Prayer: A Conversation With God (Pt. 1)
Prayer: A Conversation With God (Part 1)
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With over 50 lengthy prayers and several hundred references and shorter prayers in the Bible, we can conclude that prayer is an important part of a Christian’s life. Prayer may be defined as “a conversation with God.” All the elements of normal speech are used in the Bible in prayer -said, spoke, say, call, cry, etc.
David notes the need to “wait” on God in prayer. “I waited patiently for the LORD and He inclined toward me and heard my cry” (Ps. 40:1). In Ps. 138:3 David describes calling on God and receiving an answer.
Jesus introduced something different in prayer. He spoke of God as “my Father” and told His disciples to begin their prayers with “Our Father.” Only when He was on the cross and cried out “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me” did He ever refer to God as “God” in prayer. All the other times Jesus referred to God as “Father” and taught His disciples to do the same.
Jesus taught that prayer was a deeply personal thing wherein a disciple would go into an inner private room and pray “to your Father in secret” (Matt. 6:5-15). Jesus taught His disciples to make prayer a part of their lifestyle. He gave a parable showing t hat men “ought always to pray and not faint” (Luke 18:1). He prayed often. “He withdrew into the wilderness to pray” (Luke 5:16).
Jesus made prayer His first action in times of trouble. The gospels record His praying at all important events in His life: baptism (Luke 3:21); the transfiguration (Luke 9:29); the selection of His apostles (Luke 6:12-13); and before His crucifixion at Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-46).
Prayer is an exchange of confidence. We are to assume the position of a trusting child and pray with faith that is matched by obedience. God our Father remembers our frame and knows we are but dust. He loves us as His children and therefore hears us and answers our prayers.
We don’t coerce God. We don’t demand of God. We don’t look for a special key or secret way to get to God or to influence God. This is part of the pagan world where the shaman tried to find a scheme to influence the false gods.
An example of this is when Elijah stood against the prophets of Baal. He challenged these false prophets of a pagan dead idol to call on their god and he would call on the Eternal. The god who answered by fire would prove to be the true God. The sacrifices were fixed and Elijah told them to go first while he finished setting up the stones for the altar. They cried, wailed and called to Baal. Elijah taunted them saying they better yell louder as Baal may be on a trip or far away. Next they afflicted pain on their bodies to yell even louder thinking that sound volume was the key and self infliction would cause their god to hear them.
When Elijah prayed he simply said, “I am your servant, answer me O Eternal…” (1Kings 18:16-38). The Eternal answered by fire burning up the sacrifice, water and all.
What should be our posture in prayer? According t o the Bible, people pray standing, kneeling, lying down, sitting, lifting their hands, bowing & pounding their chest. Some pray with heads bowed, eyes closed, or hands folded. But in Scripture, no single posture, movement or time is mentioned in relationship to prayer. The bodily posture or symbol is only relevant if it accurately reflects one’s inner attitude.
Prayer for appearance sake in public is discouraged by Jesus (Mark 12:40). Eloquently stated prayers are not heard if they come from the unrighteous (Prov. 28:9). The attitude and posture that is most important is that of trust (faith) in God and obedience to God. There is a deep and important connection between our praying and our way of life. The “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16).
Jesus modeled the posture of submissive prayer when He prayed in Gethsemane. He “fell on His face.” There is no more submissive position than that posture. And in Jesus’ case it accurately reflected His attitude. We are told that Jesus did this often in the days of His flesh. He offered up crying and tears to Him that was able to save him. He was heard because of His reverent submission translated "fear" in the KJV (Heb. 5:7).
Those whose prayers God honors are those who come to Him in the attitude of a little child in humility. “Yahweh, my heart is not haughty, I do not set my sights too high. I have taken no part in great affairs, in wonders beyond my scope. 2 No, I hold myself in quiet and silence, like a little child in its mother's arms, like a little child, so I keep myself”(Psa. 131:1).
God’s position is one of grace and mercy. He answers prayer to be faithful to His own character. In fact in the Bible we find Moses, Joshua and Nehemiah all were able to appeal to God on the basis of His own character and His righteousness. See Ex 32:11-14; Num 14:13-22; Deut 9:26-29; Neh 1:4-11). Abraham based his prayer on God’s character when he said, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”(Gen. 18:25).
When God threatened to kill the children of Israel and start over with Moses’ descendants, Moses appealed to God that the Egyptians would say He took them out of Egypt just to kill them. After his prayer we read, “…the Lord relented” (Ex. 32:14 NIV). Joshua used similar logic when he said, “What then will you do for your own great name?” (Josh. 7:6-9).
Prayer is an exchange of confidence between God and His covenant people. God is positioned in mercy waiting for our obedience. We need to be positioned in trust and recall God’s promises and appeal to His righteousness not to our own.
[David L. Antion]
-------------------
With over 50 lengthy prayers and several hundred references and shorter prayers in the Bible, we can conclude that prayer is an important part of a Christian’s life. Prayer may be defined as “a conversation with God.” All the elements of normal speech are used in the Bible in prayer -said, spoke, say, call, cry, etc.
David notes the need to “wait” on God in prayer. “I waited patiently for the LORD and He inclined toward me and heard my cry” (Ps. 40:1). In Ps. 138:3 David describes calling on God and receiving an answer.
Jesus introduced something different in prayer. He spoke of God as “my Father” and told His disciples to begin their prayers with “Our Father.” Only when He was on the cross and cried out “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me” did He ever refer to God as “God” in prayer. All the other times Jesus referred to God as “Father” and taught His disciples to do the same.
Jesus taught that prayer was a deeply personal thing wherein a disciple would go into an inner private room and pray “to your Father in secret” (Matt. 6:5-15). Jesus taught His disciples to make prayer a part of their lifestyle. He gave a parable showing t hat men “ought always to pray and not faint” (Luke 18:1). He prayed often. “He withdrew into the wilderness to pray” (Luke 5:16).
Jesus made prayer His first action in times of trouble. The gospels record His praying at all important events in His life: baptism (Luke 3:21); the transfiguration (Luke 9:29); the selection of His apostles (Luke 6:12-13); and before His crucifixion at Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-46).
Prayer is an exchange of confidence. We are to assume the position of a trusting child and pray with faith that is matched by obedience. God our Father remembers our frame and knows we are but dust. He loves us as His children and therefore hears us and answers our prayers.
We don’t coerce God. We don’t demand of God. We don’t look for a special key or secret way to get to God or to influence God. This is part of the pagan world where the shaman tried to find a scheme to influence the false gods.
An example of this is when Elijah stood against the prophets of Baal. He challenged these false prophets of a pagan dead idol to call on their god and he would call on the Eternal. The god who answered by fire would prove to be the true God. The sacrifices were fixed and Elijah told them to go first while he finished setting up the stones for the altar. They cried, wailed and called to Baal. Elijah taunted them saying they better yell louder as Baal may be on a trip or far away. Next they afflicted pain on their bodies to yell even louder thinking that sound volume was the key and self infliction would cause their god to hear them.
When Elijah prayed he simply said, “I am your servant, answer me O Eternal…” (1Kings 18:16-38). The Eternal answered by fire burning up the sacrifice, water and all.
What should be our posture in prayer? According t o the Bible, people pray standing, kneeling, lying down, sitting, lifting their hands, bowing & pounding their chest. Some pray with heads bowed, eyes closed, or hands folded. But in Scripture, no single posture, movement or time is mentioned in relationship to prayer. The bodily posture or symbol is only relevant if it accurately reflects one’s inner attitude.
Prayer for appearance sake in public is discouraged by Jesus (Mark 12:40). Eloquently stated prayers are not heard if they come from the unrighteous (Prov. 28:9). The attitude and posture that is most important is that of trust (faith) in God and obedience to God. There is a deep and important connection between our praying and our way of life. The “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16).
Jesus modeled the posture of submissive prayer when He prayed in Gethsemane. He “fell on His face.” There is no more submissive position than that posture. And in Jesus’ case it accurately reflected His attitude. We are told that Jesus did this often in the days of His flesh. He offered up crying and tears to Him that was able to save him. He was heard because of His reverent submission translated "fear" in the KJV (Heb. 5:7).
Those whose prayers God honors are those who come to Him in the attitude of a little child in humility. “Yahweh, my heart is not haughty, I do not set my sights too high. I have taken no part in great affairs, in wonders beyond my scope. 2 No, I hold myself in quiet and silence, like a little child in its mother's arms, like a little child, so I keep myself”(Psa. 131:1).
God’s position is one of grace and mercy. He answers prayer to be faithful to His own character. In fact in the Bible we find Moses, Joshua and Nehemiah all were able to appeal to God on the basis of His own character and His righteousness. See Ex 32:11-14; Num 14:13-22; Deut 9:26-29; Neh 1:4-11). Abraham based his prayer on God’s character when he said, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”(Gen. 18:25).
When God threatened to kill the children of Israel and start over with Moses’ descendants, Moses appealed to God that the Egyptians would say He took them out of Egypt just to kill them. After his prayer we read, “…the Lord relented” (Ex. 32:14 NIV). Joshua used similar logic when he said, “What then will you do for your own great name?” (Josh. 7:6-9).
Prayer is an exchange of confidence between God and His covenant people. God is positioned in mercy waiting for our obedience. We need to be positioned in trust and recall God’s promises and appeal to His righteousness not to our own.
[David L. Antion]
posted by guardianministries at
8:56 PM
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