Page Summary: An outline of the Biblical Teaching on Prayer.

David Cox's Library of Religious Works.
41 Biblical Teaching on Prayer
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'O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come' Ps 65:2
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Special Vocabulary

Imprecatory Prayer -

Impetrative Prayer - "prayer, that is, which is directed in the first instance, not towards the discipline of our own souls in a particular attitude, or the enjoyment of union with God, but towards the obtaining of special favours from him, whether for ourselves or for others." taken from "Bread or Stone: four Conferences on Impetrative Prayer" (1915) by Ronald Arbuthnott Knox p1

Anaphora - A Catholic term for the Eucharist or Communion.

Note that I have included works by almost all "Christian" religious faiths including Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Universalists, etc. In some cases some of these works have become monuments of reference in the study of prayer (at least for some people) so their inclusion is so that you can study them. I would urge great care in reading these works, and to use a judicious amount of discernment.

41.00 General Literature on Prayer

This section has its own page here 41.00 General Literature on Prayer

41.02 Prayer in the Bible Times <Menu>

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"Pray" comes from the Latin word "precari" which means to entreat or ask. At times it may mean a simple "please", like in "pray continue your story."

Finney, Charles - On Prayer (s)
Pink, Arthur W - Prayer (s)

41.02.01 Prayer in the Old Testament

41.02.01.01 First Prayer in the Bible, in OT.

Gen 4:26 "Then men began to call on the name of the Lord"

See ISBE Prayer:In the O.T.

41.02.01.02 Hebrew Words for Prayer

See this 41.02.02 Hebrew Words for Prayer

41.02.01.03 Patriarchal Period

1. In the Old Testament: [ISBE on prayer]
The history of prayer as it meets us here reflects various stages of experience and revelation. In the patriarchal period, when 'men began to call upon the name of the Lord' (Gen 4:26; compare Gen 12:8; Gen 21:33), prayer is naive, familiar and direct (Gen 15:2 ff; Gen 17:18; Gen 18:23 ff; Gen 24:12). It is evidently associated with sacrifice (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:4; Gen 26:25), the underlying idea probably being that the gift or offering would help to elicit the desired response. Analogous to this is Jacob's vow, itself a species of prayer, in which the granting of desired benefits becomes the condition of promised service and fidelity (Gen 28:20 ff). In the pre-exilic history of Israel prayer still retains many of the primitive features of the patriarchal type (Exo 3:4; Num 11:11-15; Jdg 6:13 ff; Jdg 11:30 f; 1Sa 1:11; 2Sa 15:8; Psa 66:13 f). The Law has remarkably little to say on the subject, differing here from the later Judaism (see Schurer, HJP, II, i, 290, index-vol, p. 93; and compare Mat 6:5 ff; Mat 23:14; Acts 3:1; Acts 16:13); while it confirms the association of prayer with sacrifices, which now appear, however, not as gifts in anticipation of benefits to follow, but as expiations of guilt (Deut 21:1-9) or thank offerings for past mercies (Deut 26:1-11). Moreover, the free, frank access of the private individual to God is more and more giving place to the mediation of the priest (Deut 21:5; Deut 26:3), the intercession of the prophet (Exo 32:11-13; 1Sa 7:5-13; 1Sa 12:23), the ordered approach of tabernacle and temple services (Exo 40; 1 Kings 8). The prophet, it is true, approaches God immediately and freely - Moses (Exo 34:34; Deut 34:10) and David (2Sa 7:27) are to be numbered among the prophets - but he does so in virtue of his office, and on the ground especially of his possession of the Spirit and his intercessory function (compare Eze 2:2; Jer 14:15).

41.02.01.04 Exile Period

[ISBE on prayer] A new epoch in the history of prayer in Israel was brought about by the experiences of the Exile. Chastisement drove the nation to seek God more earnestly than before, and as the way of approach through the external forms of the temple and its sacrifices was now closed, the spiritual path of prayer was frequented with a new assiduity. The devotional habits of Ezra (Ezr 7:27; Ezr 8:23), Nehemlab (Neh 2:4; Neh 4:4, Neh 4:9, etc.) and Daniel (Dan 6:10) prove how large a place prayer came to hold in the individual life; while the utterances recorded in Ezr 9:6-15; Neh 1:5-11; 9:5-38; Dan 9:4-19; Isa 63:7 through 64:12 serve as illustrations of the language and spirit of the prayers of the Exile, and show especially the prominence now given to confession of sin. In any survey of the Old Testament teaching the Psalms occupy a place by themselves, both on account of the large period they cover in the history and because we are ignorant in most cases as to the particular circumstances of their origin. But speaking generally it may be said that here we see the loftiest flights attained by the spirit of prayer under the old dispensation - the intensest craving for pardon, purity and other spiritual blessings (Ps 51; Psa 130:1-8), the most heartfelt longing for a living communion with God Himself (Psa 42:2; Psa 63:1; Psa 84:2).

41.02.02 Prayer in the New Testament  <Menu>

See ISBE Prayer:In the N.T.

Ewing - Temple Dictionary of the Bible "Prayer"
"The early Christians prayed with great earnestness and expectancy, and with one accord (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 42; 4:24ff; 12:5); at times with fasting (Acts 13:3; 14:23). True prayer marks the dawn of the Christian faith (Acts 9:11). Paul continually prays with and for his converts (Acts 20:36; 1Thess 3:10ff; Rom 1:9; Phil 1:4, 9-11; 2Tim 1:3) and asks them to pray for him (2 Thess 3:1ff; Rom 15:30-32; 2Cor 1:11; Eph 6:19)."

41.02.02.01 Greek Words for Prayer

The commonest Greek word is euxamai, proseuxomai, proeuxe. Deomai is specially frequent in Luke and Acts; dehsis is also found here, but is commoner in the epistles. Aitew to ask ... is also occasionally found, e.g. Mat 6:8; 7:7, 11; 18:19; John 14:14; 16:26; (note distinction from erwtaw) James 1:5ff; 1John 3:22.

Note also entugxanw 'to intercede (for or against any one), Rom 8:27, 34; 11:2; Heb 7:25; also 'to pray' Wisdom 16:28; uperentagxanein to intercede for; Rom 8:26; with noun enteuxis, 1Tim 2:1; 4:5.

Lastly iketeuw, ikethria, 'supplication' 2 Macc 9.18; Heb 5:7. Cheyne, Thomas Kelly - Encyclopaedia Biblica v3 page 3824

41.02.02.02 Greek: proseuxomai

Prosuexomai is always used of prayer to God, and is the most common Greek word for prayer.

41.02.02.03 Greek: erwtaw

Erwtaw means "to ask", and carries the idea of placing a request or petition before God. Luke 16:27; John 14:16; 17:9.

41.02.02.04 Greek: aithma

Aithma is the word for petition, thing asked. 1John 5:15; James 4:2.

41.03 Prayer in Church History

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41.03.01 Prayer in the post-Apostolic Age

41.03.02 Prayer in the Reformation

Barth, Karl - Prayer and Preaching Chapter 1 Prayer in the Reformation

41.04 Definition, Basis, & Purpose of Prayer  <Menu>

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Prayer is talking to God. It is expressing our feelings to God about matters of importance to us. Because of some verses where people are "praying" to a false deity (Psa 65:2; Isa 56:7), we should understand prayer as a human being speaking to whom they believe is God (whether it is to the true God or not). We see nothing about animals praying, neither does the Bible refer to conversation between angelic beings and God as "prayer." The Bible does not refer to conversation from God to humans as prayer, but Jesus is considered to have been praying when he "prayed to God the Father". So the idea of prayer is based in speech given to God from a human being.

Prayer is not so much the form that it takes, as it is to know the person

Prayer is part of our communion with God, and as such it is as much God talking with us as we talking with God. God speaks to us through His inspired word, the Holy Scriptures, so prayer is one part of the communion, and Scripture reading, study, and meditation is the counterpart of our talking to God. Prayer is part of our perception of God around us, interacting with us in this life.

Prayer is usually considered asking God for something, but other important elements of prayer are confession, adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and intercession.

Prayer is the practice of the presence of God.  It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made.  Prayer is the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God.  Prayer is the needful practice of the Christian.  Prayer is the exercise of faith and hope.  Prayer is the privilege of touching the heart of the Father through the Son of God, Jesus our Lord.
     The Bible speaks much of prayer.  But, sometimes, too often, we ignore prayer and seek to accomplish in the strength of our own wills those things that we desire to have or happen.  For those of us who are too often guilty of this, we need to bow our knees, confess our sin, receive God's forgiveness, and beg that the will of the Lord be done above our own.  God is sovereign and loving and He knows what is best for us and others, even if it doesn't always seem to make the most sense.
     We so often come to the Lord with legitimate requests for healing, conversions, and needs and yet the answers we hope for often do not come.  We wonder and sometimes doubt.  Yet, we persevere and praise God.  We pray because we know that God hears us and because we desire to see results.  We should pray by faith, trusting God.  We should pray consistently, trusting God.  We should pray for healing, trusting God.  We should pray for others, trusting God.  We should pray and when our prayers are answered or are not answered remember this:  If we knew what the Lord knew, we wouldn't change a thing.
     Prayer changes the one praying because in prayer, you are in the presence of God as you lay before Him your complete self in confession and dependence.  There is nothing to hide when in quiet supplication we are reaching into the deepest part of ourselves and admitting our needs and failures.  In so doing, our hearts are quieted and pride is stripped and we enjoy the presence of God.  James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
     I am reminded of another benefit of prayer:  peace.  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus," (Phil. 4:6-7).
     I suppose that we can test our prayer life and dependence upon God by the peace or lack of peace in our hearts.  In all things we are to seek the Lord and in His continued presence peace will surely be our gain.
     Prayer is the practice of the presence of God.

CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry What is prayer?

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Fausset's Dictionary  <Menu>

Fausset Dictionary Entry on Prayer "Prayer produces and strengthens in the mind conscious dependence on God, faith, and love, the state for receiving and appreciating God's blessing ordained in answer to prayer. Moreover prayer does not supersede work; praying and working are complementary of each other (Neh 4:9). Our weakness drives us to cast ourselves on God's fatherly love, providence, and power. Our "Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him"; "we know not what things we should pray for as we ought" (Mat 6:8; Rom 8:26). Yet "the Spirit helpeth our infirmities," and Jesus teaches us by the Lord's prayer how to pray (Luke 11). Nor is the blessing merely subjective; but we may pray for particular blessings, temporal and spiritual, in submission to God's will, for ourselves. cf6 "Thy will be done," (Mat 6:10) and "if we ask anything according to His will" (1Jo 5:14-15), is the limitation. Every truly believing prayer contains this limitation. God then grants either the petition or something better than it, so that no true prayer is lost (2Co 12:7-10; Luke 22:42; Heb 5:7).

Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian chapter 5.
"Mr. Moody was once addressing a crowded meeting of children in Edinburgh. In order to get their attention he began with a question: 'What is prayer?' --- looking for no reply, and expecting to give the answer himself.

"To his amazement scores of little hands shot up all over the hall. He asked one lad to reply; and the answer came at once, clear and correct, ¡Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful, acknowledgement of His mercies...

"The word 'prayer' really means 'a wish directed towards,' that is, towards God. All that true prayer seeks is God Himself, for with Him we get all we need. Prayer is simply 'turning of the soul to God.' David describes it as the lifting up of the living soul to the living God. 'Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul' (Psa 25:1)...

"'Prayer,' says an old Jewish mystic, 'is the  moment when heaven and earth kiss each other.'

"Prayer, then, is certainly not persuading God to do what we want God to do. It is not bending the will of a reluctant God to our will. It dos not change His purpose, although it may release His power. 'We must not conceive of prayer as overcoming God's reluctance,' says Archibishop Trench, 'but as laying hold of His highest willingness."

"For God always purposes our greatest good. Even the prayer offered in ignorance and blindness cannot swerve Him from that, although, when we persistently pray for some harmful thing, our willfulness may bring it about, and we suffer accordingly. "He gave them their request," says the Psalmist, "but sent leanness into their soul" (Psa. cvi. 15). They brought this "leanness" upon themselves. They were "cursed with the burden of a granted prayer."

Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian chapter 5.

Prayer does not come natural to man. We normally think and live in such a way that we are completely independent of God and put little to no importance on communing with God. We are self-sufficient in our thinking, and we desire and live our life as if we can do all things without the intervention or help of God.

Normally people never think about praying to God except when they are "at the end of their rope" and there is no other option left except to look to God for help.

Prayer is first and foremost an admission of our inadequacy to meet the problems and situations of our life, and our need for God in just living a normal daily life. To refuse to pray is to state by actions that you do not need God's help to do whatever you are doing, be it something difficult or just a normal day's affairs. You are telling God by this attitude and action that you are able to take care of things without His help.

Your pray life is a direct reflection of your thinking about how much you can take care of things on your own without God's help. For example, Martin Luther spent several hours in prayer before he even ate breakfast. One day he was to make a very important appearance before those who were questioning him, and a friend asked if today he would skip his long morning prayer time. He said that since he had so much to do that day, and it was important, that he would have to spend twice as much time in prayer before beginning or he would never get it done. This represents the opposite extremes of view of prayer, one that it is a waste of time, and the other, that it is what permits us to accomplish things in the day.

James Hastings - The Christian Doctrine of Prayer, p 11-13
"3. Of what does an act of prayer consist? It consists always of three separate forms of activity which, in the case of different persons, co-exist in very varying degrees of intensity, but which are found, in some degree, in all who pray, whenever they pray.

(1) To pray is, first of all, to put the affections in motion; it is to open the heart. The object of prayer is the Uncreated Love, the Eternal Beauty- He of whose beauty all that moves love and admiration here is at best a pale reflection. To be in His presence in prayer is to be conscious of an expansion of the heart, and of the pleasure that accompanies it, which we feel, in another sense, when speaking with an intimate and loved friend or relative. And this movement of the affections is sustained throughout the act of prayer. It is invigorated by the spiritual sight of God, but it is also the original impulse which leads us to draw near to Him. In true prayer, as in teaching, 'out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.'

Prayer is the utterance before God of emotion. The deep and secret emotions of the heart are in worship uttered or poured out before God. Thus in worship we act on the invitation, 'Pour out your hearts before him.' Now this applies to all the varieties of true worship. It applies even to supplication. A large proportion of our worship, sometimes too large a proportion, consists of requests. Request is the lowest form of worship, for it turns the thoughts towards self. We ask that we may receive, and that which we hope to receive is the great object of our prayer. But even these requests are all of them the expressions of emotion; for is it not an earnest desire that prompts them, and what is that desire but a strong emotion? When, e.g., we pray, 'Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,' does not the prayer arise from the strong, earnest desire after a spotless holiness, and is not that desire one of the most sacred emotions that the Holy Spirit ever draws forth from the heart of the regenerate man? But if it applies to supplication or request, how much more does it apply to adoration!

But prayer also kindles emotion. If love prompts worship, it must surely follow that worship will kindle love. We see this in a comparison of Psalm 18 and Psalm 116. In both is declared love for Jehovah, and in both is it connected with His worship. But there is this difference: in 18 the love leads to the worship, and in 116 the worship calls forth the love. In 16 the Psalmist says, 'I will love thee, O Lord' (ver 1), and then adds, as a consequence of that love (ver 3), 'I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised"; whereas, in 116:1 he says, 'I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.' He loved as he went in, but he loved still more as he came out.

(2) To pray is, next, to put the understanding in motion, and to direct it upon the highest object to which it can possibly address itself, the Infinite God. In our private prayers, as in our public liturgies, we generally preface the petition itself by naming one or more of His attributes. Almighty and Everlasting God! If the understanding is really at work at all, how overwhelming are the ideas, the truths, which pass thus before it: a boundless Power, an Existence which knows neither beginning nor end. Then the substance of the petition, the motives which are alleged for urging it, the issues which depend upon its being granted or being refused, present themselves to the eye of the understanding. And when prayer is not addressed to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the fact that it is addressed to the Father through Him, and in reliance on His merits and mediation, opens upon Christian thought the inmost mysteries before the Eternal Throne. and thus any common act of real prayer keeps, not the imagination, but the understanding, occupied earnestly, absorbingly, under the guidance of faith, from first to last.

The first ingredient in prayer is, not intelligence, but movement of the spirit- of the soul. The raw material of prayer, so to put it, is a vague aspiration of the soul towards its true Object.

'Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks,
So longeth my soul after thee, O God
My soul is athirst for God;
Yea even for the living God
When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?'

The motive of this movement is a sense of need, a sense of weakness, a sense of dependence. It is perfectly compatible with very shadowy perceptions of God; it is the cry of the child towards its parent, whom it sees only indistinctly in the distance or in the twilight; it is an impulse, an enthusiasm, an emotion; it is a breathing, an aspiration. The raw material of prayer is not its intellectual element; it is its element of impulse, of love, of moral movement, vigorous and resolute in its endeavor, yet vague and indeterminate as to its course and its Object. Undoubtedly, very earnest prayer is often compatible with a slight exercise of the understanding... Thought about God or about ourselves is not of itself that inward movement towards God which is at bottom an impulse from on high, and which is the first and the essential step in real prayer. The uninstructed, the young, the very ill, the almost despairing, the broken-hearted, can say, after the Apostle, when they can say little else, 'I will pray with the spirit.'

But although the understanding cannot give the first impulse to prayer, it can supply guidance to it. It is very needful, if the original impulse, which is the essence of prayer, is to be brought into shape and made permanently serviceable to the soul. The original energy of prayer is supplied by emotion; its regulation is secured by the understanding, that is, the understanding illuminated by Divine grace. Without this understanding, the spirit of prayer is like fluid metal which runs into irregular forms from want of a mould. Without the understanding, the spirit of prayer is like great natural ability which is wasted or misused from want of good training... The understanding thus secures a double result. It introduces point, purpose, order, into what, without it, would be aimless and unregulated impulse; and it does more-- it secures reverence. Without injuring the tenderness of the relations which bind a living soul to its God and its Redeemer, it is there as a perpetual reminder of His Unapproachable Majesty, and of the nothingness of all creatures before Him.... A man's prayers must prompt and accompany his most deliberate actions; they must, if it may be, keep abreast of the entire range of his mental and moral effort.... A prayer must have thought in it... But to take the thought out of a prayer does not insure its going up to God...

(3) Once more, to pray is to put the will in motion, just as decidedly as we do when we sit down to read hard, or when we walk up a steep hill against time. That sovereign power in the soul which we name the will does not merely, in prayer, impel us to make the first necessary mental effort, but it also enters most penetratingly and vitally into the very action of the prayer itself. It is the will which presses the petition; it is the will which struggles with the reluctance of sloth or with the secret opposition of sinful passion; it is the will which perseveres; it is the will which exclaims: 'I will not let thee go, except thou bless me'. The amount of will which we severally carry into the act of prayer is the ratio of its sincerity; and where prayer is at once real and prolonged, the demands which it makes upon our power of concentrating determination into a specific and continuous act are very considerable indeed."
taken from James Hastings - The Christian Doctrine of Prayer, p 11-13

How do I talk with God?

Praying to God is just like talking to some other person. God is a person, and God has established our lives on a communication process of person talking to person that is exactly what we do with God when we pray.

Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne: Some Considerations on the Prayer-Life Ch 1 Divine Basis of All Acceptable Prayer (Sections:  5 Aspects of Prayer: As Communion, As Submission, As Petition, As Cooperation, As Initial Exercise on Our Part)
Anonymous - Concerning Prayer, its nature, its difficulties and its value. flipbook

See also 41.08 Purpose and Motive of Prayer

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41.04.01 Key Concepts and Elements of Prayer  <Menu>

"What is prayer? It is a sign of spiritual life. I should as soon expect life in a dead man as spiritual life in a prayerless soul! Our spirituality and our fruitfulness are always in proportion to the reality of our prayers. If, then, we have at all wandered away from home in the matter of prayer, let us today resolve, "I will arise and go unto my Father, and say unto Him, Father --."
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 5 What is Prayer?

"Real prayer at its highest and best reveals a soul athirst for God -- just for God alone. Real prayer comes from the lips of those whose affection is set on things above. What a man of prayer Zinzendorf was. Why? He sought the Giver rather than His gifts. He said: "I have one passion: it is He, He alone." Even the Mohammedan seems to have got hold of this thought. He says that there are three degrees in prayer. The lowest is that spoken only by the lips. The next is when, by a resolute effort, we succeed in fixing our thoughts on Divine things. The third is when the soul finds it hard to turn away from God. Of course, we know that God bids us "ask" of Him. We all obey Him so far; and we may rest well assured that prayer both pleases God and supplies all our need. But he would be a strange child who only sought his father's presence when he desired some gift from him! And do we not all yearn to rise to a higher level of prayer than mere petition? How is it to be done?
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 5 What is Prayer?

41.04.01.01 Communion with God <Menu>

This aspect of prayer goes back to the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Sin broke the communion that God had with man, and prayer seeks to restore that communion. Part of prayer's function in our lives is that it allows God to use our minds and the focus of our thoughts at the moment to focus on what God sees is wrong and needing change in our lives. Therefore, prayer is a forum through which God teaches us about His will, His way, and our problems. It opens our eyes to the truth, and enables us to correctly understand, see, and walk in the will of God.

Prayer is also a means by which we commune with God, casting all our cares upon him. It is communication with God. We both speak to God and listen to God in prayer. This means that prayer must be a quiet time of meditation where the person reads God's word as much as talking to God.

Prayer is a time when God can have some time with us to quietly and slowly teach us some things about God and His Will, especially His will for our lives. God's word will not become alive within us except as we allow it to indwell in us and take hold of us. This only happens when we meditate and concentrate on God's word. This happens regularly only when we hear the preaching or teaching of the Word of God where the preacher makes it alive for us, and when we have private devotions of reading God's word and praying after meditation on the Word.

Prayer is the foundation of our approach to God (John 16:23). It is much more than mouthing words which we don't understand or don't mean from the heart. Mat 6.6-8. It is communication between the heart of the believer and to the heart of God. Jer 29:10-13; Jer 33:3; Psa 145:18; 1John 1:3.

Books & Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 1 The Fellowship of Prayer
Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 13 Immortal Prayers of the Saints

Sermons

Bounds EM - Devotion: The Heart of Prayer (s)
Bounds EM - To Love Jesus (s)
Finney - Communion with God No1 No2

41.04.01.02 Praise <Menu>

Praise and thanksgiving are valuable parts of prayer. When we consider that prayer is to move God to do His own will, through using us as His blessed instrument of working, then we begin to see how prayer is God doing His own thing through us. The key to prayer is to give God what He wants, and hopefully He will use us to accomplish His glory.

In this process, we must abandon our own wills and only seek what is the will of God because that is the only thing God will respond to in the end analysis. Because we ask God to do His will through us, we get God's power in our lives.

But likewise worship, praise, and thanksgiving play an important part in our relationship with God. We may define these as following: worship - recognizing the moral character and attributes of God for who He is. Praise - Recognizing the past actions of God in relation to His people and others, or in general His wonderful works, such as creation, redemption, the incarnation, etc.  Thanksgiving - This is very similar to praise, recognition of God's actions and intervention in people's lives, but it is always a personal aspect of something that God has personally done for you.

These three elements take on a very important place in our prayer life. Part of wise and strong prayer is to use these three recognizing aspects of God in order for God to be pleased with you. The more God sees you recognize and value God's person, the closer you draw to God, and the more power your requests in prayer will have before God.

EdwardsJ - Praise, One of the Chief Employments of Heaven (s)

41.04.01.03 Thanksgiving <Menu>

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks….

Philippians 4:6 …in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God….

The basis of answering present requests is based on previous requests that were answered by God, and your recognition of those fulfilled requests. If you never thank God for what He has done so many times in the past, why do you think God will pay any attention to you now?

Psa 75; 1Thess 1:2

Broadus - Habit of Thankfulness (s)

41.04.01.04 Worship or Adoration of God <Menu>

Prayer is an opportunity and means of worshipping God. While "praise" and "thanksgiving" is a recognition of what God is doing or has done in your life personally, worship (adoration) is a recognition of what God is really independent of His actions, or better said, tracing the cause of God's actions to His moral character.

Psa 144-150; Luke 1:46-55.

41.04.01.05 Confession of Our Sins <Menu>

Psa 51; Luke 18.13.

Finney, Charles - Confession of Our Faults (s)
Finney, Charles - Mutual Confession of Faults, and Mutual Prayer (s)
 

41.04.01.06 Asking God, Our Petitions to God <Menu>

Prayer: God's way of Providing for Man's Needs and Wants

The most obvious characteristic of prayer is that we are asking God for something, e.g. rain, fire, relief from famine and plague, resurrections from the dead, etc (1Ki 8:55-40; 17.20-22; 18:26-39). In the O.T. most of the terms for prayer refer in some way to petition. We should fully understand and realize that prayer is the way by which God has designated that we are to obtain what we want from God. It opens the warehouse of heaven to the person who seeks what God has to give.

"Christian prayer, then, shared a simple belief that God could be petitioned to intervene and effect changes in nature and in the course of world events. The immediate source of this confidence came from the teachings and examples of Jesus himself, such as the model prayer he offered (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) and his assurance that one had only to ask the Father in order to receive what was needed (Matt 7:7; Luke 11:19). We can readily document that Jesus' instructions were taken to heart by his early followers: there were prayers for the selection of leaders, for deliverances from prisons, for the spread of the gospel, for healing, and so on (e.g. see Acts 1.24; 12:5; 13:3). Indeed, Paul's teaching in Philippians 4:6 echoes Jesus' own. Thus prayer was unquestioningly believed to be an effective cause of God's actions such that a difference resulted in human events." (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, entry on Prayer).

"Prayer is, however, much more than merely asking God for something, although that is a very valuable part of prayer if only because it reminds us of our utter dependence upon God. It is also communion with God -- intercourse with God -- talking with (not only to) God. We get to know people by talking with them. We get to know God in like manner. The highest result of prayer is not deliverance from evil, or the securing of some coveted thing, but knowledge of God. "And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true God" (John xvii. 3). Yes, prayer discovers more of God, and that is the soul's greatest discovery. Men still cry out, "O, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat" (Job 23:3)."
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 5 What is Prayer?

God is omniscient so He already knows everything that we have need of before we even ask it (Mat 6:8), everything we desire, and everything we think and he even knows our attitudes and our heart. This fact should not stop God's children from asking, but we should take note that the only thing God is waiting on in order to fulfill our requests is our petition of Him for the thing.

Mat 7:7-8; 18:19; 21:22; Luke 11:13; John 14:13-14; 15:7; James 1.5-6; 4:2-3; 1John 5:14.

41.04.01.06  Intercession <Menu>

Heb 7:25; 1Tim 2:1

Intercession is a legal term in which someone is pleading in court for or against another person.  Romans 11:2 – “Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel….” It is seeking the presence and hearing of God on behalf of others. In Romans 8:27, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. In Hebrews 7:25 Christ makes intercession for us. What a privilege we have – we can intercede for others.

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 8 Intecessory Prayers of Christians (Luke 11:5-6)
Bounds EM - Praying Ministry is Successful (s)
Finney, Charles - On Persevering Prayer for Others (s)
Meyer - Prayer of Intercession (s)

41.04.02 Auxiliary Important Concepts to Prayer  <Menu>

41.04.02.01 As Submission to God's Will <Menu>

Prayer is a difficult subject to understand. In the first place, we are God's creation, therefore God is our Creator, our Maker, our Owner. Think of it as if we are the lowliest slave that exists, that doesn't have the right or privilege of asking for anything.

Having that position in life, the fact that God adopts us and makes us His children opens a great door to us. First of all, we are now part of a family that before we were not. We enjoy privileges that really should not belong to us. We are treated as biological children of the great Master, and He commands us to come boldly before His present to commune with Him and ask what we may of Him.

Here is our situation. We have free access, but at the same time we should not come thinking we have any innate right to ask anything or even to come before God.

All of this casts our relationship with God into a certain tone of coming and asking, but in reverence and fear of God. We do not ask or seek what we want as a silly child will ask of his father thing after thing without thought to what he requests or the pleasure of his father in asking. We consider our relationship with God, and how our request things and what things we request of God, we should always keep in mind "our roots", and therefore always ask everything in the utmost reverence for God, and even though we ask what we have no right to receive, we ask on the basis of the goodness of God, the grace of God, and the work of Jesus our Savior on the Cross.

The key to getting what we ask for is in the thing that we ask for. We should ask God for what is His will, and not our own will. God's plan or method of operating is that we seek to do God's will because we believe it is the best and only viable way of doing things. No other will or way will have the genius and planning of God behind it. No other will or way has the wisdom and intelligence permeating it.

41.04.02.02 As Cooperation <Menu>

Prayer is also a cooperation between man and God. Through man's humbling himself before the throne of God, God receives the things God wants from man (worship, praise, thanksgiving, submission, etc), and God is therefore available and open to give us what we want or need.

When man is obstinate and stubborn so that he refuses to "bend the knee" in prayer before God, then God has to respond to this attitude with closing the doors of heaven to him until he changes his attitude.

41.04.02.03 As Conflict <Menu>

Prayer is a spiritual conflict within the person between what is his desire and what is God's will for him at this moment. This conflict manifests itself in a fighting between insisting with God for something, while at the same time questioning our understanding of things, that maybe we do not understand what is best for our own life. Also when God refuses our request or gives us a different answer that what we sought for, it is searching to understand why this has happened. Am I ignore of God's will in the matter? Do I need to pray harder for what I am asking for, or should I learn to be content with what God gives me? Where is my faith to seek more, and where is my ambition that disturbs my contentment and happiness with what I already have? Is God withholding what I am asking because it would do me damage instead good?

If we truly pray in the will of God, then the conflict still exists but is different. Our prayer is an assault against the plans and operations of Satan, and therefore Satan is opposing us instead of God.

41.04.02.04 As Fulfillment of the Promises of God  <Menu>

Prayer is not about us getting what we want, but us being a part of God completing His will, and getting what God wants. God has determined that He will act only upon the prayer of faith (Mark 11:24) and that makes the lack of prayer a gross sin.

Prayer is how God releases the power of heaven, and making the desires of God a reality through our actions.

Finney, Charles - OE39: 11 The Promises of God no. 1 (s)
Finney, Charles - OE39: 12 The Promises of God no. 2 (s)
Finney, Charles - OE39: 12 The Promises of God no. 3 (s)
Finney, Charles - OE39: 12 The Promises of God no. 4 (s)
Finney, Charles - OE39: 12 The Promises of God no. 5 (s)

41.04.03 Efficacy of Prayer

Literature

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much
Finney, Charles - Conditions of Prevailing Prayer (s)
Finney, Charles - How to Prevail with God (s)
Finney, Charles - Prevailing Prayer (s)
Moody, D.L. - Does God answer Prayer? (s)
Murray, Andrew - Power of Persevering Prayer (s)
Ogden, Samuel - Sermons on the Efficacy of Prayer and Intercession flipbook (1770)
Torrey - How to pray so as to Get what you ask (s)

41.04.03.01 As seen in the life of Jesus Christ

It should not pass by out attention that Jesus is the window to heaven which allows us to see into the Divine Mind of God the Father. Jesus' incarnation had the added importance (besides providing the vehicle or instrument of Salvation) of showing us how we should be before God the Father. Jesus' life is the perfect example for every Christian to follow. Jesus is the one who came from the bosom of the Father, and reveals to us all things.

When we see Jesus' prayers answered, we can study them and his prayer habits (Luke 3:21; 6:12; 9:16, 29; 22:32, 39-46; 23:34-46; Mat 27:46; John 17) as having the force of being a commanded example for us.

What Jesus' life teaches us about prayer is that prayer is the avenue for instruction in God's will, and that prayer is the means by which we obtain God's will.

If even Jesus, being God, was subjected to God the Father's will, (they were one and the same), then God's will is not up for being changed by mere mortals and creatures. But at the same time, God's will is not done unless it is prayed and pursued by us.

Mat 6:10 "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done"

God's will is being done by and through us when we seek that perfect will, and then we engage our lives in fulfilling that will. Part of this process is when we pray to understand God's will, so that we can do it.

The process is like this:

God's Will (undone) --> revelation of God's will --> pray to understand --> pray and doing this will --> God's will done.

Without our submission to this will, without our understanding of this will, without our desire to find and fulfill this will, God's will is incomplete. This is where prayer becomes the great key to God's will being done. God could have spoken and His will would be done as He created the universe, but God desires that man (willful and stubborn) submit himself to God's will so that it can be done through the glorious form of sinful and willful men doing it in submission to God.

Prayer is the key then to God's will.

41.04.03.02 Teachings of Jesus

Jesus chose to use parables (Luke 11:5-9; 18:1-14) and some incidental sayings ()Mat 5:44; 6:5-8; 7:7-11; 9:38; 17:21; 18:19; 21:22; 24:20; 26:41 to teach us about the power of prayer.

Jesus' presentation of prayer for us to observe and copy is that prayer is as when a small child requests something from his father (Mat 6:8; 7:11). Even though the Father knows best as far as whether the request is a valid request or not, the Father entertains the child in the form of hearing everything and any request (even the crazy or extreme requests), and then the father sorts through what the child has requested so that he might teach his child about life through the experience. This is a process that in general never will give the child every request he ever makes, but it is a request that as much as it gets what the child wants and needs into his hands, it also teaches the child "HOW TO REQUEST" (form of asking) and "WHAT TO REQUEST" (valid objects of asking). The underlying understanding or teaching here is the tender relationship between father and child, where the father will always no matter what have a love and affection for the ultimate good of the child attending to the child (Mat 7:7-11, Mat 21:22).

41.04.03.03 As seen in the Old Testament

 

41.04.03.04 As seen in the New Testament

 

41.05 Forms and Modes of Prayer  <Menu>

00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 |07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |Menu

41.05.01 Correct Forms of Prayer.  <Menu>

It should be noted that Jesus taught his disciples the correct form for prayer in the Lord's Prayer. So see The Lord's Prayer.

Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Smith's Dictionary Entry. The only form of prayer given for perpetual use in the Old Testament is the one in Deu_26:5-15, connected with the offering of tithes and first-fruits, and containing, in simple form , the important elements of prayer, acknowledgment of God's mercy, self-dedication and prayer for future blessing. To this may, perhaps, be added the threefold blessing of Num_6:24-26, couched as it is in a precatory form, and the short prayer of Moses, Num_10:35-36, at the moving and resting of the cloud, the former of which was the germ of the 68th Psalm. Psalms 68.

Books & Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 4 The Praying that Glorifies God
Coxe, H.O. - Forms of Bidding Prayer flipbook (1840)
Finney, Charles - Acceptable Prayer (s)
Torrey - How to Pray (s)

41.05.01.01 Praying with Reverence for God<Menu>

When we come before God in prayer, even though we have the command to come boldly (not be timid and reserved in not talking to God), we should always come with reverence. Psa 99:5

41.05.01.02 Boldness in prayer  <Menu>

Hebrews 11:6 "believe that He is"

John 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

The correct approach to God is one of faith. We must believe that God exists, and we must worship God. Without faith in God, and worship of God by ordering our life into the will of God, we will find prayer frustrating, useless, and a dead end.

Enjoined - Heb 4:16

Exemplified by Abraham in his inquiry concerning Sodom - Gen 18:23-32

By Moses, supplicating for assistance in delivering Israel - Exo 33:12, 18

41.05.01.03 Praying without ceasing  <Menu>

1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
 

The concept of praying without ceasing simply means that we are constantly in a solemn attitude of prayer. We constantly talk with God in our minds, commenting and listening for God's reaction about the moment by moment affairs of our life. In whatever moment that we see a matter that we could pray for, we do so.

 

We must contrast this with Matthew 6:6, "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will repay you."

 

God wants us to set ourselves apart in a solitary place where we can speak at length with God with interruptions. This speaks of a special place (or a special characteristic of a place, solitude) and of a special time, when other people would not be bothering Him.

41.05.01.04 Praying in a loud voice, satirized by Elijah  <Menu>

1 Kings 18:27

41.05.01.05 Weeping in prayer   <Menu>

Ezr 10:1

Books: See the Book list on 41.01 The Lord's Prayer

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 2 Our Requests made Known unto God Phil 4:6
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 9 Three Essentials of Prayer (Ask, seek, Knock) (Luke 11:10)
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 10 Asking and Receiving (Luke 11:10)
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 11 Seeking and Finding (Luke 11:10)
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 12 Knocking that Obtains an Opening (Luke 11:10)
Finney, Charles - Acceptable Prayer (s)

41.05.02 Types of Prayer  <Menu>

41.05.02.01 Family Prayer   <Menu>

James, John Angell - Family Prayer (s)

(see Family Devotions below)

41.05.02.02 Secret (alone) prayer   <Menu>

Gen 24:63; Mat 6:5-6; 14:13, 23; Mark 1:35; 6:46-47; Luke 6:20; Dan 6:10; 1Ki 4:33; Acts 9:40.

Christians should engage in both secret and public prayer. Private prayer is to be the mainstay of the believer's life (Mat 6:6). The "closet" is not so much a place as it is a retreat from the activities and places of interchange of the world and family. It is someplace quiet, alone, and without interruption.

Adams, Nehemiah - Power of the Holy Spirit (1866) Ch 5 Duty of Christians to Secret Prayer
Alexander, James - My Brother's Keeper, Ch20 Secret Prayer

41.05.02.03 Silent prayer   <Menu>

Psa 5:1; Exod 14:15; 1Sam 1:13

41.05.02.04 Public prayer   <Menu>

1Ki 8:22-23; Mat 18:19-20; Luke 1:10, Acts 1:14; 2:42; 12:5, 12; 16:13, 16; 21:5; Rom 15:30; 2Co 1:11.

Public prayer is part of public worship and requires decency and order as much as any other aspect of public worship (1Cor 14:33, 40). From the standpoint of principle for public worship in that chapter, worship is "one by one" and "that by course."

Public prayer has to be intelligible (1Cor 14:1-19).

There are many examples of public prayer such as Solomon's dedication of the temple (1Kings 8; 2Chron. 6). But it should be noted that public prayer is not for the primary purpose of those humans hearing it as it is for God's hearing of it.

Prayer is never to be a public display or show where the person praying prays in order to impress others (even God) of his spirituality (Mat 6:5).

41.05.03 Incorrect Forms of Prayer.  <Menu>

41.05.03.01 Long prayers.  <Menu>

Of the Pharisees - Mat 23:14.

Of the scribes - Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47

41.05.03.02 Profuse prayers, to be avoided   <Menu>

Ecclesiastes 5:2; Mat 6:7.

41.05.03.03 Without Ostentation   <Menu>

Mat 6:6; Luke 18:11.

41.05.03.04 Vain repetitions of prayers, to be avoided   <Menu>

Mat 6:7.

We are to pray always, but we are not to use vain repetitions. The idea of a vain repetition is a simple repeating of the same words over and over again without them coming from our heart, and from the logic of our minds. This is illustrations in its incorrect form by Catholics who recite blindly and without understanding a prayer in Latin which they do not understand, or worse by the Hindis who repeat a mantra, or the name of a pagan deity they worship which, and simply repeat his name an innumerable amount of times (invoking his protection and help by doing this).

41.05.03.05 Asking for tokens as assurance of answer of prayer  <Menu>

By Abraham's servant - Gen 24:14.

Gideon asks for a sign of dew on a fleece - Jdg 6:36-40.

41.05.03.06 Instances of rebuked prayers  <Menu>

Of Moses, at the Red Sea - Exo 14:15

Of Moses, when he prayed to see Canaan - Deu 3:23-27

Of Joshua - Jos 7:10

41.05.04 Modes of prayer.   <Menu>

(Fausset Bible Dictionary Entry)
(1) Sighing meditation (hagigiy), intense prayer of the heart (margin Isa 26:16).
(2) Cry.
(3) Prayer "set in order" ("direct," 'atak), as the wood upon the altar, the shewbread on the table (Psa 5:1-3; Gen 22:9). Prayer is not to be at random; God has no pleasure in the sacrifice of fools (Ecc 5:1). The answer is to be "looked for," otherwise we do not believe in the efficacy of prayer (Hab 2:1; Mic 7:7). Faith realizes need, and looks to Him who can and will save. This is the reason of Peter's telling the impotent man, "look on us" (Act 3:4); expectancy and faith (so Mat 9:28).
(4) "Pouring out the heart before God"; emptying it of all its contents (1Sa 1:8; 1Sa 1:15; Lam 2:19; Psa 142:2; 1Pe 5:7; Psa 62:1; Psa 62:8, "waiteth," literally, is silent unto God.
(5) Ejaculation, as Nehemiah in an absolute king's presence, realizing the presence of the higher King (Neh 2:4), and amidst all his various businesses (Neh 5:19; Neh 13:14; Neh 13:22-31).

See Posture of Prayer Fausset
See Places of Prayer Fausset

Prayer to God is the only valid prayers seen in the Bible.

41.05.05 To whom is Prayer directed  <Menu>

41.05.05.01 Prayer to the Father

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

We pray according to the will of God the Father through the door of opportunity which Jesus the Son has given us.

41.05.05.02 Prayer to the Son  <Menu>

John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24; Eph 5:20; Heb 13:15; 1Pet 2:5.

Boston - Praying in the Name of Christ (s)
Broadus - In Jesus' Name (s)

41.05.05.03 Prayer to the Holy Spirit  <Menu>

Finney - On Prayer for the Holy Spirit (s)

41.05.06 The Lord's Prayer  <Menu>

See here for the Lord's Prayer

41.05.07 Time of Prayer (When)  <Menu>

Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10

We see David, Isaiah, Jesus, and others who left comments about their habit of praying early in the day (Psalm 5:3; Mark 1:35). This would seem to the way for a child of God to start and end his day.

Three times a Day: (Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10, 13; Acts 2:1, 15; 10:9, 30)

    Third Hour (Morning) - Acts 2:15 (morning sacrifice)

    Sixth Hour (Noonday)

    Ninth Hour (Evening) - Gen 24:63; Acts 3:1; 10:3; Dan 9:21 (evening sacrifice)

 

"Grace before meat" - Seems to have been a common practice Mat 15:36; Acts 27:35.

Daily Psa 86:3; Acts 2:46

Praying daily in the morning - Psa 5:3; Psa 88:13; Psa 143:8;119:147; Isa 33:2; Mark 1:35

Praying twice daily - Psa 88:1; Ps 22:1-2; 77:2; 88:1; Neh 1:6; Luke 18:7; 1Thess 3:10; 2Tim 1:3

Praying thrice daily - Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10

Praying at Midnight - Ps 119:62; Acts 16:25
Praying at Night - Ps 63:6; Isa 26:8-9; Luke 6:12

Praying all night - Luke 6:12

 

Spontaneity

"...petitions were, in part, motivated by the need of the moment. In fact, a notable characteristic of New Testament prayer (and its predecessor) was its spontaneity. Prayer was to be placed in the midst of everyday life, not just reserved for liturgical contexts. Accordingly, petitions were to cover the entire gamut of one's life, including material and spiritual needs, though by the time we reach the New Testament period the former has been subordinated to the latter, as the pattern of the Lord's Prayer suggested. The pray-er (the one who prays) should feel free to make requests of God, which, according to biblical material is equivalent to letting God know the desires of one's heart (see Job 6:8; Psalm 21:2; Php 4:6)." (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, entry on Prayer)

41.05.08 Place of Praying  <Menu>

41.05.08.01 In any place

1Tim 2:8; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 6:18;  Isaiah 66:1-2;  Jeremiah 7:4; Mark 13:1-2; Acts 7:48-50; 17:24-25, 29-30; 2 Corinthians 5:1

41.05.08.02 At home.

Daniel 6:10; Acts 9:11; 12:12

41.05.08.03 On the battlefield.

1 Chronicles 5:20; 2 Chronicles 13:13-16

41.05.08.04  In a mountain.

Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 6:12; 9:28

41.05.08.05  On a housetop.

Acts 9:9

41.05.08.06 In a garden.

Matthew 26:36; Mark 14:32-40; Luke 22:39-40

41.05.08.07 In a desert or secret place.

Matthew 14:13; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16

41.05.08.08 In a field.

Genesis 24:63

41.05.08.09 On a riverside.

Acts 16:13; 21:5

41.05.08.10 In the belly of a fish.

Jonah 2:1

41.05.08.11 In a closet.

Matthew 6:6

41.05.08.12 In jail.

Acts 16:25

41.05.09 Physical Positions of Prayer  <Menu>

(Note that in the literature this is referred to as an attitude or gesture.)

Standing Gen 18:22; Isa 38:2-3; 1Sam 1:26; 1Kin 8.22; Mat 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11, 13.
Bowing Ex 4:31
Kneeling 1Ki 8:54, compare with 2Ch 6:13; Ezr 9:5; Psa 95:6, 8; Dan 6:10; Mat 17:14; Mark 1:40; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; 9:40; 20:36.
Kneeling with face between the knees 1Kin 18.42
Sitting 2Sam 7:18; Neh 1:4; Acts 2:2; 16:13.
On their face before God 2Chr 20:18; Mat 26:39; Mark 14:35; 1Kings 18:42
Prostration Num 16:22; Jos 7:6, 10; Ezra 10:1; 1Ki 18:42; Neh 8:6; Ezek 9:8; 11:13; Mat 26:39

Uplifted Hands - Exo 17:11f; Psa 141:2
Outspread palms waiting to receive - 1Kings 8:22
Uplifted Eyes - Psa 121:1; Mat 14:19

It would seem obvious that the position or posture used in prayer has to do with the attitude of the person at the particular time when he is praying, and his relationship in general with God. The rule would seem to be that the more humble and broken that a person is when he comes to God, the lower the prone position he takes. Also the more earnest desire the person has for the petition he is offering, the lower the position.

"S. Augustine : When men pray, they, as becomes suppliants, make use of their bodily members, for they bend the knee, they stretch forth their hands, they even prostrate on the ground and perform other visible acts. Yet all the while their invisible will and their heart's intention are known to God. He needs not these signs for the human soul to be laid bare before Him. But man by so doing stirs himself up to pray and groan with greater humility and fervour. I know not how it is that whereas such bodily movements can only be produced by reason of some preceding act on the part of the soul, yet when they are thus visibly performed the interior invisible movement which gave them birth is thereby itself increased, and the heart's affections ”which must have preceded, else such acts would not have been performed” are thereby themselves increased.

Yet none the less, if a man be in some sort hindered so that he is not at liberty to make use of such external acts, the interior man does not therefore cease to pray ; in the secret chamber of his heart, where lies compunction, he lies prostrate before the eyes of God {San Augustine Of Care for the Dead, v.)."

Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Although in this passage of Luke 18 there is no bowing or getting down, but the concept is very clear that the man with God's ear is the humble man that lowered himself before God. The self-justifying person is excluded from God.
See Secrets to Prayer, especially Meekness.

41.05.10 Family Devotions  <Menu>

Joshua 24:15; 2Sam 6:20.

Books

Abbott, Gorham - The Family at Home
Anonymous - A Book of Family Prayer, Christian Duty of Family Worship flipbook (1839)
Anonymous - A Book of Prayer for Church and Home flipbook (1894)
Bellingham, C. - A Manual of Family Prayer flipbook (1870) Irishman
Brooks, Charles - A Family Prayer Book and Private Manual flipbook (1853)
Davis, William - Family Religion especially as exemplified in Family Prayer flipbook (1847)
Dillon, J.J. - Devotional Readings for Family Prayer flipbook (1885)
Fleming, Patrick Henry (1862-) - Mother's Answered Prayer flipbook(1905)
Hinds, Samuel - Christian's Prayer flipbook (1831) (Church of England)
Ker, John (1848-) Family Prayer for Busy People flipbook (1902)
Knight, Samuel - Forms of Prayer, For the Use of Christian Families flipbook
Mant, Richard - The Book of Daily Family Prayer, for Every Morning flipbook (1836)
Mead, William - Family Prayers flipbook (1834) (Episcopal Church)
Mumford, Edith Emily Read - How we can help Children to Pray (1928)
Pusey, E.B. - Familiar Instructions on Mental Prayer flipbook (1856)

41.05.11 Corporate Prayer  <Menu>

Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 5 "Gather my Saints Together"
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 6 "Whither the Tribes Go Up "
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 7 Gathered of God
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 8 "A House of Prayer for All People"
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 9 The Church's Prayer and Spiritual Increase
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 11 Corporate Prayer
Finney, Charles - Primitive Prayer-Meeting (s)
Finney, Charles - Meetings for Prayer (s)
Mackintosh, C.H. - Prayer and the Prayer Meeting (s)
Moody, D.L. - Gospel Awakening, Sermons, addresses, prayer-meeting Talks flipbook (1883)

Ewing - Temple Dictionary of the Bible "Prayer"
"Probably the prayers of the early Church, while largely spontaneous, were also partly liturgical (Acts 2:42 "the prayers"), and even at the end of free prayers an Amen was uttered by the assembled believers (1Cor 14:16; cp Neh 8:6). For doxology at the close of prayer see Eph 3:20f; Heb 13:20f; 1Pet 5:10f."

41.05.12 Personal Devotions  <Menu>

Definition: Personal Devotions as conceived by most Christians is a personal time (a person is alone without other people talking to them or with them) in which this person reads the Word of God, meditates on what God tells him through the Bible reading, and then he prays to God.

Clarification: Although we see prayer a constant element in the men of God in Scriptures, we never find this concept of devotions in the Bible. Actually the concept of reading the Word of God and meditating upon it does not have to be at the same moment or together with praying.

In the Deeper Life movement of the Holiness Movement, the concept of daily devotions gained a very strong grip on the religious lives of many Christians, and the reason being is that this movement is very deeply rooted in emotionalism as the basis of their Christian faith. Therefore they absolutely must have a daily dose of emotion to get their feelings up so that they can meet the day. Again in Scriptures we find Christians who believe because they know, they know because they study God's word, and their logic and minds lead and control and subdue their emotional life, guiding it to where it should go, but not allowing it to run free and roughshod over their life in general.

I (David Cox) personally would not discourage daily devotions, but I would not make it an emotional daily pump up time instead of communion with God and Bible study to know God personally and understanding His will. I think that study and understanding is more important than just emotions.

Anonymous - Horae Canonicae, Devotions for 7 stated hours of prayer (from Roman Breviary) flipbook (1841)
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian
Anonymous - The Daily Round, Meditation Prayer and Praise adapted to Christian Year flipbook (1894)
Bickersteth, Edward - A Treatise on Prayer, Designed to Assist in Its Devout Discharge flipbook (1822)
Bourdillon, Francis - Alone with God, or Helps to Thought and Prayer flipbook (1893)
Cohu, John Rougier (1858-) Oremus, or Place of Prayer in Modern Religious Life flipbook (1908)
Compton, Berdmore - The Armoury of Prayer, A book Devotion flipbook (1877)
Deane, William John - A Manual of Household Prayer for Morning and Evening flipbook (1857)
Gordon, Samuel Dickey (1859-1936) - Quiet Talks on Prayer
Hügel, Friedrich Freiherr von (1852-1925) - Life of Prayer Flipbook (1929)
Jowett, John Henry (1864-1923) - Come ye Apart, Daily Exercises in Prayer and Devotion flipbook (1920)
Ker, John (1848-) Family Prayer for Busy People flipbook (1902)
Lerrigo, Peter Hugh James (1875-1958) (Baptist) - God's Dynamite, or Changing the world by Prayer flipbook (1925)
MacDuff, John Ross - Gloria Patri, A Book of Private Prayer for Morning and Evening flipbook (1890)
Manning, Jacob Merrill (1824-1882) - Helps to a Life of Prayer flipbook (1875)
McGaw, Francis - Praying Hyde
Murray, Andrew - With Christ is the School of Prayer (b) 630K (148 pages)
Parker, William R - Prayer can change your Life, Experiments and Techniques in Prayer Therapy flipbook (1957)
Pollock, Thomas Benson - The Daily Round, Meditation, Prayer, and Praise flipbook (1882)
Porter, David Richard (1882-) - The Enrichment of Prayer Flipbook (1918)
Richards, Thomas Cole (1866-) - Young men and Prayer flipbook (1918)
Rowe, Elizabeth Singer (1674-1737) & Watts, Isaac - Devout Exercises of the heart in meditation and soliloquy, prayer and praise flipbook (1855)
Ryle, J.C. - A Call to Prayer (s)
Sadler, Michael Ferrebee - The Communicant's Manual, a book of self-examination, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving flipbook (1874)
Sutton, J. Wilson - Our Life of Prayer flipbook (1938)
Tileston, Mary Wilder (1843-1934) - Great Souls at Prayer 14 centuries of Prayer, Praise, and Aspiration from St Augustine to Christina Rossetti and Robert Louis Stevenson flipbook (1898)
Vaughn, Charles John (1816-1897) - Voices of the Prophets, or Faith, prayer, and human life flipbook (1867)

41.06 The Lord's Prayer <Menu>

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See here a separate new page.

41.07 Examples of Prayer  <Menu>

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Of George Muller - "Many times prayers were said over empty plates only to have food arrive at the last moment. Mueller resolved never to tell anyone what his needs were. He told them to God and confidently expected them to be met."

E.M. Bounds - "God has of his own motion placed himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained prayer as a means whereby he will do things through men as they pray, which he would not otherwise do."

John Bunyan - "In prayer, it is better to have heart without words, than words without heart. Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin entice a man to cease from prayer." and "Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer."

Oswald Chambers - "Prayer is not an exercise. It is the life of the saint."

J. Vernon McGee - "The disciples went to our Lord and said, 'Lord, teach us to pray' (Luke 11:1). They did not ask Him how to pray; they weren't looking for lessons on technique or an outline for ritualistic prayer. They had obviously heard our Lord pray, and they wanted to learn how to pray on the same high level as He did. This is a request many of us today need to make: 'Lord, teach us to pray.'"

Charles Haddon Spurgeon - "He who lives without prayer, he who lives with little prayer, he who seldom reads the Word, and he who seldom looks up to heaven for a fresh influence from on high -- he will be the man whose heart will become dry and barren."

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 13 Immortal Prayers of Saints (Revelation 5:8)
Anonymous - God's Own Testimony to Prayer, the Prayers of Holy Scripture and Answers thereto flipbook (1874)

41.07.01 Intercessory Prayer  <Menu>

Intercessory Prayer is when one person prays for the needs or problems of others. We act as a priest to stand between God and another human being to influence God on behalf of that other person. We can ask God to bless or curse the other person. Jesus taught his disciples to bless their enemies (Mat 5:44; Luke 6.27-28; Rom 12:14), and Paul taught us to be constantly in prayer for the saints (Eph 6:18; James 5:16), and especially for governmental rulers (1Tim 2:1-2).

Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

To God for others

of Abraham for Abimelech Gen 20:17
of Isaac for his wife Gen 25:21
of Moses for the people Exo 32:11; 33:12; Num 11:2
of Moses for Miriam Num 12:13
of Samuel for the people 1Sam 13:23
of Christians for Peter Acts 12:5
of Jesus for his executioners Acts 7:60
of Jesus for all Christians Mat 6:9; Luke 11:2; John 17:1
of Paul for the Jews Rom 9; 10:1
of the church for Paul Rom 15:30
for Christians 2 Cor 1:11; Eph 1:16; 6:18; Col 4:3; 1Thes 5:25; 2Thes 3:1; Heb 12:18
for enemies Mat 5:44; Luke 23:34

Books and Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 8 The Intercessory Prayers of Christians
Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 14 Christ Pleads His Will
Anonymous - A Manual of Intercessory Prayer flipbook (1828)
Austin-Sparks - Nehemiah Chapter 3 A Model Prayer of Intercession
Benson, Richard Meux (1824-1915) - Manual of Intercessory Prayer Flipbook (1889)
Broadus - Sermons and Addresses Ch 5 He ever liveth to intercede
Coxe, H.O. - Forms of Bidding Prayer flipbook (1840)
Lee, Frederick George - The Christian Doctrine of Prayer for the Departed flipbook (1872)
McClure, James Gore King (1848-1932) - A Mighty Means of Usefulness, a Plea for Intercessory Prayer flipbook (1902)
Murray, Andrew - The Ministry of Intercession, A plea for more Prayer flipbook (1898)

See Prayer as a Ministry

41.07.02 Imprecatory Prayer  <Menu>

Nave's Lists the Imprecatory Prayers

Num 16:15; Num 22:6-11; Num 23:7-8; Num 24:9-10; Deu 11:29-30; Deu 27:11-13; Deu 33:11; Jos 8:33-34; Jdg 16:28; 2Sa 16:10-12; Neh 4:4-5; Neh 5:13; Job 3:1-10; Job 27:7; Psa 5:10; 6:10; 9:20; 10:2; 10:15; 25:3; 28:4; 31:17-18; 35:4; 35:8; 35:26; 40:14-15; 54:5; 55:9; 55:15; 56:7; 58:7; 59:5; 59:11; 59:15; 68:1-2; 69:23-24; 69:27-28; 70:2-3; 71:13; 79:10; 79:12; 83:13-17; 94:2; 109:7; 109:9-20; 109:28-29; 119:78; 119:84; 129:5; 140:9-10; 143:12; 144:6; Jer 11:20; Jer 12:3; Jer 15:15; Jer 17:18; Jer 18:21-23; Jer 20:12; Lam 1:22; Lam 3:64-66; Gal 1:8-9; 2Ti 4:14-15

An imprecatory prayer is a prayer against another person, presumably against an enemy of God.

In the OT, the Mosaic economy demonstrate God's holiness and justice (Psa 79:10-13; Ezek 28:22). The situation was God's people concentrated into a single nation which other nations fought against to destroy God's people. Under this economy it was apparently correct to pray against the enemies of God and Israel. What these prayers were about was an expressed desire to quickly speed up God's judgment on the wicked.

Now that the people of God are dispersed among many nations and nationalities, it is inappropriate to pray imprecatory prayers. We have no examples of imprecatory prayers in the NT, just strong wishes (1Cor 16:22; Gal 1:8-9; 5:12; 2Tim 4:14). But God does not have a slack and light view towards sin nor false prophets in the NT.

41.07.03 Penitential Prayers   <Menu>

The classic example is Psa 51:1-19

• Recognition of the Mercy of God Psa 51:1
• Recognition that only God can cleanse the heart Psa 51:2, 6,7
• Acknowledgment of personal guilt Psa 51:3
• Realization that sin is primarily against God and offends His holiness Psa 51:4
• Acknowledgement of our sinful nature Psa 51:5
• Realization that God's discipline is a result of our sin Psa 51:8-9
• Realization that repentance involves our attitude as well as our actions Psa 51:10
• Realization that service is impossible with unconfessed sin in our lives Psa 51:11-15
• Godly sorrow for sin Psa 51:16-19

Repentance and confession of sin must be a consistent part of our lives James 5:16; 1John 1:9.

41.07.04 Prayers of Christ  <Menu>

Jesus Himself spent much time alone in prayer.

Matthew 14:23
Mark 1:35; 6:46; 14:32-40
Luke 3:21-22; 5:16; 6:12-13; 9:18, 28-29; 11:1; 22:31-32, 39-46; 23:34
John 6:15
Hebrews 5:7

Temple Dictionary of the Bible page 622
Even Jesus felt the need of solitary prayer (Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 22:39), seven special occasions being mention only by Luke (Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28; 11:1; 23:34, 46), and He prayed with strong emotion (Mark 7:34; John 12:27; Luke 22:44; Heb 5:7). He set the example of grace before meat (Mat 14:19; and parallels; Mat 15:36; Mark 8:6; Luke 24:30; cp Acts 27:35; see also Mat 26:26f): He prayed in the presence of His disciples (Luke 11, John 17:1), and of the people (John 11:41; 12:27); for His disciples and future believers (John 17:9ff), for an individual disciple (Luke 22:32), and for His enemies (Luke 23:34), He continues His intercession in heaven (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1John 2:1), in John 16:26ff He does not deny this heavenly intercession, but points to the willingness of the Father Himself.

Broadus - Saviour Praying for Us (s)
Best - Studies in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ Chapter 16 Christ's prayer life
Spurgeon - Christ's Prayer for His People (s)

41.07.05 Prayers of Moses  <Menu>

Exo 32:11, 31; Num 14:13; Deu 3:23
of Moses for the people Num 6:22
on the removal of the ark Num 10:35

41.07.06 Prayers of Elijah  <Menu>

41.07.07 Prayers of Paul  <Menu>

The New Testament epistles reveal an intense devotional life of prayer in the ministry of Paul the apostle.

Romans 1:9 "... without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers."
2 Corinthians 12:8
Ephesians 1:16 "Cease not ... making mention of you in my prayers."
Philippians 1:3, 4 "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy."
Colossians 1:9 "... since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you ..."
Philemon 4 "... making mention of thee always in my prayers."
2 Timothy 1:3 "...without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day."

Spurgeon - Paul's First Prayer (s)

41.07.08 Most Notable Prayers  <Menu>

Smith Lists Solomon's dedication of the Temple (1Ki 8:23-58), and Joshua, the high priest, after the captivity (Neh 9:5-28).

Of Abraham's Servant - Gen 24:12
Of Jacob Gen 32:9
Of Gideon Judges 6:17, 37
Of Manoah Judges 13:8
Of Samson Judges 16:28
Of Hannah 1Sam 1:10
Of David 2 Sam 7:18; 1Chro 29:10; Psa 5:1
Of Solomon at temple dedication 1Ki 8:22; 2Chr 6:12
Of Hezekiah 2Ki 19:15; 20:2
Of Manasseh in his Distress 2Chr 33:12
Of Daniel 9:3
Of Jonah 2:1
Of Habakkuk 3:1
Of Asa 2Ch 14:11
Of Jehoshaphat 2Chr 20:6
Of Ezra 9:6
Of the Levites Neh 9:5
Of Esther 4:16
Of Amos 7:2, 5
Of Zacharias for a son Luke 1:13
Of Cornelius Acts 10:1

Christ's Intercessory Prayer John 17
The Lord's Prayer Mat 6:9-15
The Tax Collector's Prayer Luke 18:13
Habakkuk's Prayer Habakkuk 3:2-19
Prayer of Ezra Ezra 9:5-15
Daniel's Prayer for Captive Jews Dan 9:4-10
Hezekiah's Prayer when Sick Isa 38:2-8
King Hezekiah's Prayer 2Ki 19:15-19
Prayer of Jabez 1Chr 4:10
Elijah's Prayer at Mount Carmel 1Ki 18:36-39
Solomon's Prayer at Dedication 1Ki 8:22-30
David's Prayer of Thanks 2Sam 7:18-29
Abraham's prayer for Sodom Gen 18:23-25
Stephen's Prayer at his Stoning Act 7:59-60
Paul's Prayer for Spiritual Growth Eph 3:14-21
Paul's Prayer for Knowing God's Will Col 1:9-12
Paul's Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom Eph 1:15-23
Paul's Prayer for Partners in Ministry Phil 1:3-11
A Prayer of Praise Jude 1:24-25

Nave's has a large list of notable prayers.

41.07.09 Other Prayers <Menu>

Broadus - Prayer of the Woman of Canaan (s)
Moody, D.L. - Prayers of D.L. Moody (s)

41.08 Requirements of Biblical Prayer   <Menu>

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Fausset Dictionary Entry: Requirements in prayer. Spiritual worship, in spirit and truth, not mere form (Mat 6:6; Joh 6:24; 1Co 14:15). No secret iniquity must be cherished (Psa 66:18; Prov 15:29; Prov 28:9; Jam 4:3; Isa 1:15). Hindrances to acceptance are pride (Job 35:12-13; Luke 18:14), hypocrisy (Job 27:8-10), doubt, double mindedness, and unbelief (Jam 1:6; Jer 29:13; Mar 11:24-25; Mat 21:22), not forgiving another, setting up idols in the heart (Eze 14:3). Doing His will, and asking according to His will, are the conditions of acceptable prayer (1Jo 3:22; 1Jo 5:14-15; Jam 5:16); also persevering importunity in prayer for ourselves, taught in the parable of the importunate widow; as importunity in intercession for others, that the Lord would give us the right spiritual food to set before them, is taught in that of the borrowed loaves (Luke 18:1, etc.; Luke 11:5-13).

41.08.01 Pray in God the Father's Will  <Menu>

Mark 14:32-36; John 15:7; Rom 8:27; 1John 5:14-15.

"At this point we must guard against equating Christian belief in the efficacy of prayer and magic. Magic attempts to control or manipulate the divine will in order to induce it to grant one's wishes, especially through the use of techniques such as charms, spells, rituals, or ceremonies. Christian prayer involves a struggle of wills in which the pray-er attempts to persuade God, all the time seeing prayer as a divinely given means whereby the pray-er can participate in God's agenda." (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, entry on Prayer).

Before we ever express a desire (prayer) to God, we must take much time and effort to assure ourselves that what we desire is in God's will before we ask it. This is a precaution that is extremely important and necessary. If we haphazardly pray, perhaps God will grant us our request in order to teach us how foolish our desires are. This is a hard learning experience, and it is one that is best avoided by being wise and not foolish in the first place.

We must desire God's guidance in selecting what we want before God will enter in strongly to provide us with what we have asked. (Rom 8:26; Jude 1:20; Eph 6:13; James 4:13-15; Jer 9:24.)

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 4 Praying that Glorifies God John 14:13
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 14 Christ Pleads His Will (John 17:25)
Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne: Some Considerations on the Prayer-Life Ch 4 Some Mental Difficulties in Prayer (Sections: Prayer and the Will of God, Confliction Between Submission and Importunity, Prayer as Educative, Nature of Importunity, Moral Excellencies of Christ Inwrought, Spiritual Understanding Secured, Taking Responsibility in Prayer)
Boston - How we ought to think about God's Providence (s)

41.08.02 Pray with definiteness of the Request  <Menu>

Broadus - Sermons and Addresses Ch 4 Ask and it shall be given you

41.08.03 Pray In Faith  <Menu>

This requirement is that we pray in faith, with confidence and assurance that God will answer our prayers if they are in His will.

Mat 21:22; Mar 11:24; Heb 11:6; James 1:5-7; 5:15.

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 5 Praying without Doubting Mark 11:23

“I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Luke 11. 9, 10).

This exhortation follows the parable of the unneighborly neighbor in which man’s unresponsiveness is contrasted with God’s responsiveness. We are heartened to ask that we may receive because we come to a friendly God, who is willing and ready to give us everything that we need. There is here an ascending climax. We are to “ask” in the sense of making formal request; we are to “seek” in the sense of prosecuting our quest; we are to “knock” in the sense of making urgent and repeated demands; and whether we pray for ourselves or for others, we are to keep on asking until we receive, and seeking until we find, and knocking until the door is opened.

In all these experiences there is more than aspiration, more than desire, more than “the continual disposition of prayer” there is actual, formal, definite petition. What the soul strongly desires it strongly pleads for; its desire is kindled into a blaze of earnest intreaty. It is clamorously insistent, eagerly acquisitive, greedily appropriative.

The ground for confident asking is placed by Jesus in God’s fatherly relation to the children of men. “Of which of you that is a father shall his son ask a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? Or, if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

(Verses 11-13.) 1 the words “how much more” we have an argument from the less to the greater; from the limited knowledge of the earthly father to the unlimited knowledge of the heavenly Father.

The one to whom we pray is one who knows us perfectly; he knows our needs; he knows all the circumstances of our lives; he knows what is the absolute best for us in any condition in which we can be placed.

Not only does he know, he also loves. His providential, foreseeing, fatherly care is over and around us. His hand is stretched to bless us, and to guide us in all the affairs of life. His responsiveness is the responsiveness of one who is sensitive to the slightest touch of appeal, and who is too good to keep back anything that he can safely bestow. He gives “good things,” according to Matthew; or the best and highest thing, namely, “the Holy Spirit,” according to Luke. To every suppliant he throws open the doors of the heavenly treasure house, saying, “My child, all that is mine is thine; for thee it is held, to thee will I minister it for thy good and not for thy hurt.”

Does anyone want to know what the God to whom he prays is like? Then let him turn to Jesus, in whose life of gracious, tender ministry the fatherly heart of God is revealed. To every one who sought his help he responded at once. If a sufferer but touched the hem of his robe, power was emitted, and he was made perfectly whole. His responsiveness to the demands made upon him was not merely an illustration of the responsiveness of God; it was the responsiveness of God. It was the response of a divine, personal Friend, touched with a feeling of human infirmity; a Friend who could not turn away the prayer of the weakest and the unworthiest from him, nor give a stone to anyone who asked for bread; a Friend who will always give what in his unerring wisdom he deems it best that any suppliant should receive.
Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 76.

41.08.04 Pray in the Holy Spirit  <Menu>

Rom 8:26-27; 1Co 14:2, 14-15; Eph 6:18; Jude 1:20.

Boston - How the Spirit Enables us to Pray (s)
Bunyan - Praying in the Spirit (s)
Finney, Charles - Spirit of Prayer (s)
Finney, Charles - Enduement from on High (s)
Finney, Charles - On Prayer for the Holy Spirit (s)

41.08.05 Pray with Understanding (thoughtfulness) <Menu>

1Cor 14:9, 13-17

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. "Wendt renders these words, 'When ye pray, do not babble as the heathen do.' Luther's word is 'blatter.' It is not repetition that is here condemned, but empty, meaningless repetition, like that of the worshipers of Baal, who called upon his name from morning even until noon, saying, ¡O Baal, hear us.' Earnest prayer is apt to be repetitious. A child keeps asking his mother for something in the same words; he keeps pushing his single request, until she decisively refuses or surrenders. We are to urge our plea in prayer in the same way. Jesus in the Garden prayed, 'saying again the same words' (Mat 26:44). His prayer was repetitious, but not vainly so. It expressed the white-heat of intense desire.

There is much aimless prayer; prayer without premeditation; prayer that is from the teeth outward; prayer that consists in 'eloquent and unctious phrases,' which signify nothing to the one who utters them. These prayers do not bear the hall-mark of reality. They are words and nothing more. Augustine makes a distinction between much speaking and much praying. He says, 'We may pray most when we say least, and we may pray least when we say most.' The Gentiles thought they would be heard for the multiplication of words rather than for the multiplication of prayers. Their mistake was a common one. Luther remarks, 'Few words and much meaning is Christian; many words and little meaning is heathenish.' We smile at the Tibetan and his prayer-wheel, while praying ourselves in the same mechanical fashion. We have need to remember that it is not the length but the strength of the prayer; not their size but their spiritual content; not their quantity but their quality, that renders them acceptable to God." Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 76.

41.08.06 Pray with purity of Heart and Life   <Menu>

Finney, Charles - Prayer for a Pure Heart (s)

41.08.07 Pray with Sincerity <Menu>

Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

"Instead of thinking of God alone, and speaking to him alone, they thought only of man, and addressed a human audience. Their devotion was a pitiful masquerade. They were not what they seemed to be. They had no sense of God's presence, no conscious outgoing of the heart toward him. In the place of self-effacement there was parade and ostentation; in the place of simplicity there was duplicity; in the place of childlikeness of spirit there was pride. Their praying was something which they expected to have laid to their credit. Looking to man's applause as their reward, they missed the reward of heaven. Their praying was everything that it ought not to have been. Hence the warning, 'Be ye not like them.'" Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 74-75.

41.08.08 Pray with a Forgiving Spirit  <Menu>

“Whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against anyone; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14-15). A forgiving spirit is a prime condition of acceptable approach to God. It is one of the distinctive marks of a Christian. The man who does not possess it has not the spirit of Christ, and has no standing before the Father as his spiritual child. It is expected that one who has been for given of God will forgive his brother.

The sandal tree perfumes when riven
The ax that laid it low,
Let him who hopes to be forgiven,
Forgive and bless his foe.

A spirit of forgiveness is one of the first fruits of Christian experience. “What can Jesus Christ do for you now?” exclaimed a cruel taskmaster, who was inflicting severe and unmerited punishment upon a slave. “He can help me to forgive you,”
was the reply. Whoever has not learned to forgive his brother man has not received his first lesson in the school of Christ; and when he prays the heavens above him will be as brass, and his prayers will come bounding back upon his own spirit, while he himself stands outside the circle within which divine mercy operates.
Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 77.

41.08.09 Pray with Watchfulness <Menu>

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Mark 14:38). “Watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
“Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:33).

Prayer is no substitute for action. It is effective when it works itself out. The answer to it generally comes when man himself cooperates with God in bringing it to pass. We are not warranted in asking God to do anything for us that we can do ourselves; but we are warranted in asking him for help to do our own work efficiently. Nothing is accomplished without his aid, and nothing is accomplished without the use of means. “I turn my camel loose, and commit him to God,” said one of his followers to Mohammed. “First tie up your camel and then commit him to God,” was the reply of the prophet.

The conjunction of watchfulness and prayer in the texts quoted implies that the one who prays will shun the temptations from which he asks God to keep him; that he will have a sharp eye for any loophole of escape; and that while faithful to his appointed task, he will maintain a sleepless out look for the return of “the Lord of the house.” He will use prayer as a safeguard of the soul, preparing by it beforehand for the sifting of soul that may come in the duties and temptations of the day.

Never will he reach a position in which the need for prayer and watchfulness is outgrown. Madam Guyon professed the doctrine of complete sanctification, yet she admits that she found it necessary to watch and pray, and to guard against spiritual pride, inasmuch as her state was only one of “comparative immutability.” The introduction of the word “comparative” saved her intellectual and spiritual sanity. There is no one, however firmly founded, who cannot be moved from his base; and because of that fact he dare not at any time cease to watch and pray. Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 79-80.

Books, Chapters, Sermons

M'Cheyne, Robert Murray - Watching unto Prayer (s)

41.08.10  Pray with Importunity <Menu>

“And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee? I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is a friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth” (Luke 2:5-8). This dramatic parable, which Luke places at the close of the Model Prayer, has for its lesson the true grounds of urgency in prayer. It is a parable of contrast, and illustrates the difference between selfish compliance and benevolent responsiveness. The reluctance of the churlish neighbor is real, the reluctance of the heavenly Father is seeming. Delay is not denial. Reasons may exist why a petition should not be granted at once, but no reason exists why God should withhold from his children what they really need.

God is as unlike this unfriendly, disobliging neighbor as it is possible to conceive. He does not give grudgingly. We do not require to wring a reluctant blessing from his hand. He delights to give; and if he withholds for a time, he is pleased with our urgency, although grieved that we should so often misunderstand his real feeling toward us.

“We prevail with men by importunity,” says Matthew Henry, “because they are displeased, but with God because he is pleased with it.” The certainty that God is interested in us, and is ready to answer our prayer is our encouragement, and affords a reasonable ground for importunity. Alford points out the closer connection between the parable and the words that follow, “Ask, and it shall be given you,” and sees in this completed truth a revelation of “the great law of our Father’s spiritual kingdom a clause out of the eternal covenant which cannot be changed.”
Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 80-81.

41.08.11  Pray with Persistency <Menu>

“And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). The parable to which these words are the preface is that of the unrighteous judge and the troublesome widow. Its object is the same as that of the preceding parable, and it resembles it still further in being a parable of contrast; but, whereas in the former parable the contrast is between a selfish neighbor and the heavenly Friend, here the contrast is between an unjust judge and the righteous Father.

Because God is well disposed prayer should be persistent. “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint”; that is, they ought to pray, and stay for the answer; they ought to pray through to the very end; not fainting because the way is long, and the answer slow in coming. The reason for persistence is not that it overcomes divine reluctance but that it finds a sure and certain response in divine willingness. We hold on and hold out because we know that our Father will not say us nay. We are all prone to grow remiss in prayer. Habit stales.

Long-continued strain produces lassitude. “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.” The hands hang down; and prayer, if not altogether given up, is continued in a feeble way, through the ever-decreasing momentum of a past experience. To rally our spiritual forces, and keep us upon our knees, Jesus told this story of the unrighteous judge who was moved to redress this widow, not as an act of justice, but because she kept plaguing him by her continual coming, and he asks, “Shall not the righteous Father, who is rich in mercy and ready to help, answer the cry for redress of his own elect, who are forever dear to him?” That is to say, If persistent pleading prevails over apathy, how much more will it prevail over love?

To this question Jesus answers, “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.” There will be no unnecessary delay. If the divine Father appears to tarry, it is because the proper hour has not yet struck, or because the petitioner is not prepared to receive what he has asked. The answer is to be calmly awaited. God will give it as speedily as possible, in view of all the interests involved; not be cause he has been teased and worried into compliance, but because he delights to give whenever he wisely can. A quiet trust in his love will lead us to keep praying on with a holy persistency that knows no abatement, while patiently waiting the outworking of his will.
Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 80-81.

41.08.12 Pray With Selflessness (Self-Denial)  <Menu>

“Worshiping with fastings and supplications night and day” (Luke 2:37). This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). The two words “and fasting,” in the latter text, are omitted from some of the best manuscripts, but many ancient authorities contain them. They are probably authentic; and they are certainly in harmony with subsequent apostolic teaching. Prayer and fasting are often connected in the writings of the apostles; and, what is still more significant, they have been connected in practice throughout the Christian centuries. The great saints have prayed with fasting.

Jesus himself neither enjoins nor forbids fasting, but he often assumes its practice by his followers.

He was no ascetic. “He came eating and drinking,” yet he recognized fasting as appropriate to times of sorrow, and as profitable in securing certain spiritual ends in Christian experience. He did not look upon it as a thing meritorious in itself, but simply as a means of obtaining self-conquest. By detachment from the physical, closer attachment to the spiritual was to be won; by keeping the body under the spirit was to be kept on the top; by unloosing the hold upon earth-life the soul was to be able to rise on the wings of prayer to its native heaven, and become open to a new infilling of divine power.
 Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 78.

41.08.13  Pray with Humbleness <Menu>

To impress the hearts of men with the need of humility in prayer, Jesus tells this story: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this public am I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10, 14). In the introduction to this story or parable it is stated that it was spoken for the benefit of “certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at naught.” Its object was to expose and to condemn the sin of self righteousness. With the Jewish people the vain glorious Pharisee was the model saint. They worshiped the very ground upon which he trod. How astonished and confounded therefore they must have been when Jesus, as a revolutionist in morals, hurled him from his pedestal, and put in his place the penitent publican thus giving to the world a new model of piety.

With a few sharp strokes he puts into bold relief the characteristics of these two men, showing that while engaging in the same act of worship they were as the poles asunder. The Pharisee stood up boldly, with eyes and hands uplifted, and prayed “with himself” or “to himself” ashamed to utter aloud the thoughts which his heart conceived.

What he looked upon as prayer was really a soliloquy, which failed to ascend to heaven. In a spirit of self-gratulation he begins with a recital of the catalogue of his virtues. He thanks the Lord that he is a shining exception to the rest of men.

He is not unjust in his dealings; he is not guilty of open sin; if he cannot boast of a clean heart, he can boast of clean hands. He fasts every Monday and Thursday; he tithes everything he earns going in both of these matters beyond the strict requirements of the law. Puffed up with pride and self complacency, he looks upon the Lord as his debtor for his work of supererogation; and upon his fellow worshipers standing in the rear he looks with a feeling of the utmost disdain. Self-deluded as to his real condition and to the issue of his prayer, he goes down from the temple to his house condemned of heaven.

The publican, on the other hand, with an utter absence of self-assurance, bends his eyes earth ward, while lifting his heart heavenward, and smites upon his breast in token of contrition, exclaiming, “God, be propitious to me the sinner.” He makes no pretense, and no apology. As a member of an ostracized class he has no reputation to maintain.

Moved by a deep sense of sinfulness, he casts him self in humility and self-abasement upon the mercy of God, with the result that his prayer is accepted, and he goes down to his house justified in the sight of heaven. “The Pharisee justified himself,” says Dr. A. T. Pierson, “but God condemns him; the publican condemns himself, but God justifies him.

From the lips of a sinner no other prayer than that of the humble tax gatherer is befitting, and no other will prevail.”
Campbell, James Mann (1840-1926) - The Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion flipbook (1915) page 80-81.

41.09 Motive or Purpose of Prayer (Why)  <Menu>

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Here I see a very great difficulty in separating what is God's purpose of prayer, and what are our spiritual benefits of praying. That being the case, I will lump the two things together, because God's purposes and our spiritual benefits are in the end one and the same.

41.09.01 Introduction to the Purpose of Prayer  <Menu>

PRAYER has to do with the entire man. Prayer takes in man in his whole being, mind, soul and body. It takes the whole man to pray, and prayer affects the entire man in its gracious results. As the whole nature of man enters into prayer, so also all that belongs to man is the beneficiary of prayer. All of man receives benefits in prayer. The whole man must be given to God in praying. The largest results in praying come to him who gives himself, all of himself, all that belongs to himself, to God. This is the secret of full consecration, and this is a condition of successful praying, and the sort of praying which brings the largest fruits.

The men of olden times who wrought well in prayer, who brought the largest things to pass, who moved God to do great things, were those who were entirely given over to God in their praying. God wants, and must have, all that there is in man in answering his prayers. He must have wholehearted men through whom to work out his purposes and plans concerning men. God must have men in their entirety. No double-minded man need apply. No vacillating man can be used. No man with a divided allegiance to God, and the world and self, can do the praying that is needed. Bounds - Essentials of Prayer Chapter 1 Prayer Takes in the Whole Man

Prayer is part of our devotional life with Christ. In reality, prayer is only part of our devotional relationship with God. A relationship is established when two people communicate. God talks to us through His Word, the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts and consciences. We speak to God through prayer. This devotional life is very important to our spiritual well-being.

Before we can understand what prayer is, we must understand it's divine commission and construction, and how it functions in our life. God instituted prayer. To communicate with God is really impossible, because God is extremely holy, and we are not. Without the redemptive work of Christ (Heb 4:16) to "open the door" between us and God, we could never communicate with God. It is on the basis of Christ's intercession that we can even communicate at all with God.

Having said that, God has opened wide the door for our communication with God, but it is not "easy" to talk with God because we can hide nothing from the Omniscient one, and to speak with God is to call attention to ourselves to God when we do so. The problem of prayer is that God sees us as we are, and without speaking out of hypocrisy, we have a hard time "opening up to" God. In other words, we can hide nothing from God, and God sees us for what we are. That means we must live in a way that pleases God, or contact with God will rebuke us. That is why people tend not to pray often or long with God.

Why does God make our prayers to Him such an essential and central part of our relationship with Him? Very simply, we have to assert the purpose of prayer...

Prayer is defined as knowing God, and expanding that relation with God.

Prayer is much more than just asking so as to get. I go to the store and ask for a loaf of bread, and the worker gives it to me. This is not like prayer at all. Prayer is different because there is a divine-human relationship upon which the interchange has to move and base itself. In other words, the asking is part of prayer, the receiving is part of prayer, but the fellowship, the relationship, the trust between the two parties, the understanding of the child who asks his heavenly father as well as the great wisdom and resources of the heavenly father also enter into the concept of prayer. The transmission from father to child is not limited to or exclusively "things" given, but also enters upon the Father's pleasure or displeasure at what the child asks for. When your young child is reckless, and he asks for a motorcycle, you know that he will probably greatly hurt himself if he gets the chance. It is not enough to warn him and give it to him anyway, nor to just say "no" without explanation. There must be reasoning and logic (wisdom) must prevail over the desires of the young one. He must understand that the father is dealing with a faulty quality in his son, and that this quality is what prevents the father from granting what the son wants. In reality, motorcycles are very dangerous even for cautious people. As a child my brother wanted one, until my parents witnessed a motorcycle accident in front of our house where the young man's skull was cracked open (even though he had a helmet on). After that point, there was no more reasoning nor any consideration. Their reasoning was hard to overturn. So we must add to our understanding of prayer...

Prayer is to understand God, God's ways, character, disposition towards things, His commands, and His prohibitions.

The point of prayer is not just getting things from God, but for us to understand the why and wherefore of things, so that we understand the reasons behind the commands and prohibitions.

For example, God commands us in the 10 commandments (Exo 20) not to use any images in our worship of Him. There is a great risk in using these "helps" to our worship of God, because the human heart will focus on the external appearance rather than on the spirit which is God, and his worship will not be for the true God of the universe but on things, created things, which is not God.

God requires of us much more than just obedience. God requires us to understand, and because we truly know and understand God as a Divine Person, how He is, how He thinks, then we change our lives as a consequence of that, and the workplace where all this happens is prayer.

41.09.02 Objections to Prayer  <Menu>

See Benham Dictionary of Religion's Objections to Prayer and their Refutation

(1) The immutability of nature's general laws. Faussett

This is an objection which it is better to press a little further; and, as in many like cases, if we press it to its consequences we may be enabled to see that it will not hold. So far as it implies that we cannot hope to alter the universal laws of nature, it is certainly valid. Any prayer which is an attempt to alter the laws of God's natural government, or to drag down His wisdom to the level of our short-sightedness, must undoubtedly fail of its purpose. We do know that the world is governed by fixed laws, that is, that God's method in governing the world is a method of universal law or order. But because the world is governed by fixed laws, does it follow that nothing is left to our actions? That the laws work on without any possibility of fruitful effort or cooperation on our part? It is in accordance with fixed laws that gold is extracted from the earth and turned into coin. But will this happen unless we discover it and extract it, and put it through all the processes of manufacture? Needless to say it will not. Here we touch the mystery of free will: namely, the fact that within certain limits the way the world shall go depends on our action or inaction.

... the secret of power in nature is correspondence with its laws. it was exactly the same lesson which Jesus Christ taught the world in relation to prayer. Prayer is fruitful, and is offered in 'spirit and in truth,' exactly in proportion as it is not an attempt to fight against the laws of God's good government, but an attempt to correspond or co-operate with His purpose. Christian prayer is one way of correspondence with God. And there is-- I say it with perfect confidence-- no greater difficulty in believing that God intends to give us whole classes of good things for soul and body, but will not give us them unless we correspond with His purpose by diligent prayer, than in believing that whole classes of good things are stored up for us in nature, which will not be our own unless we seek them by diligent hard work. There is no more difficulty to our intellects in one kind of co-operation than in the other.

We accept the fact that if we want wealth we must work for it, though we cannot explain how inexorable laws leave room for human freedom. We can, with exactly the same reasonableness, accept the fact s practically true, that there are multitudes of things which God means to give us, but will not give us unless we pray for them. This fact of the efficacy of prayer rests on common human experience, on the witness of experts, that is, of especially spiritual men and women, and, most of all, on the authority of the Son of Man.
Charles Gore, Prayer and the Lord's Prayer (1898) page 8

(2) God's predestinating power, wisdom and love make prayer useless and needless. Faussett

(3) God cannot keep up with all of us.

It seems inconceivable to our 'common sense' that God, the ruler of the vast universe, should have a personal relation to each individual, such as the belief in prayer requires-- a personal relation implying a particular care and a particular providence... And no doubt to conceive how the mind of God can attend to every one of the innumerable individuals who make up the universe of men (to say nothing of other existences) is impossible to us: that is, it is impossible to image it or form a picture of it in our mind. But our imagination is very far indeed from being the limit of our reason. There are many facts forced upon us by the science of astronomy, or physics, or chemistry, which we cannot imagine, but which we are rationally compelled to believe. So it is with regard to this difficulty... The school-master not only knows boys, but knows his own class of boys better than another because he knows them individually. The great generals are distinguished like Napoleon for nothing more than this-- their combination of widest conceptions and plans with attention to the smallest details. To know well, therefore, is to know both broadly and in detail. And to act well is to act with a wide grasp, and also an insight into each individual case. So we must grant that the absolute perfection of the knowledge and action of God must mean that the universal range or scope of the divine attributes, over all creatures whatsoever, diminishes nothing from their perfectly individual application. God... must know each of us and love each of us as if there were no other in the world to know and love, and deals with each of us with an individual providence, in which His universal laws or methods of action are not violated but expressed and exemplified. That is the verdict of reason, and it is also the assurance of Christ. 'The very hairs of your head are all numbered.' Charles Gore, Prayer and the Lord's Prayer (1898) page 5-7.

(4) But, granted that God knows all we want, and wills to give us what is best for us, what is the use of praying?

"'But, granted that God knows all we want, and wills to give us what is best for us, what is the use of praying?' To ask this question shows indeed a fundamental mistake as to the purpose of prayer. No doubt it is the judgment of reason, as it is again the assurance of our Lord, that our 'Father knoweth the things we have need of before we ask him,' and knows them a great deal better than we do. The object of prayer is not to inform God or to correct His methods-- to drag down His wisdom to the level of our folly: the object of prayer is to educate us in intercourse with God. We are the sons of God, capable of something better than mechanical obedience; capable of intelligent correspondence with our Father, capable of fellowship and communion with Him in one Spirit. There is to be what the New Testament calls 'freedom of speech,' (The word translated 'boldness' in Eph 3:12; Heb 4:16; 1John 3:21, etc.), and an open avenue of 'inquiry towards God.' (1Pet 3:21). That is our highest function; and that is the glory of our eternal occupation. To train us for it now, in the childhood of our immortal life, even though we babble with half-inarticulate sounds, we are to be practised to pray. We are to ask persistently and regularly, and according to the loving wisdom of God, to receive in response to our prayers, and so to be educated into personal relations with God."
Charles Gore, Prayer and the Lord's Prayer (1898) page 7-8.

If God knows our needs before we pray (Isa 65:24; Mat 6:8) and we have the promise of His provision (Psa 84:11; Mat 6.33; 2Cor 9:8; Phil 4:19), why should we pray?

Prayer produces and strengthens in the mind conscious dependence on God, faith, and love, the state for receiving and appreciating God's blessing ordained in answer to prayer. Moreover prayer does not supersede work; praying and working are complementary of each other (Neh 4:9). Our weakness drives us to cast ourselves on God's fatherly love, providence, and power. Our "Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him"; "we know not what things we should pray for as we ought" (Mat 6:8; Rom 8:26). Yet "the Spirit helpeth our infirmities," and Jesus teaches us by the Lord's prayer how to pray (Luke 11). Nor is the blessing merely subjective; but we may pray for particular blessings, temporal and spiritual, in submission to God's will, for ourselves. "Thy will be done," (Mat 6:10) and "if we ask anything according to His will" (1Jo 5:14-15), is the limitation. Every truly believing prayer contains this limitation. God then grants either the petition or something better than it, so that no true prayer is lost (2Co 12:7-10; Luke 22:42; Heb 5:7). Fausset Dictionary Entry on Prayer

41.09.03 The Devotional Life with God <Menu>

Psa 42:1-3

When we carry on an active and intense devotional life, we draw closer to God. We develop our personal relationship with God. Prayer has the purpose to draw us closer to God, to fellowship with God, and to keep us constantly in the presence of God, in the intense seeking of God in our life.

41.09.04 Prayer is how we get what we want in a correct biblical way. <Menu>

John 11:41-42, 45; 16:22; James 4:2; Heb 4:16; Mat 18:19; Luke 1:37

Prayer is the means of getting spiritual and material blessing. Rom 8:32; Luke 12:32; Eph 3:20. It is the channel for inexhaustible supply from God. When I say "in a correct biblical way", I mean that anybody can go out and steal to get something, but only through prayer will God give the means (a job for example) and the supply (a place to obtain with the means God provides, for example a store). This is how God wants us to get what we really need. We all need to eat every day. God tells us to pray for our daily bread.

We lose blessing when we do not pray. Luke 11:9-13; James 4:2.

Prayer is the vehicle that moves God to release the blessings already available James 5:16

James 4:1-3

The most clear purpose and function of prayer is to get what we ask for from God. Perhaps this is obvious, but the meaning of it is not so clear. God purposely allows, permits, or commands us to have needs and crises. God's purpose in this is to place us in a bad situation. From this bad situation we are in a moral crossroads, to continue forward on our own, under our own devices, thinking, understanding, and trying to resolve the situation by our own means, or we look to God for guide, for His will, and for His resolution of the situation. If we ask God for help, he will give us an answer. The answer is not always what we ask for, nor is it always in the time frame we ask for, and sometimes it is something different than what we ask for (better, worse, or just different), but there is always an answer.

This process draws us closer to God because it strengthens our understanding and practice in depending on God for all our needs and our very existence. This is the focus of prayer, to make us understand we need God and we can depend on God. This dependence on God is simply "faith". But so many "trust" God for their salvation, but they leave God outside of their daily lives, and this is how God corrects our misunderstanding here. He gives us unsolvable problems. They are unsolvable for us, but not for God. We only have to ask. We have not because we ask not. We have not because we ask for the wrong thing.

The problems that God allows to come into our life is so that we turn to God, and the wrong response is to worry (Phil 4:6). The right response is to trust God, and ask Him for direction, and then to pray for what He says we should do.

41.09.05 To Guide us into God's Wills <Menu>

Luke 11:10 When we ask, we will receive. When we seek, we will find.

We ask God for information, understanding, and wisdom because God knows what we do not. Prayer is the vehicle for asking God to teach us what we don't know. In Psa 2:1 the psalmist asks God why the nations were in turmoil. Joshua asked God why he brought the Israelites out of Egypt to allow them to fall before their enemies (Joshua 7:7-9). David consults God for wisdom and direction several times in reference to military plans and objectives (2Sam 2:1). Job asked God to reveal the sin behind his misfortune (Job 7:11-21). The Psalmist pleaded with God to inform him of why his life seemed to be falling apart (Psa 10:1-2). Paul asked God to reveal the person who appeared to him on the Damascus road (Acts 9:5).

Prayer is not just getting some "thing" from God, but also is about understand how God works, what are His purposes and goals in His work, plans, and will. We need to understand what God is doing, and how God is doing it if we really don't want to work at cross purposes with God. This wisdom and direction in the Will of God is very essential to our thinking, and we gain this not just by studying the word of God, but by divine instruction through our devotional life which relates as much or more to our emotions and heart as to our mind (which is through study). John 16:13 If we pursue God, we can understand what he is doing (sometimes). Job never understood what God was doing in his life as far as his life's events, but in the end, God came down from heaven to tell him that he doesn't need to know everything, just trust God anyway.

41.09.06 For the completion of God's Will <Menu>

Part of our relationship with God, is that we need to understand and function as if God is a being superior to ourselves. This means that we exalt God in his power, glory, ability, but also in his wisdom. God knows better than we do. God's decisions on things is always better than our understanding and way of wanting to do things. We want the good things of life for ourselves, but we don't understand how the bad things help us more than the good things.

In the end analysis, we just desire God's will, and we pray to God asking him, "thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

41.09.07 For the Glory of God <Menu>

When we understand that God does things in order to honor His own being, to honor His own Moral Character, then we begin to understand God, how He functions.

Prayer is the way that God gets glory. This glory is not solely for God, but God desires to share His glory with us, therefore He uses us in completing His will. When we understand God's desire to win the lost, and we pray and then go out to witness, and somebody gets saved, God has used us to do His will, and God gets the glory through our willing obedience.

41.09.08 In order for us to resist sin <Menu>

Mat 26:41 Our spirits are weak when it comes to sin, and pray and our devotional life is how we resist sin. Sin has to do with our will, when our will is not seeking God's will, but something else. Therefore prayer corrects this. Through prayer we leave sin and our will outside, and we actively pursue God's will. Prayer and our devotional life is what makes this happen.

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Paul gave this exhortation to "be strong in the Lord," giving us a list of our spiritual weapons and defenses. At the end of this list is the exhortation to pray always. Through prayer, we can exercise these weapons of offense and defense. Without prayer, we are defenseless.

41.09.09 Prayer strengthens us spiritually <Menu>

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Christ proposes one of two things, either we pray (have an active devotional life) or we faint and sin. One or the other. You cannot be strong without feeding what makes you strong.

Psa 27:14; 138:3; 30:15; James 1:5; Luke 11:13

Finney, Charles - An Approving Heart-Confidence in Prayer (s)

41.09.10 Prayer Builds up our Faith  <Menu>

Jude 1:20

41.09.11 Prayer Humbles us  <Menu>

2Chr 7:14

Prayer is the way God keeps us in our proper relationship with God. That is why prayer and proper devotional life is so essential to our spiritual well-being, and this is why Satan is so busy in destroying our devotional life, and stealing prayer from us. When we deal with God, we must understand that God is a Superior Being, much higher and better than we are. When we constantly come to God to learn from Him what we do not know, to understand what is beyond our capacity to understand on our own, to ask and receive what is impossible for us to achieve through our own means, all of this hinges on our understanding and believing that God is over us, superior to us. If we understand and live with this truth always before us, then we will have a good devotional life, and success in our life in general. Not just material success but

41.09.12 Prayer gives us an inner peace  <Menu>

Phil 4:6-7; Isa 26:3

Books & Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 3 God's peace Obtained in Answer to Prayer

41.09.13 Prayer is our source for joy.

John 16:24

Charnock - A Discourse of the Delight of Prayer (s)
41.09.14 Prayer is our source for Grace and Mercy.

Heb 4.16

41.09.15 Prayer is integral for maintaining our Spiritual Purity

This is an interconnected relationship. If we pray effectively, we must be pure or God will not hear us. If God hears us, it is because we are pure. When we pray and God does not hear us, it is because sin is present in our life.

Prayer is an integral part of confession of our sins which is absolutely necessary and essential, key, in our having a good relationship with God. Psa 139:23-24; 38:18.

Prayer is "glue" which bonds and strengths the Christian's armor into a harmonious unit of spiritual defense Eph 6:10-18; Luke 21:34-36

Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 9 The Church's Prayer and Spiritual Increase
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 13 Eternal Reward of Labour and Suffering
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 14 Recovery of the Glory
AlexanderA -  Prayer a Privilege (s)
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 1 Fellowship of Prayer
Finney, Charles - Prayer for a Pure Heart (s)

Books on Why Pray

Dods, Marcus (1834-1909) - The Prayer that Teaches to Pray (1904)
Slattery, Charles Lewis (1867-1930) - Why Men Pray (1916)
Buttrick, George Arthur - So we Believe, So we Pray (1951)

41.10 Necessity of Prayer (Obligation)  <Menu>

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41.10.01 Command of God  <Menu>

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

We must understand that prayer is essential to obedience to God. Prayer is a primary command of God, and therefore we can in no way obey God and submit to God without prayer. It is not optional. God only needs to command us once to be binding upon us, yet God repeatedly commands us to pray.

O.T. Exhortations to Pray

1Sam 12:23; 2Chr 7:14; Psa 55:17; 105:3,4; Isa 55:6; 63:15; Zec 13:9;

N.T. Exhortations to Pray

Mat 7:7; 26:41; Luke 18:1; John 16:24; Rom 12:12; 15:30; Phil 4:6-7; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; 1Th 5:17; 1Tim 2:1,8; 1Pet 1:17; James 4:2; 1:5; 5:16-17.

Scripture teaches that we are to have a regular and consistent life of prayer.

Luke 18:1 "... men ought always to pray, and not to faint."
Luke 21:36 "Watch ye therefore, and pray always ..."
Acts 6:4 "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer ..."
Acts 12:5
Ephesians 6:18, 19 "Praying always ..."
Colossians 1:3 "... praying always for you."
Colossians 4:2 "Continue in prayer, and watch ..."
1 Thessalonians 1:2 "always"
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "without ceasing"
2 Timothy 1:3 "... without ceasing ..."

Books & Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 2 Our Requests made Known to God
Arnold - Christian Life, Ch 11 Luke 21:36 Watch and Pray
Beamish, Henry Hamilton - A Sermon on the Necessity, Nature, and End of Watchfulness and Prayer flipbook (1842)
Edwards, Jonathan - Hypocrites Deficient in the Duty of Prayer (s)
Mackintosh, C.H. - Prayer in its Proper Place (s)
Ryle, JC - Do you pray? (s)
Ryle, JC - A Call to Prayer (b)

41.10.02 Comfort of the Soul  <Menu>

 

41.10.03 Fountain of Blessing  <Menu>

James 4:2; John 16:24

41.10.04 Commitment of a Man of God  <Menu>

41.10.05 Sin of Failing to Prayer  <Menu>

Prayerlessness is a Sin of Disobedience - Since prayer is clearly commanded by God of us, not praying constantly is a sin.

Prayerlessness is an Offence against God - Prayer is communion with God, and therefore not praying is a personal level offence against God, despising, little esteeming, and taking lightly God's fellowship (1Sam 12:23).

Prayerlessness is a Sin against the Brethren - Eph 6:18. The absence of prayer binds God's hands and limits what God can do in our lives, and it hinders the spiritual life and growth of our brethren.

Prayerlessness is a Sin against Humanity - 1Tim 2:1 Since we are ordered by God to pray for the world, especially their salvation and the advance of the gospel, not praying is clearly an opposition against the work of God.

Prayerlessness is a Sin against One's own self - James 4.2 Spiritual defeat and having unmet needs in one's life is traced to a lack of vigor or a complete lack of one's prayer life.

Prayerlessness is a Sin of Unbelief - When we refuse to pray as God wants us to, we are stating by our actions that God is not powerful, His promises won't work. Mark 11:23-24.

See also 41.11.01 Prayerlessness.

Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 2 Windows Open Toward Jerusalem (Daniel)
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 15 Discipline unto Prayer
EdwardsJ - Hypocrites Deficient in the Duty of Prayer (s)

41.10.06 Prayer is a Privilege <Menu>

Alexander, Archibald - Prayer a Privilege (s)

41.10.07 Prayer, the minister, and the ministry  <Menu>

Bounds EM - Praying Pulpit makes a Praying Pew (s)

41.11 Hindrances to Prayer  <Menu>

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1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

The purpose of prayer is to establish and maintain a relationship with God. When God shuts the doors of heaven from us, then He gets our attention. When our spirit manifests immoral character or bad moral character, then God wants us to change, but we ignore God. This is how God calls our attention to our problems.

See Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 11 Hindrances to Prayer

41.11.01 Satan.  <Menu>

Dan 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Dan 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

Dan 6:12 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

We should not forget that we pray because Satan is against us (Eph 6.12-13).

Books & Chapters

Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne Chapter 2 Prayer as Warfare; Chapter 3 Prayer as Warfare

41.11.02 Incorrect Form of Asking.  <Menu>

41.11.02.01 By not seriously asking

Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

41.11.02.02 Unbelief by person asking  <Menu>

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in

, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

41.11.02.03 Wrong Motive  <Menu>

Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luke 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Prayer is not a badge of honor to be thrown in the face of other people who do not pray as spiritually as you pray. Prayer is a communication between you and God. It is like the intimate talk between a husband and his wife. It is not for other people to know what they talk about even if it is innocent talk, and not personal.

41.11.02.04 Not the Will of God  <Menu>

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

41.11.02.05 Vain Repetitions  <Menu>

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

What we need is not "more prayer", but "true prayer".

When we speak of prayer, it is not always something that can be qualified with a stopwatch. The longer the prayer is not necessarily the better prayer.

True prayer is when two people (God and you) truly have a conversation. Unfortunately we often pray to God as if we were talking to a walk. We expect no real answer, and we have no real objective. We just talk in order to fulfill a hollow spiritual obligation (we need to pray).

For "true prayer" there is communication, and this communication is two way. Both we get our point over to God, and God gets his point over to us. We charge God with our need or the desire of our heart, and God tells us about what we are asking about. We find God's will that gives peace about what we do, what we say, how we do it, and what it is that we should want (i.e. pray for).

Good "form and style" is not something that either makes our prayer more acceptable before God, nor does the lack of it make our prayer less acceptable before God.

41.11.02.06 Double Mindedness, Doubt, Lack of Faith  <Menu>

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Ps 66:18

Mat 21:21-22; Mark 11:23

God does not like to see doubt on our part towards the power of God to accomplish even the impossible task.

41.11.03 By Problems in your own Moral Character

41.11.03.01 Sin in General.  <Menu>

Psa 66:18; Prov 15:29; 28:9; Isa 1:15; 59:1-2; John 9:31; Psa 66:18.

Although God will hear all prayers, He will only take heed and answer those who come people with a pure heart. His obligation is towards the righteousness, to hear their prayers, and the rest of the people who are unrighteousness and plead with God, God has no obligation, and usually doesn't intervene in their requests.

41.11.03.02 Sinful Lifestyle

Isa 59:2

41.11.03.03 Stubborn Will.  <Menu>

1John 5:14; Zech 7:11-13

41.11.03.04 Selfishness, Greed, or Hardheartedness  <Menu>

The point of asking God for something in prayer is to get what you ask for. But God wants to seek your selflessness, not your selfishness. Therefore your prayers should be heavily saturated with petitions for the welfare of others besides yourself.

Prov 21:13-14; Zech 7:12-13 James 4:2

41.11.03.05 Pride  <Menu>

Hosea 5:57; 2Chro 7:14

41.11.03.06 Religious Hypocrisy  <Menu>

Isa 1.11-15; Mat 23:5, 14, 27-28; Luke 18:9-14

41.11.03.07 Rebellion against God's Word  <Menu>

Prov 1:24-25, 28; Zec 7:11-13; Prov 28:10; 1JOhn 5:14; Rom 8:27

When you pray for things which are against God's will, then God will naturally prefer not to take heed to your prayers for your own good.

41.11.03.08 Idolatry  <Menu>

Eze 14:1-7;

41.11.03.09 Deceit, injustice  <Menu>

Jer 5:25-31

41.11.03.10 Bitterness <Menu>

Mark 11:25-26

41.11.04 By Your Relationship Problems with Others

41.11.04.01 Family Disturbances.  <Menu>

Mat 5:23-24; 1Pet 3:7

41.11.04.02 Unforgiving Spirit  <Menu>

Mark 11:25-26

Finney, Charles - Mutual Confession of Faults, and Mutual Prayer (s)

41.11.04.03 Lack of Compassion towards our Fellow Man

Prov 21:14

41.12 Problems in Prayer  <Menu>

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Book & Chapters

Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne Chapter 4 Some Mental Difficulties in Prayer

41.12.01 Prayerlessness   <Menu>

Prayerfulness and prayerlessness depend on the convictions and beliefs of the individual. We may say we believe in prayer, but it is only in the actual outworking of belief and conviction that we see the sincerity and reality of that belief or conviction.

"The proof of prayer is the practice of it. The practice is everything. However little we may be able to prove to others the efficacy of prayer, we know that all is well if we pray.

1. But here is the difficult. We know but we do not. We know that nothing too glorious can be claimed for prayer and yet we are slow to pray. That contrast between the ideal and the actual, which often impresses us so painfully, is, perhaps, never more apparent than when we come to make a comparison between the theory and the practice of prayer. In theory, prayer is a thing sacred and glorious beyond the power of words to describe. No privilege possible to men is worthy to be put by the side of the privilege of communion with God. No joy can thrill the heart like the joy of the man who knows that he is in the presence of the Creator and Ruler of all, and is conscious that his appear is heard... And yet, when we consider the practice of men, and begin to inquire into their actual experience, we are apt to find that prayer does not by any means appear to be in reality what it is in theory. We find that it is approached as a duty rather than valued as a privilege, and often as a duty not of the most attractive kind. Men ought to pray; and they pray, or try to pray, sometimes with poor success, because they ought. But the time and the strength which are given to the work are given, if the truth be confessed, but grudgingly... But the mere praying would seem to have little fascination for many minds.

2. The only remedy is to pray, and by praying to encourage others to pray. If we pray sincerely once, we will pray again. If we pray as we can to-day, to-morrow we shall pray better. If we wait to pray till prayer shall be less difficult, we shall never pray. The voice of God is calling to us, 'Seek ye my face'. That voice calls to us in many ways, in Scripture, in conscience, in providence, in every event, common or special, glad or grave, welcome or sorrowful.... 'The beginning of wisdom is, Get wisdom' Prov 4:7. That is to say, in colloquial English: The way to learn to do a thing is to 'go at it.' We can learn to swim only by getting into the water and striking out... Practice is the chief item in all the arts, and in none more that in the art of prayer.

By praying, prayer is proved. No argument establishes it apart from practice, while the practice renders argument unnecessary..."

Hastings, James - Christian Doctrine of Prayer Introduction
Taylor, Jeremy - Holy Living
    See Remedies against Wandering Thoughts in Prayer.
    See Signs of Tediousness of Spirit in our Prayers.
    See Remedies against Tediousness of Spirit.

See also 41.09.05 Sin of Failing to Pray

41.12.02 God Says "No"  <Menu>

Sometimes God just says "no" to our petition. He refuses to answer our prayer with a "yes." There may be various reasons for this:

(1) The most obvious reason is that we simply refuse to humble ourselves (2Chron 7:14) and ask God. The desire unexpressed as a formal petition is not a prayer that God will answer very quickly.
See Incorrect Form of Asking.

(2) At times God sees insincerity and lack of effort in prayer on our part, and this is the reason God refuses to concede our petition.
See Prayerlessness.

41.12.03 Unanswered Prayer (the silence of God)  <Menu>

Jer 42:7, 2-4; Luke 18:7

(1) Improper Attitudes (p105 See Constable - A Biblical Theology of Prayer.),
(2) Improper Actions (p112),
(3) God's Viewpoint (p114),
(4) Conditions for Answered Prayer (p117).

Patience James 5:11
Obedience Heb 5:8
Humility 2Cor 12:7-9

Alexander, Archibald - Answer to Prayer Long Deferred (s)
Anderson, Robert - The Silence of God
Arnold - Christian Life, Ch 12 Prov 1:28 They shall call on me...
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 1 Unmoved and Undismayed (Daniel)
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 12 Divine Ministry of Delay

Alexander, Archibald - Answer to Prayer Long Deferred (s)

41.12.04 Unexpected Results in Prayer  <Menu>

This happens when you do not see the purpose of God in the results He gives you. This basically happens when you are "out of touch" with God's will. You think God should work in one way, and He actually works in another. In other words, you think God should work in your employment situation to give you a raise, and God hands you unemployment. God is doing something different than what you understand "would be best".

Typical reactions to Unexpected Results

The typical reactions to this situation of unexpected results are: (1) Attribute the answer to the work of Satan. (2) Anger at God for not giving you what you want (this is the parallel to the little kids temper tantrum). (3) Withdrawal and rejection of God and everything related to God. (4) Distrust and unbelief in God in general (i.e. He does exist, He is not benevolent towards me, etc). (5) A general distrust and fear of using prayer in the future. (6) Self blame for not praying enough for the petition.

Job 1:1, 8; 2:3 Job suffered but not without purpose Job 23:10.

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 7 A Manifestation of God in Answer to Prayer (Acts 4:31)

41.12.05 Importunity in Prayer  <Menu>

Gen 32:26-29
Song of Solomon 3:14; 5:2-6
Isa 62:6-7 keep not silence, give Him no rest
Mat 7:7 keep on asking
Mat 15:22-28 kept praying
Luke 11:5-13 because of his importunity

Luke 18:1-8 Parable of the Importunate Widow

The point of this teaching parable is to make us take heart, i.e. have a conviction towards, praying always even though there is no answer, or the answer we want doesn't come.

The focus of this parable is that we have two choices: either pray or give up.

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

If God hears us as a father his children, then we should use this relationship with God as God's ordained avenue for living and getting the things of life that God wants us to have.

There is a strong contrast between the strong and powerful judge, and the impotent widow. The point here is to show us how far from self-sufficient we are, and how much God can do for us if we just ask Him. The widow found out how to get what she wanted from the judge.

Luke 18:8 However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

Jesus ends the parable with a challenge for faith. Prayer is the expression of true faith. We pray because we hope. If we stop hoping, then we stop praying.

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 12 Knocking that Obtains an Opening (Luke 11:10)
Arnold - Christian Life, Ch 4 we do not cease to pray for you Col 1:9
Austin-Sparks - Behold my Servant Ch 5 Faith's Persistence: A Factor in the Making of a Servant 1 Kings 18:41-44
Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 4 Tragedy of the Unfinished Task
Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne: Some Considerations on the Prayer-Life Ch 4 Some Mental Difficulties in Prayer (Sections: Prayer and the Will of God, Confliction Between Submission and Importunity, Prayer as Educative, Nature of Importunity, Moral Excellencies of Christ Inwrought, Spiritual Understanding Secured, Taking Responsibility in Prayer)
Murray, Andrew - Be Not Discouraged in Prayer... Even for the Impossible! (s)

41.12.06 Relationship between Prayer and Fasting.  <Menu>

Alexander, Archibald - Fasting (s)

See also page 41.11.06 Fasting

41.12.07 Prayer as Spiritual Warfare  <Menu>

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne: Some Considerations on the Prayer-Life Ch 2 Prayer as Warfare
Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne: Some Considerations on the Prayer-Life Ch 3 Prayer as Warfare
Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne: Some Considerations on the Prayer-Life Ch 5 Sword of the Word and Prayer (Sections: Strategy of the Enemy, Watching unto Prayer, Place of the Word in Prayer, Prayer and the Overcomers, Sifted Company, )

41.12.08 Prayer instead of Prayer and Action  <Menu>

Sin of Achan

We must not pray only instead of praying and taking actions.

What is asked for must be in accordance with the divine will. Thus, to ask (as many people do) that they may escape sin, when they will not take reasonable precautions to avoid the occasions of temptation; or to pray for our children, without taking any proper pains in regard to their education ; or to pray for spiritual graces, while we refuse the means which the divine will has appointed for their reception ; or to pray for forgiveness for ourselves, when we will neither for give others nor accept the punishment of our own sins these are all examples of the way in which we may pray for spiritual things lawlessly, or without reference to the will of God.
Charles Gore, Prayer and the Lord's Prayer (1898) page 24-25.

41.13 Objects of Prayer  <Menu>

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"Prayer is pleasing to God, that is, the prayer which is undertaken in the proper manner. He therefore that desires to be heard should pray wisely, fervently, humbly, faithfully, perseveringly, confidently. Let him pray wisely, by which I mean, let him pray for those things which minister to the divine glory and salvation of his neighbors. God is all-powerful, therefore do not in your prayers prescribe how He shall; He is all-wise-- therefore do not determine when. Do not let your prayers break forth heedlessly, but let them follow the guidance of faith, remembering that faith has steady regard to the divine word. Those things, therefore, which God promises absolutely in His word, those pray for absolutely. Those which He promises conditionally-- for example, temporal things-- those on the same principle pray for conditionally. Those things which He does not promise at all, those also you will not pray for at all. God often grants in His anger what His goodness would deny. Therefore, follow Christ, who fully conforms His will to the will of God.' (Gerhard in Holy Meditations)... Prayer, we saw, is a form of intelligent correspondence with the revealed will of God...

We must pray for Spiritual Things

The main object of our prayers must be spiritual things. If we are to pray in the name o Christ, we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. That is the lesson of the Lord's Prayer. Nor can we omit to notice, that if in one Gospel it is said that our 'Father in heaven will give good things to them that ask him,' the good things are described in another Gospel as 'the Holy Spirit.' (Mat 7:11, Luke 11:13) For so far as we are Christians in heart, it is upon the possession of the Spirit, with all that that implies, that our desires are concentrated for ourselves and others. For this we can pray with certainty, with the certainty that our persevering prayers for ourselves and other will be heard and answered in proportion to our faith. I say answered for ourselves and others: not that God will force the wills of others any more than our own, but that our prayers can secure for them at least the offers of divine love. This is the region in which our Lord's promise is specially true, 'Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it.' (Mark 11:23)....

It is then for spiritual things, for the manifestation of spiritual power in the hearts of men, that we are chiefly and primarily to pray. Nor is it easy to overrate the importance of this right direction of our prayers... rather, if we pray amiss, let us fear the judgment--'God gave them their desire, and sent leanness withal into their souls.' Psa 106:15.
Charles Gore, Prayer and the Lord's Prayer (1898) page 8-24.

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

See Intercessory Prayer for a list of prayers for specific other people.

41.13.01 For Salvation of the lost.  <Menu>

Psa 122:6; Jer 29:7; Dan 9:3, 16-19. (an individual, a city, or a nation).

Finney, Charles - Prayer and Labor for Gathering of the Great Harvest (s)

41.13.02 For Prayer for Calling of Laborers.  <Menu>

Mat 9:38

Finney, Charles - Prayer and Labor for Gathering of the Great Harvest (s)

41.13.03 For Prayer for Ministers & Ministries.  <Menu>

It is proper and of example and precedent in the Bible to pray before proceeding with great undertakings for God.

Elisha before he raised the dead child 2Kin 4:33
of Jesus before appointment of the 12 apostles Luke 6:12
of the apostles before the appointment of Judas' successor Acts 1:24.

Finney, Charles - Prayer and Labor for Gathering of the Great Harvest (s)

41.13.03.01 For an Open Door of Ministry  <Menu>

Rom 15:30-32; Col 4:3; 2Thes 3:1-2

41.13.03.02 For Boldness to speak the Truth  <Menu>

Eph 6:19-20

41.13.03.03 For Revival  <Menu>

Bounds EM - Revival that Stays (s)
Edwards, Jonathan - A Humble Attempt at Prayer for Revival (s)
Edwards, Jonathan - Corporate Prayer for Revival (s)

41.13.04 For our own Needs.  <Menu>

1Chr 4:10; Ps 106:4-5; Heb 5:7

41.13.04.01 For our material needs  <Menu>

Mat 6:11; Prov 30:7-8

Many people may think it is "spiritual" to not pray for material things, but this is just the opposite. The Bible's teaching regarding prayer is that prayer is God's avenue for providing to us what we need. In other words, prayer is specifically structured and given (Mat 6.11; Luke 11:1-4) so that we may get material provision. God even strongly rebukes us because we do not ask of Him what we want and need (James 4:2). Although prayer should not be seen solely as an asking to get, (it also involves fellowship with God), but the principle purpose of prayer is asking.

But it cannot be doubted that we may pray also for physical things. They must hold the subordinate place that is given them in the Lord s Prayer, but that place they must hold a lesser place than was given them in the Old Testament, but still a place. A certain supply of physical things, our daily bread, is necessary to enable us and others to do the work of God in the world; thus Give us, we pray, our daily bread. And that petition can be taken to cover prayers for health of body, and bettering of social conditions, and favourable weather. Only we can never pray for these physical blessings with the same security or absoluteness as for spiritual. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. Everything that is included in daily bread He finally denied to His own Son. To Him He finally gave no physical deliverance in this life, but left Him in the extremest sense without physical support. This is the profound lesson which we learn about prayer from the prayer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. So clearly supreme are spiritual over physical things as objects of prayer, that physical things can only be prayed for conditionally Father, if it be possible; and may be denied even to the well-beloved, even as the cup did not pass from Christ without His drinking it. Still, granted this, there are a great number of physical things which, as far as the Christian in this world can see, it would be good for him or others to have, such as health, supply of food, weather, and so on. In regard to these we should put up real petitions, which, if accompanied with a willingness to see them not granted, or prefaced by Not my will, but thine be done/ should still be prayers which expect an answer from the divine love. It is the great function of the spiritual man to see to it, that within that region where the human will has its exercise, spiritual motives and forces shall have their full sway in determining events; and for all we know the divine government of the world may, for the testing of our faith, have left a real function for prayer to fulfil in reinforcing the springs of vitality in sick men, and even in ordering, within certain limits, the character of the weather.
Charles Gore, Prayer and the Lord's Prayer (1898) page 25-2624.

41.13.04.02 For Guidance  <Menu>

Psa 27:11; 31:3; Jer 33:3; Dan 2:17-19; Col 1:9-10; James 1:5

41.13.04.03 For Victory over temptation  <Menu>

Mat 6:13; Luke 22:40

41.13.04.04 For Wisdom  <Menu>

1Kin 3:5-12; Proverbs 2:3; James 1:5

41.13.04.05 For forgiveness of our sins  <Menu>

Numbers 5:6, 7; 1 Kings 8:47-50;Ezra 9:15; 10:1; Psalms 25:11; 32:5; 51:1; Daniel 9:4-5, 20; Matthew 6:12; Luke 11:4; 18:13; Acts 8:22

Finney, Charles - Repentance before Prayer for Forgiveness (s)

41.13.04.06 For physical healing  <Menu>

1 Samuel 1:5, 10-20; 1 Kings 13:4-6; 2 Kings 20:1-6 (Isaiah 38:1-5; 2 Chronicles 32:24); Psalms 30:2; James 5:14; Matthew 8:2-3 (Mark 1:40-43; Luke 5:12, 13) Acts 28:8; James 5:16

41.13.04.07 For Divine Protection   <Menu>

Acts 12:5; 2Thess 3:1-2; Luke 22:31-32; John 17:15

41.13.05 For those in Leadership.  <Menu>

41.13.05.01 Spiritual Leaders  <Menu>

2Cor 1:11; 1Thess 5:25; Heb 13:17-18

41.13.05.02 Civil Leaders  <Menu>

1Tim 2:1-3

41.13.06 For Fellow believers   <Menu>

Rom 1:9; Eph 6:18

41.13.06.01 For their spiritual development and maturity  <Menu>

Eph 3:14-16; Col 4:12; 1Thes 3:10-13; 2Thes 1:11; 1Pet 5:10

41.13.06.02 For Unity  <Menu>

John 17:9, 11, 20-22

41.13.07 Selflessness and Self Denial <Menu>

 

41.13.08 Spiritual Cleanliness <Menu>

Psa 139:23-24; 51; 1Cor 11:28-31

One of the secrets of praying such that God answers your prayers is your spiritual relationship with God. The closer a person is to God, the more God hears his prayers. What does this tell you about the brother or sister that says they rarely pray because God never answers their prayers?

41.13.09 Prayer is exercise for your Faith Muscle <Menu>

Prayer is how you exercise your "faith muscle". Mat 21:21; Mark 11:24; James 1:6-7; 4:13-15. When you believe God's word and promise that He will do something or give you something (such as eternal life), it is impossible to have this faith without using prayer. You ask God for eternal life, and that is prayer.

Finney, Charles - An Approving Heart-Confidence in Prayer (s)
Finney, Charles - Prayer of Faith (s)

41.13.09 Prayer for those approaching death  <Menu>

Alexander, Archibald - Thoughts on Religious Experience Ch 18 A Prayer for one who feels that he is approaching death

Books

Smith, William Goodhugh - The Way Preachers Pray (1900)

41.14 Secrets of Prayer  <Menu>

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NOTE: See 41.07 Requirements for Biblical Prayer as a companion to this section.

Probably the single one thing that is the "secret" to prayer, which we assume is getting our request answered, is to pray according to the guidelines and commands that God has given us about prayer.

The real secret to prayer is really not getting our requests answered like we want them, but in having deep fellowship with God that results in our becoming like God in our moral character and desires. When we truly seek with all our heart this communion with God, then God will answer our requests, and we will not become so obsessed with the "getting" but we will instead cherish the "with who" of prayer.

Finney, Charles - Conditions of Prevailing Prayer (s)
Finney, Charles - How to Prevail with God (s)

41.14.01 God is a Prayer Hearing God  <Menu>

'O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come' Ps 65:2

2 Chronicles 7:15 "... Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attentive unto the prayer that is made in this place."
Psalms 10:17 "Lord, thou has heard the desire of the humble ... thou wilt cause thine ear to hear."
Psalms 18:6
Psalms 34:15, 17 "... his ears are open unto their cry ... The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth ..."
Psalms 102:17 "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer."
Psalms 66:19, 20; 106:44
Psalms 116:1, 2 "1 love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live."
Psalms 141:2; 145:19
Psalms 32:6 "For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found..."
Proverbs 15:8, 29 " ... the prayer of the upright is his delight."
Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
James 5:16b "... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Books, Chapters, & Sermons

Edwards, Jonathan - The Most High: Is a Prayer Hearing God (s)

41.14.01.01 Name of God: "El Roi" (The God who sees me)  <Menu>

Psa 65:2, 24; Jer 33:3; 2Chr 7:14; 1Pet 3:12.

41.14.02 God promises us an answer  <Menu>

Matthew 7:7-11; 21:22; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9-13; John 15:7, 16; 16:23-24; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15.

GREAT THINGS ARE PROMISED IF WE PRAY!
1. Mark 11:24 – “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM.”
2. Matthew 18:19 – “…if two of you shall agree on earth AS TOUCHING ANY THING THAT THEY SHALL ASK, IT SHALL BE DONE FOR THEM OF MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.”
3. John 14:14 – “IF YOU SHALL ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME, I WILL DO IT.”
4. Matthew 21:22 – “AND ALL THINGS, WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK in prayer, believing, YE SHALL RECEIVE.”
5. James 5:16 – “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man AVAILETH MUCH.”

Examples of God answering Prayer

1. Joshua prayed and the sun stood still (Joshua 10:12-14).
2. Jacob prevailed with God in prayer. His life was spared, blessed and changed (Genesis 32:25-28).
3. Moses prayed and stayed God’s hand against Israel (Exodus 32:10-14).
4. Elijah prayed and fire fell from heaven (1 Kings 18:36-38).
5. Hannah prayed. Her barrenness was healed. Samuel was born (1 Samuel 1:9-20).
6. Daniel prayed and God shut the lion’s mouth (Daniel 6:10-22).
7. Hezekiah prayed and God extended his life fifteen years (2 Kings 20:1-6).
8. The church prayed and God shook the building and filled them all with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31).
9. The church prayed again and Peter was miraculously freed from prison and his chains (Acts 12:5-11).
10. . Paul and Silas prayed and God shook their prison with an earthquake (Acts 16:25-26).

Other Works

Adams, Nehemiah - Power of the Holy Spirit (1866) Ch 11 Power of Prayer
AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 3 God's Peace Obtained in Answer to Prayer Phil 4:6-7
Boston - How the Spirit Enables us to Pray (s)

41.14.03 Secret of Answered Prayer

First of all, let's affirm that God is a prayer hearing and answering God. God always gives some kind of answer, although He does not always give the answer we want. This is logical for example when we consider the parallel of God answering our prayers, and a good father answering the requests of a favored child. He gives an answer, but perhaps he will not give you what you want. But that is still an answer.

If we base our prayer on the will of God and not our own tempter tantrum of having to have what we want, then we will understand that it is extremely important the kind of answer that God gives us when we pray. Many times the answer is wait or silence and we presume God does not exist, or does not care about us, or does not hear us. This is incorrect, and we should understand that getting our prayer answered by God depends on two key things: (1) if it is God's will in the first place, and (2) our "nearness" to God. For the disobedient child that is constantly disciplined for bad behavior, that is constantly at odds with the father, his desires are seldom fulfilled. But for the child that pleases the father, that is always seeking to please the father, it seems that almost no request goes unanswered.

When we seek the secret of getting our prayers answered, we must understand that the answer often has to do with whether the request is in the will of God or not. To constantly request things that are not in the will of God is bad, because we get frustrated by not getting answers to our requests and it destroys our faith in God and His power, and His power and interest in our lives.

Book & Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 7 A Manifestation of God in Answer to Prayert
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 8 Does God always answer Prayer?
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 9 Answers to Prayer
Anonymous - The Kneeling Christian Chapter 10 How God answers Prayer

41.14.03.01 Answer of Yes  <Menu>

This is usually a good thing. We probably asked for something in God's will, and God granted us the petition. God will be watching to see how you respond to His gift to you. Do you thank Him several times from the sincerity of your heart? If not, future prayers may be ignored.

When a "Yes" is Bad

Psa 106:13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
Psa 106:14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
Psa 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.  See also Psa 78:29-32; Num 11:31-34; Isa 10:16

The point here is that they received a "yes" to their request, but God sent them what they asked for even though their attitude was wrong. They did not seek or wait for the counsel of God.

See 42.14.03.01A Why does God send leanness, harshness or calamity upon his children?

 

41.14.03.02 Answer of No  <Menu>

Sometimes God just says no. What you ask for is not what you get. Before you react negatively towards God's answer, you need to go through a mental and spiritual discernment process to find out the "why?". God will not give you an easy answer here usually. There are several possibilities.

(1) God says no because it is sin.
(2) God says no even though it is not sin, it is not for you.
(3) God says no even though it is not sin, it is not the right time for you.
(4) God says no because He has something better for you.
(5) God wants you to strive with Him in prayer to highly esteem what you are asking for.

Why you understand the variety of reasons behind the why of a no answer, you will not act rashly.

41.14.03.03 Answer of Wait  <Menu>

Sometimes God does not answer our prayers except with a wait, or wait and keep on praying. The reason lies in God's will, and we cannot force God or override God's will without bringing danger to our own lives.

41.14.03.04 A different Answer than Requested <Menu>

Many times God will answer with a different answer than what we requested. We can get bitter at this, but it is better to just trust God's better judgment on all things and accept the different answer as being the best thing for you.

41.14.03.05 Answer of Silence  <Menu>

The hardest reply is simply nothing. Again we have to examine our souls as to why God doesn't answer. Sometimes it is because you are living in sin, and God "does not hear" your prayers, not because of inability on His part, but because God is never "near" or "hears" sinners. This is the most difficult situation to discern and handle. Sometimes God wants to grow our faith, trust, and imploring before the throne.

Prov 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Psa 34:16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Eze 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Eze 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

We should understand that God will not normally repeat himself. If God has already answered our question by clear teaching in the Scriptures, then we should seek the answer in Scriptures to know it instead of asking God to reveal it directly to our hearts. This is a great error in many because they claim "God is silent" when that is just not the case. God has spoken and you are too dense to study and find God's answers which were given thousands of years before.

41.14.04 Pleading on the Basis of Christ's Intercessory Work   <Menu>

The basis of our entering into the courts of heaven with a petition is very simply Christ's work of intercession on our behalf through the Cross. That should be our point of access and our point of pleading.

Book & Chapters

Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne Chapter 1 The Divine Basis of All Acceptable Prayer

41.14.05 Praying with Desire (Fervour)  <Menu>

Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Getting God to listen to our petitions involved a heart seeking of God. God sees our hearts and nothing can be hid from Him, therefore pure words do nothing for getting God's ear. What gets God's ear is the change of heart from sin and apathy, and the fervor of heart that is seen in passion and compassion.

Psa 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Exo 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

God wants us to "thirst" (highly desire) Him. That is exactly what prayer is about. But this seeking of God must be coupled with instruction from the Word of God. Emotion alone will not please God, but compassion guided by the mind (knowledge) and the will (extreme desire). We must seek God in accordance with the guidelines God gives in His word. Obedience is the only criteria acceptable here. Seeking God in incorrect forms of life and spiritual life will only anger God against us, and will not really draw us near to God.

Psa 59:17; Luke 6:12; 11:8; 18:1; Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18; James 5:16-17

Perhaps the best people to learn how to pray with fervour were the holiness movement of time past before tongues, healings, etc were showcased as manifestations of the Holy Spirit. The old time holiness movement that came out of the Methodist movement of Wesley (also called Deeper Life Movement) is some of the best emotionally motivating writings. Here I would recommend E.M. Bounds works on prayer.

Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly ... in prayers."
Acts 1:14 "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication ..."
Acts 12:5, 12 "... but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him."
2 Corinthians 1:11 "Ye also helping together by prayer for us ..."

Bounds, Essentials of Prayer
The entire man must pray. The whole man, life, heart, temper, mind, are in it. Each and all join in the prayer exercise. Doubt, double-mindedness, division of the affections, are all foreign to the closet. Character and conduct, undefiled, made whiter than snow, are mighty potencies, and are the most seemly beauties for the closet hour, and for the struggles of prayer.

A loyal intellect must conspire and add the energy and fire of its undoubting and undivided faith to that kind of an hour, the hour of prayer. Necessarily the mind enters into the praying. First of all, it takes thought to pray. The intellect teaches us we ought to pray. By serious thinking beforehand the mind prepares itself for approaching a throne of grace. Thought goes before entrance into the closet and prepares the way for true praying. It considers what will be asked for in the closet hour. True praying does not leave to the inspiration of the hour what will be the requests of that hour. As praying is asking for something definite of God, so, beforehand, the thought arises--"What shall I ask for at this hour?" All vain and evil and frivolous thoughts are eliminated, and the mind is given over entirely to God, thinking of him of what is needed, and what has been received in the past. By every token, prayer, in taking hold of the entire man, does not leave out the mind. The very first step in prayer is a mental one. The disciples took that first step when they said unto Jesus at one time, "Lord, teach us to pray." We must be taught through the intellect, and just in so far as the intellect is given up to God in prayer, will we be able to learn well and readily the lesson of prayer.
Bounds - Essentials of Prayer Chapter 1 Prayer Takes in the Whole Man

AndersonTM - Prayer that Availeth, Ch 6 Praying with Desire Mark 11:24
Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 9 Three Essentials of Prayer, Ask, Seek, Knock
Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 10 Asking and Receiving
Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 11 Seeking and Finding
Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 12 Knocking that Obtains and Opening
Finney, Charles - Reward of Fervent Prayer (s)

41.14.06 History of Biblical Obedience  <Menu>

Mark 14:37-41 - Requires discipline on our part to submit to God.
1John 3:22

According to John 15:7, God will answer our prayers because we "abide in Christ". This means that our life "fits" into what is the example of Christ's life, and that we seek strength and direction from God (drawing life from the vine).

Effective prayer is seen in 1John 3:22, we receive what we ask for because first of all we don't ask for any old thing our foolishness may invent up, but we seek to do all things (including asking God for things in prayer) according to how it pleases God.

41.14.07 The Heart's Preparation for Prayer  <Menu>

Preparation for Prayer - Psa 66:18; 145:18; Prov 15:8, 29; 28:9; Isa 1:15; 29:13; 59:2; Mark 7:6; 11:25; John 9:31; 1Tim 2:8; James 1:6; 4:3.

41.14.07.01 Obedience   <Menu>

John 9:31; 1John 3:22

41.14.07.02 Righteousness  <Menu>

Psa 34.15, 17; Prov 15:8, 29; James 5:16

41.14.07.03 Humility   <Menu>

2Chr 7:14-15; Psa 9:12; 10:17; 102:17; Mat 23.5, 14, 27-28; Luke 18:13-14

Psa 138:6 Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

41.14.07.04 Meekness  <Menu>

God will answer the prayers of those who seek Him. But first we must draw near to God, or we will not have shown God that we are seeking Him. "Drawing near to God" means to order our lives in the will of God. Heb 10:22. We are wrong, and God is right should be our understanding and attitude.

God listens to the meek, humble, and broken.

Psa 34:18; 51:17.

Austin-Sparks - Discipline unto Prayer: Ch 3 Meekness of the Man of God
Erskine, Ebenezer - Humble Soul the Particular Favourite of Heaven (s)

41.14.07.05 Faith   <Menu>

Mat 21:22; Mar 11:22-24; 1Tim 2:8; James 1:6-7; 1John 5:13-15

Books & Chapters

Anderson, Tony Marshall - Prayer Availeth Much Chapter 5 Praying without Doubt

41.14.07.06 Fear of the Lord  <Menu>

Psa 145:19

41.14.07.07 Abiding in Christ  <Menu>

Psa 91:1, 14-15; John 15:7

41.14.07.08 Importunity

See 41.12.05 Importunity in Prayer

Luke 11:5-8

41.14.07.09 Incessantly

1Th 5:17; Eph 6:18; Luke 18:1

41.14.07.10 In the Name of Jesus

John 14:13-14

Sermons, Books, & Chapters

Boston - Praying in the Name of Christ (s)
Broadus - In Jesus' Name (s)

41.14.07.11 Boldly

Heb 4:16; 1John 3:21

41.14.07.12 In will of God

1John 5:14

Sermons

Finney - Thy Will be Done (s)

41.14.07.13  In the Holy Spirit

Eph 6:18; Rom 8:26-27

41.14.08 Holy Spirit's help   <Menu>

Rom 8:15-26; Eph 2:13, 18

Praying should be through the power of God's Spirit.

Bunyan - Praying in the Spirit (s)
Campbell, Murdoch - The Bride's Prayer (s)

41.14.09 Our Form of Speaking to God. <Menu>

Donations

God is not fooled by the pompous, vain, babbling of insincere men. God sees the heart when you speak with Him, and nothing is hidden from God's piercing examination.

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Neither the amount of talk, nor the formality, will impress God with your petition or cause God to "hear" you.

Ecc 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Quite the contrary, any "rashness" (quickly saying something as if to impress God with you sincerity, but not really thought out as to its consequences) is a dangerous thing to do. God will take you at your word and will chastise and punish you for speaking with him or before his present without thinking about and weighing the consequences of your words.

41.14.10 The Place of God's Word in Prayer <Menu>

Books & Chapters

Austin-Sparks - In Touch with the Throne Chapter 4 Some Mental Difficulties in Prayer

41.14.10 Effective Prayer <Menu>

Note Charles Hodge gives 7 criteria here: Sincerity, Reverence, Humility, Importunity, Submission, Faith, Asking in the name of Christ. Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology: Volume III (Hendrickson, 2003), p. 701-704.

41.14.10.01 Sincerity

“God is a Spirit. He searches the heart. . . .He cannot be deceived and will not be mocked. . . .Everyone must acknowledge. . .with regard to the multitudes who, in places of public worship, repeat the solemn forms of devotion or profess to unite with those who utter them, without any corresponding emotions, the service is little more than mockery.” -- Charles Hodge

41.14.10.01 Reverence

“Nothing is more characteristic of the prayers recorded in the Bible, than the spirit of reverence by which they are pervaded.” -- Charles Hodge

41.14.10.01 Humility

“This includes, first, a due sense of our. . .uncleanness in the sight of God as sinners.” -- Charles Hodge

41.14.10.01 Importunity

“God deals with us as a wise benefactor. He requires that we should appreciate the value of the blessings for which we ask, and that we should manifest a proper earnestness of desire. If a man begs for his own life or for the life of one dear to him, there is no repressing his importunity.”  -- Charles Hodge

41.14.10.01 Submission

“Every man who duly appreciates his relation to God, will, no matter what his request, be disposed to say, ‘Lord, not my will but thine be done.’ -- Charles Hodge

41.14.10.01 Faith

“We must believe. (a.) That God is. (b.) That He is able to hear and answer our prayers. (c.) That He is disposed to answer them. (d.) That He certainly will answer them, if consistent with his own wise purposes and with our best good.” -- Charles Hodge

41.14.10.01 Asking in the Name of Christ

“Our Lord said to His disciples ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive.’70 To act in the name of anyone is often to act by his authority, and in the exercise of his power. . . .When one asks a favour in the name of another, the simple meaning is, for his sake. Regard for the person in whose name the favour is requested, is relied on as the ground on which it is to be granted. -- Charles Hodge

41.15 Bible Dictionary Entries (new page)<Menu>

go here Bible Dictionary Entries on "Prayer"

41.16 Prayer Books<Menu>

Jumps to Books: A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W X Y Z Sermons  Prayer Book  Hymns

Adler, Herbert Marcus - The Jewish Prayer Book, an Outline of its History flipbook (1922)
Aldrich, Donald B - The Golden Book of Prayer, Anthology of Prayer flipbook (1941)
Anonymous - A Prayer Book Revised flipbook (1913)
Berens, Edward - The History of the Prayer Book of the Church of England flipbook (1841)
Bullock-Webster, George Russell (1858-) - Churchman's Prayer Manual flipbook (1913)
Carter, Thomas Thellusson - Treasury of Deovtion, Manual of Prayer for General and Daily Use flipbook (1873)
Church of England - Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1588) old English version
Church of England - Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1588) more modern English
Church of England - Teacher's Prayer Book flipbook
Church Anglican - Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1910)
Craik, James (1806-1882) (Episcopal) - An Order of Family Prayer flipbook (1869)
Dearmer, Percy (1867-1936) - Everyman's History of the Prayer Book flipbook(1912)
Dickinson, Hercules H - Lectures on the Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1859)
Drury, Thomas Worthley (1847-1926) - How we got our Prayer Book flipbook (1901)
Faber, Frederick William - Tracts on the Church and the Prayer Book flipbook (1840)
Fowler, Andrew - An Exposition of Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1897)
Gwynne, Walker (1845-1931) - Primitive Worship and the Prayer Book flipbook (1917)
Harford, George (1860-1921) - The Prayer Book Dictionary Flipbook (1912)
Humphry, William Gilson - An Historical and Explanatory Treatise on the Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1875)
King's Chapel - Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1865)
Leavitt, Jonathan - Christian Lyre, Collections of Hymns and Tunes flipbook (1837)
Merbecke, John (1510-1585) - The Book of Common Prayer noted flipbook (1884)
Odenheimer, William Henry (1817-1879) - Origin and Compilation of the Prayer Book flipbook (1844)
Presbyterian Church USA - A Book of Public Prayer flipbook (1857)
Pocock, Nicholas (1814-1897) - Troubles connected with the Prayer Book flipbook(1549)
Proctor, Francis (1812-1905) - Elementary Introduction to Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1901)
Shepherd, John - A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1828)
Shinn, George Wolfe (1839-1910) - A Manual of Instruction on the Prayer Book flipbook (1874)
Thomas, Abel Charles - The Gospel Liturgy, Prayer Book for Churches, Congregations, and Families flipbook (1887) Universalist
Walden, Treadwell (1830-1918) - Sunday School Prayer Book flipbook (1866)
Warter, John Wood (1806-1878) - The Teaching of the Prayer Book flipbook (1845)
 

41.17 Hymnals, Song Books, and other books dealing with Music and Prayer

Jumps to Books: A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W X Y Z Sermons  Prayer Book  Hymns

American Sunday School Union - Union Prayer Meeting hymns Flipbook (1859)
Bliss, Philip Paul - Gospel Songs flipbook (1874)
Gower, John H - An Evening Service Book flipbook (1891)
Hoffman, Elisha A - Favorite Gospel Songs flipbook (1894)
Martineau, J - Hymns of Praise and Prayer flipbook (1876)
Pusey, E. H. - The Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer flipbook (1880)
Sweney, John R - Garner, Songs and Hymns for Sunday Schools, Prayer Meetings, Temperance flipbook (1878)
Willson, David - Hymns of Praise, containing Doctrine and prayer flipbook (1853)
Young, C.E.B. - Hymns of Prayer and Praise with Tunes flipbook (1921)

41.18 Questions and Answers on Prayer

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See 41.18 Questions and Answers on Prayer

41.19 Teaching Helps on Prayer

See 41.20 Teaching Helps on Prayer

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