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DISCIPLESHIP CLASS 101—LESSON TWO: PRAYER
Vine’s Bible Dictionary has several definitions for the word "pray"
-most common use of the word pray
3. erotao—to ask (e.g. Luke 14:18-19; John 4:31;
Acts 23:18)
4. deomai—to desire or beseech (e.g. 2 Cor. 5:20;
8:4)
The primary difference between number 3 and 4 is the urgency of the request. The above example verses listed for number 3 indicate examples where questions were asked with the apparent attempt to solicit a positive answer to a request (i.e. the people wanting to be excused from attendance; the disciples wanting Christ to eat; Paul wanting the jailer to deliver the boy). The verses in number 4 indicate almost a pleading urgency on the part of Paul, the human author.
Now, do we really understand what prayer is or should be? There are many misconceptions about prayer we need to examine. To do this, it is helpful to look at what is commonly referred, perhaps incorrectly, as the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew chapter 6, verses 9-13. I say this may be an incorrect reference because that implies, to some, that this was the only prayer Jesus ever prayed, or that this is the only prayer acceptable to God, hence the practice of some churches repeating the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ before every Sunday morning service.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
MISCONCEPTION ONE: The Lord’s Prayer should be repeated by Christians on some type of regular basis.
-This is absolutely false. Nowhere here in chapter 6, nor in any other part of the Bible are we ever told to repeat this prayer, nor do we see any of the original Christians do this.
-The first phrase in verse 9 clearly tells us that we are to pray after this manner.
This is a model prayer for us. Verse 7 of Matthew chapter 6 clearly teaches why we should not meaninglessly repeat the ‘Lord’s Prayer’:
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.
Vainly repeating the model prayer does not exalt God in our own hearts, nor does it impress God.
MISCONCEPTION TWO: A prayer needs to be long to be effective.
-Say this prayer in chapter 6 to yourself at a regular pace. It takes about twenty seconds.
-God’s main concern with our prayers is that we sincerely tell Him our wants, needs, et cetera. This can take a few seconds as a request comes to mind, or several minutes, or an hour or more. Sincerity, not length, counts.
MISCONCEPTION THREE: There is a required physical position for prayer.
-Go to Matthew chapter 5, verse 1. This verse, which tells us where Christ and His disciples were when we hear this prayer, tells us Christ and the disciples were sitting in the mountains. Nothing happened in chapters 5 or 6 to indicate Christ closed His eyes or got on His knees to pray. While there is nothing wrong with doing these things, it is also all right to pray in any position, such as driving or mowing your yard, which require you keep your eyes open.
Clearing up certain misconceptions of prayer by looking at the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, we next examine what the contents of the prayer is, since we should, admittedly, model our prayer life after it.
our God is whenever we pray.
9 …Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name.
"Hallowed" comes from hagiazo, which means, to make holy. Thus, here, the word indicates the holiness and sanctity of God. Also notice to whom the prayer is directed: God the FATHER. Many pray to all three of the persons of God (i.e. Father, Son, Holy Spirit) or to Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, or even to Mary (!!!). In any prayer you see from Jesus, the addressee is the Father (e.g. here, Matt. 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 23:34 et cetera). This makes sense from two perspectives. First, Christ constantly subjected Himself to the will of the Father (Matt. 26 and Mark 14, among others). Therefore, positionally, God the Son does not have the authority to answer prayers independently of the will of the Father. Second, what are the relationships between us as humans and the Son and Holy Spirit, where prayer is concerned?
I Timothy 2:5:
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.
The second use of the word ‘God’ obviously refers to God the Father because it would not make any sense for God the Son to be the mediator between us and Himself or God in the general sense. "Mediator" is from mesites, meaning go-between, or literally, to go in the middle. If God the Son is in the middle, He can’t be on the other side of Himself.
What about the Holy Spirit? Why shouldn’t we pray to the Holy Spirit?
Romans 8:26-27:
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according the will of God.
2. Second, we should be mindful of the coming promises of God, particularlyWhat is obvious here is that we have been given the Holy Spirit to teach us to pray to the Father, not to the Spirit, and that the Spirit actually prays independently of us to the Father, according to whose will? The Father’s.
His imminent return and establishment of His kingdom.
10 Thy kingdom come.
3. Then we should always go into our prayers with the attitude that we are willing to yield ourselves to the will of the Father above our own desires.
10 …Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
4. Next, we should make our needs known to our Father.A big reason we don’t see great things happen as a result of our prayers is because we don’t willfully yield ourselves to God’s will. We ask for things not realizing that God already has a plan for us.
5. Then, we should ask God’s forgiveness for our sins.11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Why do we need to ask Him for the things we need? Is it not true that God knows what we have need of before we ask Him? (Matt. 6:8) By asking God for the things we have need of, we are demonstrating to Him, as well as ourselves, that we truly do rely on Him for our provision, as opposed to ourselves. When we stop asking Him for our provision, we soon forget that we need Him.
6. Finally, we should ask Him to deliver us from our temptations.12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
A big thing we forget is that, as Christians, we still sin. Keep in mind that the book of I John was a general epistle written to all Christian churches in existence at that time. Thus, the book was written to a crowd that had already been saved by the blood of Christ. However, John writes in I John chapter 1:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So obviously, being a Christian does not keep us from sinning. But, when we pray and ask forgiveness, He is just and forgiving. Notice the second part of verse 12, however. If we expect forgiveness from God, we must be forgiving. We are only entitled to ask for forgiveness to the degree at which we are willing to forgive others, no more. The perfect example of this principle is the parable Christ told the disciples in Matt. 18:21-35 (READ), and reiterated in Matthew chapter 6:
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Does this mean we lose our salvation? Of course not (II Cor. 1:21-22). But it does mean our sinfulness and pride interrupts our relationship with our heavenly Father.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:…
We know that God does not tempt us with evil (James 1:13), but that we are tempted and drawn away by our own lusts (James 1:14). However, we do not have the ability to resist the author of sin, Satan, on our own will. Thus, James further writes in chapter 4:
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Notice which comes first, the chicken or the egg. Submit to God first and then resist the devil, because, as verse 8 of James 4 says: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh unto you."
These are the general principles of prayer that we can learn from Christ’s ‘Lord’s Prayer’. This is not an exhaustive study of prayer. There are many other principles of prayer we should make note of:
-this concerns our daily walk, not only our salvation. If we expect our prayers to be heard by God, we must, obviously, be saved people, but we must be in a right relationship with Him as well, because He cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). If He cannot look upon us in our unforgiven sins, how can He hear our prayers?
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN:
There is one point in this lesson that some would dispute. Some believe that you can pray specifically to Jesus or the Holy Spirit, as opposed to solely the Father. They use the following verses to support praying to Jesus:
Acts 7:59; I Cor. 1:2, 9; II Cor. 12:8; II Tim. 2:22; I Jn. 1:3.
While every person can review both positions and make up their own decision, I don’t personally feel these verses support that position. Acts 7:59 refers to a very unusual incident where Stephen literally saw Jesus in heaven waiting to welcome him home. I Cor. 1:2, and II Tim. 2:22 refer to those who call on the name of Jesus. I believe this refers to us that call upon Him for salvation, not in prayer. I Cor. 1:9 and I Jn. 1:3 refer to our fellowship with Jesus, which I believe relate to our position as Jesus’ adopted brothers and sisters (Gal. 4:5—we are the Father’s adopted children, thus brethren of His Son—see also Matt. 12:48-50) In II Cor. 12:8. Paul mentions of praying to the Lord, which is commonly understood to either refer the Son, or the whole persons of God.
People will use the following verses to support praying to the Holy Spirit:
II Cor. 13:14, Phil. 2:1.
Neither of these verses mention praying to the Holy Spirit.
I stick to my opinion given before. I don’t believe it to be a doctrinal error to start a prayer with "Oh dear Jesus", or anything like that. Truth is, when we pray, we should be focusing on the persons of God as a whole. The Father who made us and forgave us; the Son who died for us to make the forgiveness possible; and the Spirit that God gave to guide us and help us. I just think that it helps to understand the relationships of the three persons of God when we think of this issue.