned from the Bible's instructions on prayer...
"Continuous" prayer (top)
Praying is a defining activity of the believer: it is an immense privilege and honour to pray to our creator, and this privilege comes only through Christ's world-changing sufferings. As such, prayer shouldn't be relegated merely to a certain time of day, but should be a response to all situations, automatically sharing events and concerns in our day-to-day lives with the Lord:
- "...the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.'" (Acts 6:2-4)
- "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col. 4:2)
- "...pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17).
Praying in a suitable environment - where should we pray? (top)
Jesus semi-addressed this issue before giving The Lord's Prayer. He said: "when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matt. 6:5-6) As can be seen from the context given though, this is a warning against pride rather than explicit instruction to pray in "your room".
We see from the Bible as a whole that we are to pray both in private (as above), and together as a community of believers (e.g. Acts 1:14). And while there may be places set aside specifically for praying, that does not make prayers offered there any more potent or powerful. Our God is omniscient and omnipresent; the barriers of location and time make no difference - it is rather the state of our faith when praying which effects our prayers, therefore it is only through Christ that our prayers are guaranteed effectiveness (see above).
The Bible is clear that no matter where or when, we can pray to God (Eph. 6:18), however, it is obvious that some situations are better than others to pray. Finding an environment where a focus on the prayer is easily achievable must be desired. For example, Jesus often went to solitary places to pray (e.g. Mark 1:35). Some considerations to think about:-
- Time of day: will you be tired and lose concentration easily?
- Privacy: will your prayers be influenced by events around you at all? If so, in a good way or bad way?
- Discipline: while spontaneous prayer is great, it is also good to have time set aside for prayer that is easy to adapt into a daily pattern.
- Using prayer points or prayer diary: Setting out your concerns that you wish to bring to God before praying is often a valuable experience. Using prayer points (a set of issues to pray over) enables you to cover a wide range of concerns over a weekly period, praying some things daily and others weekly, and allows reflection on past prayers so that greater insight into God's answers for those prayers can be seen. A Prayer Diary (writing completely your prayers to God as if a letter) allows much greater thought on the issues to be covered and again, allows you to reflect on past concerns and will help you to realise how God has answered past prayers.
Praying in a group (top)
Group prayers are also encouraged in the Bible for the building up of fellowship: coming together in the name of the Lord:
- "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:19-20)
Notice also that the Lord's Prayer assumes that believers will pray it together (this inferred from the use of plurals):
- "Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one." (Matt. 6:9-13, italics added)
The spiritual approach to praying (top)
(By this I mean the "spiritual mindset" of the believer before and during prayer.)
Pray with faith (top)
Pray with faith in God's assurance of provision (Is. 25:4, 1 Cor. 10:13), trusting His wisdom to discern what is good and right, and also trusting in the adequacy of Christ's mediating, and the Spirit's intercessory work, to allow the very prayer you are praying as well as the relationship to God which you are exercising.
- Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matt. 21:21-22)
- Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)
- "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." (James 5:15)
Pray with a spirit of obedience shown by a life of obedience (top)
Prayer and godly obedience must go together. From the following verses we see that, although God has promised to hear the prayers of all believers, the prayers of the righteous will be more effective.
- "If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable." (Prov. 28:9)
- "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)
- "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." (1 John 3:21-22)
Pray with humility (top)
All glory and honour must deservedly go to God. Therefore, when we, in pride, seek glory for ourselves, we are trying to take from God. Therefore humility, the knowledge and acceptance that God has provided all through grace, is of utmost importance:
- Jesus said: "...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14)
- "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
Pray with meaning (top)
God, knowing our hearts and minds (Lk. 16:15; 1 John 3:20), knows when we mean something we say to Him - we cannot fool God! Half-heartedly bringing something before God is neither an expression of faith or love, in fact it actually shows disinterest. Prayers must be heartfelt. This will also mean physically acting in such a way as to demonstrate your emotional intensity, such as meditating on God's word, allowing the Lord time to respond to your prayers, and seeking/expecting guidance through the Holy Spirit.
This kind of emotional intensity is often hard for a believer to gain and keep; but prayer concerning this issue and an increase in understanding of, and trust in, God and in His providence and work around us could only encourage a growth in this area.
- Jesus prayed earnestly:
- "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." (Heb. 5:7)
- e.g. "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Luke 6:12)
- The Prophets and Apostles prayed earnestly:
- e.g. Nehemiah said: "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." (Neh. 1:4 ff.)
- e.g. Paul said: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." (2 Cor. 12:7-8)
Waiting on the Lord (top)
Just as many Psalms reflect the author's patient waiting for the Lord, it is important for the believer to "wait" on the Lord when praying. This may involve a time of reflection, meditation or patient seeking of God's will during prayer, or the patient continuation in prayer over time on a particular topic of concern; and should be a natural expression of the fact that a reply from God is expected.
- "I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God." (Ps. 38:15)
- "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Ps. 5:3)
The content of prayers (top)
Areas to cover in prayer (top)
The areas to cover in prayer are generally covered in the suggested prayer of Christ (the Lord's Prayer), so I will quote it here first in its entirety then quote each line in its respective category:
[9b] Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
[10] your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
[11] Give us today our daily bread.
[12] Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
[13] And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. (Matt.6:9-13)
Areas to cover in prayer:
1. Give glory and thanks to God:
- "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matt. 6:9-10)
- "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col. 4:2)
2. Ask God to provide for needs (both our own and others' needs):
- "Give us today our daily bread." (Matt. 6:11)
- "But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him." (Job 5:8)
3. Confess of known and unknown sin:
- "Forgive us our debts" (Matt. 6:12).
- "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." (1 John 1:9-10)
4. We must also forgive others:
- "...as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matt. 6:12)
- "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matt.6:14-15)
- Jesus said: "...when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (Mark 11:25)
5. Seek guidance and deliverance from evil:
- From evil and temptation: "...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Matt. 6:13)
- In general: "Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." (Ps 25:4-5)
Focusing on unresolved subjects of importance (top)
Continually and faithfully coming back to a topic of heartfelt need, and waiting for the Lord's response is exemplified by many in the Bible, for example:
- Jesus: "'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' [Jesus] said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch.'
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'
Then he returned to his disciples...Once more he went away and prayed the same thing." (Mark 14:34-39)
- Paul: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." (2 Cor. 12:7-8)
This should be seen as distinct, however, from the mindless repetition that must be steered away from:
- Jesus said: "...when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." (Matt. 6:7)
Praying according to God's will (top)
To pray according to God's will means first understanding to the best of our ability what God's will is (from the Bible), and in the cases or circumstances where the Bible is unclear, demonstrate our faith in the Lord by bringing the situation to Him and indicating our trust in the fulfillment of His will.
- Jesus told us to pray: "...your will be done" (Matt. 6:10)
- "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." (1 John 5:14-15)
The effects of prayer (top)
Prayer does change the way God acts:
- Jesus said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10)
- "...You do not have, because you do not ask God." (James 4:2)
- e.g. "'I have seen these people,' the LORD said to Moses, 'and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.'
But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. 'O LORD,' he said...Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people...Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened." (Ex. 32:9-14)
God's answering of prayer (top)
Answering the prayers of believers (top)
God promises to hear the prayers of those who know Him, that are offered in faith, according to His will:
- God said: "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Ch. 7:14)
- Jesus said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10)
More effective prayers (top)
We see that more effective prayer is a result of humility, faithfulness and obedience towards God, as well as truly meaning what is prayed (see above "Spiritual approach to prayer").
The type of answer (top)
However, though we can be confident that God hears believers' prayers, this does not mean that He will answer them in the way that we expect, or even in a way that we desire. For example, a friend recently asked why, if we faithfully pray that God would make us totally perfect, He doesn't immediately do so. This is a great example of a prayer that has been answered in the Bible for all Christians but will only be fulfilled in the future - the Bible tells us that when Christ returns, we will be made perfect; we will be given perfect bodies and go to live in a perfect place with God (see glorification). In His wisdom, God will, in His own time, end this sinful world and make those who have known Him perfect. In this, both my friend's question and prayer are answered.
When our knowledge of God's will is unsure, we can only wait on His response and trust in His decision. Praying for sick loved ones, for example - though we know that if they are believers God will care for them spiritually, He may have planned a tough physical road ahead for them in order to bring about that spiritual blessing. We simply do not and cannot know God's will until it is revealed, so in this circumstance we must trust in God's decision whilst also praying for the health of those that we are concerned for.
Answering the prayers of non-believers (top)
There is nowhere that God promises to respond to the prayers of those who do not come to Him through Christ (John 14:6). This is not to say that in His mercy He would not ever do so, but simply says that He has not promised always to do so, as He has with believers.
Conclusion (top)
It is an amazing act of grace on the part of God that we can fellowship with Him in the way of prayer. Too many Christians take this for granted. In prayer we are talking to our Creator, the all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful God who created and sustains all. Grasping this simple, but almost unbelievable truth more fully could only lead to more persistent, faithful, heartfelt, loving, thankful and effective prayer.
Also check out these related topics on prayer: - (top)
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