Prayer is what all mankind seems to do, regardless of religious persuasion, when confronted with something beyond their ability with which to cope, comprehend or control.
Prayer is what all mankind seems to do, regardless of religious persuasion, when confronted with something beyond their ability with which to cope, comprehend or control.
Currently, the members of Hamas pray that their rockets will seek out and destroy as many Israelis as possible.
The Israelis pray not only that they will be protected from the Hamas bombs, but they will also be empowered to destroy their enemies.
Entered into this mix are those of us who are called Christians who pray for resolution between the two warring factions. The question is, “What are we all doing when we pray?”
The American Heritage Dictionary defines prayer as a “reverent petition made to God.”
It appears that prayer lives or dies not with the petitioner but rather with the one who is being petitioned.
Making the assumption that those of us who are reading this article are Christian gives cause to read Genesis 4:26: “At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.”
At the time the aforementioned passage was recorded, God was characterized by the name “ELOHIM” meaning strength or power. When the words of Genesis 4:26 were articulated, mankind had already shown weakness of the flesh in yielding to “Satan’s” suggestions. Adam tried to hide in the garden but without success. He was then confronted with his own eventual demise.
Later, his family would be shattered when Cain killed his brother Abel.
What an utter mess!
It was time to talk with someone about the problems men and women are powerless to solve. It was at this time that men “began to call on the name of the Lord.”
Biblical history has revealed the viability of prayer made to God, especially when life overwhelms us.
One of the values of reading the Bible is to see the victories that followed those who called on the Lord.
Samuel promised to “pray” for the Israelite nation and even went as far as to say that “not to pray” would be against the will of God (I Sam. 12:23-24).
Attempting to face the enemy without God has always been disastrous. In the New Testament, Jesus – who is the “word made flesh” – exemplified the importance of prayer.
His prayer life so impacted the lives of those around Him that they requested to be taught how to pray (Luke 11:1).
It is worth noting that Jesus was in a “certain place” when this request was made. In Mark 1:35, we are told that when the disciples found Jesus praying it was “very early” and in a “solitary place.”
Matthew 10 records Jesus choosing twelve men to follow Him. In Luke’s account of the same even we are told that Jesus “spent the night praying to God” before choosing his twelve disciples (Luke 6:12).
When Jesus, our praying Savior, responds to “teach us to pray” he provides instruction. He warns us to not to pray “like the hypocrites.” Those who ignore this instruction and pray only to be seen by men, have their reward in full as soon as they say, “Amen.”
Jesus also instructed that the most intimate and effective prayers are prayed alone, behind closed doors.
Jesus also went a step further and said that you don’t have to inform God about everything.
“Do not be like them [the Gentiles], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt. 6:8 NIV).
We need no further instructions than what Jesus taught when he said, “Pray, then in this way:
Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you – Matt. 6:9-14.
We need to be reminded that Genesis 4:26 indicated people began to call upon “the name of the Lord.”
In Jesus’ teaching on prayer he indicated that we should hallow the name of the Lord.
In every sense of this model prayer, taught by Jesus, we are directed to cry out for God’s strength to be applied to our weakness.
Prayer is still the same today as it was in the beginning.
I would encourage us all to hear Jesus when he said, “This is how you should pray” (Matt. 6:9 NIV).
It seems that prayer is what all mankind seems to do, regardless of religious persuasion, when confronted with something beyond their ability with which to cope, control or comprehend.
However, power in prayer is only realized by following the example and the instruction of the one who is the authority on prayer, Jesus.
By the way, just a thought: When was the last time you prayed like Jesus?