Introduction
Last week’s Bible study, Prayer
(Part 1): What, Why, and How, began a multi-part series on the Bible’s
teaching on prayer and the pray-er. In the New American Standard translation of
the Bible, over 132 verses speak on the pray-er and on praying, calling out,
supplicating, asking, and requesting from God. The first part of this study on
prayer and the pray-er covered three areas:
·
What is prayer?
·
What do we do when we pray?
·
How do
we/are we supposed to pray?
This second part of the pray-er/praying Bible study series will
cover what the Bible teaches on the pray-er - the person who prays.
If we can grasp the magnitude of prayer that prayer is not
just a conduit to God’s help or a wish list, but a way of growing to know God
better-of being in relationship with Him-then we will understand the importance
of prayer in our lives. We may start our Christian life praying as a Christian
discipline. Over time and with deeper devotions, prayer becomes an everyday desire
to be with the Lord. Prayer is a way to stay in a continual and growing
relationship with God. By it, we grow more Christlike, too.
What is expected of the Pray-er
Many people think prayer is acceptable to God from anyone.
We do not realize since prayer is part of the foundation of our relationship
with God that specific requirements of the pray-er are necessary for God to
hear prayers. The Bible mentions twenty-nine attributes, actions, and attitudes
necessary of the pray-er. These group into eleven categories of attributes,
actions, and attitudes of a person from whom God will listen to and answer
prayer. I will strive to note these in descending order based on the number of
times mentioned in the Bible though no one of them is important to the pray-er
than any other. As a quick reference, these categories break out this way–righteousness,
belief, praying in solitude, watchfulness and alertness, ceaseless prayer,
fervency and enthusiasm, approach of God, self-control, love of people,
acknowledge and love of Jesus, and praying in agreement.
Righteousness
One of the most famous men in the Old Testament known to be
righteous is Job. Even though he endured testing by Satan at the permission of
God, Job never denied the Lord nor gave up on Him. He believed God listened and
answered his prayers. While going through the trials Satan aimed toward Job,
Job prayed to God. In Job 16:17-19, he expressed that though his prayer was
pure, and it appeared he would sink in the darkness, he had a faithful and
listening witness in heaven. Job recognized the need for purity and
righteousness of the person praying. In Job 42:8 God recognized Job’s prayers
as acceptable and righteous as opposed to those of his friends. In this verse,
God spoke to Eliphaz (Job’s neighbor). He told Eliphaz twice that Job was His
servant. God recognized and pointed out Job’s righteousness compared to Eliphaz’s
lack of righteousness. He told Eliphaz what made him unrighteous in His sight–speaking
against Him.
Besides these two verses on Job, eleven other verses in the
Bible record God hears and answers the prayers of the person who is righteous. Righteousness
comes from God to His believers. He gives righteousness through belief in Him
and forgiveness of a believer’s sins when that person confesses and repents of
his or her sin. God continues to give righteousness each day to a believer when
that person chooses to live by the power of the Holy Spirit He put within the
person on his or her day of saving belief in Jesus Christ. For Abraham, Moses,
Job and others of the Old Testament, their saving faith came when they believed
God and He counted it as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Job 1:8, Hebrews 11).
Because this attribute is important in the person who prays, I will give the
verse and references concerning righteousness and the pray-er for your
reflection. Consider the following verses:
Ø
Psalms 17:1 – “Hear a just cause, O LORD, give
heed to my cry; Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.”
Ø
Psalm 19:14 – “Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and
my Redeemer.”
Ø
Proverbs 15:29 – “The LORD is far from the
wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”
Ø
Isaiah 56:1 – “This says the LORD, ‘Preserve
justice and do righteousness for My salvation is about to come and My
righteousness to be revealed.”
Ø
Acts 10:1-2– “Now there was a man at Caesarea
named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout
(godly,
pious, like God he was righteous before God) man and one who feared God
with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to
God continually.”
Ø
Acts 10:31 – “And he (Peter) said, ‘Cornelius,
your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.”
Ø
1 Timothy 2:8 – “Therefore I want the men in
every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”
(coming
before God righteous as a right relationship with the Lord makes us)
Ø
James 4:3 – “You ask and do not receive because
you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
(Wrong
motives, James noted, come from selfish desires and jealousy. These are not
righteousness.)
Ø
James 5:16 – “Therefore, confess your sins to
one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective
prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (God will answer the prayer of a
righteous person.)
Ø
1 Peter 3:12 – “For the eyes of the LORD are
toward the righteous and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face
of the LORD is against those who do evil.”
Ø
1 John 5:14-15 – “This is the confidence which
we have before Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He
hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we
have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (God hears and accepts prayers that
are in accord with His will. Our faith in Him means we can know He will answer
our prayers made according His will.)
The Bible teaches the other side of this, too. It says in
Proverbs 28:9, “He who turns his ear from listening to the Law, even his prayer
is an abomination.” “Abomination” comes from the Hebrew word tow’ebah and means disgusting, wicked, and
abomination[i].
A person who turns away from following God is sinful and wicked. God will
condemn wicked people on judgment day. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:12, “The eyes
of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but
the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” God will listen to the
prayers of the righteous, those who seek Him. Jesus said this to the Pharisees
in Matthew 23:14 when He spoke about their actions. He said God would not
listen to their prayers because of their evil actions and unrepentant hearts. God
would condemn them.
God will listen to the righteous, those who genuinely seek
Him and want to be in a relationship with Him. He will not attend to the
prayers of the unrighteous-those who do not follow the Lord and who live and
pray with selfish motives.
Belief
Belief in God is the attribute second most spoken of by the
Bible in a believer who prays. The Bible writers most often stated it as
“having faith in God.” In this category, five Bible verses speak on “prayer”
and two regarding “pray” and “ask.” Jesus noted faith was necessary (Matt.
17:19-21). He said belief brings receiving that for which you ask in prayer
(Matt. 21:22). Paul has great confidence in the faith and prayers of the
Philippian Christians (Phil. 1:19). He said the believers of Philippi could pray
with thanksgiving knowing God would listen to and answer their prayers (Phil.
4:6). James stated the prayer of faith would restore the sick (James 5:15).
Mark noted for a pray-er to receive that for which he or she asked, he or she
had to believe (Mark 11:24). John speaks of this same belief necessary for a
child of God. He said because the Father loves believers, He wants to give them
what they request (John 16:26-27). Each of these men spoke of belief in terms
of the Greek word pisteuo. Pisteuo means
to think to be true, to be persuaded and place confidence in God and Jesus
Christ because of a conviction and trust in the triune God. That trust aids in getting
what a person needs or prays for, and in receiving salvation.
The Bible speaks through seven verses/passages of the pray-er needing to have
faith or belief. Below are those verses.
Ø
Matthew 17:19-21; 21:22
Ø
Mark 11:24
Ø
John 16:26-27
Ø
Philippians 1:19; 4:6
Ø
James 5:15
Pray in Solitude
The third most common teaching
in the Bible concerning the attribute, action, or attitude of the pray-er
necessary for effective praying regards where to pray. Five times in the New
Testament the disciples recorded Jesus teaching or modeling prayer in solitude.
Jesus told people to go to an inner room. He contrasted this solitary praying
with that of the Pharisees whom He called hypocrites. Four other times, Matthew
and Luke record Jesus went to a lonely, quiet, and solitary place to pray. You
will notice when you read these passages that Jesus took those dearest to Him,
the disciples. He modeled prayer for them and He wanted them to pray to the
Father, too.
Solitariness solely for isolation was not what Jesus taught.
He taught this so people understood the intent of the pray-er’s heart was what
God listened to and saw. That intent, be it righteousness or showmanship,
determined if God would attend to and answer prayer. Jesus taught this lesson
so people understood a pray-er must get away from distractions to commune truly
with the Father. A quiet place allows a person to focus on God so the pray-er can
approach God with reverence. That person can have an honest conversation with
Him that enables two-way communication. This private conversation gives the
pray-er solitude so he or she remains uninfluenced to push his or her sins, for
which he/she makes confession should, under the rug. Solitude allows focus,
genuine communication, and sincere repentance and confession.
The verses of
the New Testament that teach this action and attitude of the pray-er are:
Ø
Matthew 6:6, 14:23
Ø
Luke 5:16, 6:12, & 9:28
Watchfulness and Alertness
In the four verses that teach a pray-er should be alert or
watchful, the writers of those verses used two Greek words watchfulness and
alertness–gregoreuo and agrupneo.
Both these words mean to stay awake to avoid the snares and deceptions of
Satan. Agrupneo is an alertness in a
believer’s character that keeps laziness and forgetfulness from becoming part
of the person’s character, which would allow temptations to overtake him or
her. It derives from the word used to speak of a shepherd abstaining from sleep
to watch for the safety of the sheep. Agrupneo
speaks of an active watchfulness and alertness. It describes being spiritually awake
and alert as opposed to being spiritually indifferent. The writer uses this “alert”
as a command/imperative. (This alert is aorist imperative.) Agrupneo is an action a believer is to
do based on his or her character. It is characteristic of being a Christian who
is growing more like Christ. If a person is truly a believer, then he or she
will be alert. The character is of being a Christian, which should impel an
active watchfulness. Luke and Paul used agrupneo
for the English word “alert” in Luke 21:36 and Ephesians 6:18.
The second word used for alert and watchful, gregoreuo, has its emphasis on the action
of being watchful, not the character of the person. In its original usage, it
referred to being careful as one stepped on moss-covered stones, not being
careful as a follower of God. Gregoreuo
is an action and agrupneo should be
part of the character of a believer. Over time, the usage of both came to mean
the same thing–being watchful and alert. Matthew and Paul used gregoreuo in Matthew 26:41 and Colossians
4:2.
The important thing to remember about these passages is the
call to be actively watchful and alert. For a person to be an effective
pray-er, one who God hears, that person must be alert and watchful not to be
tempted and deceived to follow a way other than God’s way. When people walk
away from God and remain unrepentant, they are not righteous and their prayers
go unheard by God. When a genuine seeking of God occurs by a person, God hears
and will answer prayer.
Ceaseless Prayer
A person who seeks God in prayer should pray ceaselessly. In
Luke 18:1, Jesus taught His disciples to pray always and not give up. He taught
the Father would listen to the prayers of His children who cry out to Him ceaselessly
day and night. He is the just King and brings justice for His people. The other
point Jesus made with this passage came as a question. He asked, “Would the
returned Christ find faith like this on earth when He returns?” Will people who
call themselves believers have continual faith in crisis and calm and still
follow Him?
Paul taught on ceaseless prayer, too. He said the pray-er
should pray at all times and without ceasing in Ephesians 6:18 and 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18. He modeled this unceasing and faith-filled prayer in
Colossians 1:9.
These verses remind us prayer is about being in relationship
with the Father, not just an emergency lifeline. Prayer should happen in good
times and bad. Besides this, the pray-er should align his or her request with
God’s will. By doing that, the pray-er will join with God seeking the best and
He will answer the prayer. The pray-er should be in such a close relationship
with the Lord that his or her prayers are ceaseless (at all times), persevering,
and in agreement with the will of God.
Fervency and Enthusiasm
Along with ceaseless praying, the Bible instructs pray-ers
to approach the Lord in prayer with what is on his or her heart. When a pray-er
does this, the person is fervent, passionate, and enthusiastic concerning that
for which he or she prays be it a petition, confession and repentance, or
adoration and thanks. The word “fervent” comes from the Greek word ektenos and means earnestly, fervently,
and intensely. When a
person genuinely approaches God in prayer, the person speaks with enthusiasm
(fervency) and not with meaningless repetition. The Bible speaks on these in
four passages.
The Christian church prayed fervently for Peter’s release
from prison in Acts 12:5. No earthly powers would intervene for Peter. The
followers of Jesus knew God’s power could provide release for him. Jesus gave believers
a model of fervent praying. Luke recorded in Luke 22:44 that Jesus, in agony,
prayed with fervency as noted when His sweat was like drops of blood on the
ground. James said Elijah prayed earnestly it would not rain and it did not for
three-and-a-half years, until he prayed for rain (James 5:17).
Earnestness comes from the heart. This prayer is not a rote
prayer learned as a child. It does not come from repetition, but as a heart’s
cry to the Lord almighty. Jesus said the Gentiles prayed meaningless repetition
to their gods, and those supposed gods stayed silent. Their prayers went unanswered
(Matthew 6:7). Instead, Jesus taught His believers should pray to God about
what is on their hearts. Be earnest.
Approach of God
In last week’s Bible study on prayer (Prayer part 1: What, Why, and How), we learned from the Bible we
are to approach God recognizing His existence, mercy, power, faithfulness, and
righteousness. Because of these, we are to approach Him with reverence, pray to
Him only, and ensure our prayers give testimony of God. The question this
current part of our study answers is the physical/spiritual action needed when
praying. Five verses in the New Testament teach us how to approach God.
Ephesians 6:18 tells us to pray in the Spirit. Romans 8:26
says this, too. It says, “In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness,
for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes
for us with groanings too deep for words.” This Spirit is the Helper Jesus promised
His followers (John 14:16). Jesus added in John 14:26 the Father would send this
Helper, the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name (with Jesus’ power). This means when we
pray in the Spirit, we are communicating and communing with God through the
Holy Spirit He puts in each believer when he or she professes Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior. This Holy Spirit gives us access to the Father for
communicating and utters things too deep for mere human words. By the Spirit,
we commune with Him on a spiritual level.
Besides praying through the Holy Spirit, Paul taught we are
to pray with our spirit and mind. If what we pray is not understandable to our
physical/mental being, it will not affect our resultant actions and thoughts.
Prayers need to come from the mind. Yet if our prayers are just mental and we
do not commune with God with our spirit, too, then praying is rote discipline
and does not affect us spiritually-growing us to be more Christlike, heeding
God, and truly communing with Him. Prayer brings and nurtures our relationship
with God. If only one part of our self prays to God, then true relationship
building and bonding does not occur.
Besides approaching God through the Holy Spirit and with our
whole being–heart, mind, and soul, we must approach Him acceptably with our
physical self. We must speak acceptably to the Lord. David expressed this in
Psalm 19:14 when he said, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” David
recognized prayer occurs from the physical self and the heart.
God taught the Israelites to love the LORD with all their
heart, soul, and might in Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus taught His followers to love
the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength (might), and mind in Luke 10:27.
Jesus understood to be in a relationship with God, humans had to love Him with
their whole being–spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional. To love someone
with the depth of one’s being means a person must communicate and relate to
another on each of these levels. Relationship and communication are more than
speaking (action). Communication with the Lord is more than thinking your
prayers to Him, too. Relationship with God involves physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual connection.
Self-Control
Added to the areas above, the person who prays, to be an
effective pray-er, must be self-controlled. What does that mean? Just as we
love the Lord with our whole being–heart, soul, mind, and strength–we are to
bring the parts of our self under control while seeking to be one with God,
build our relationship with Him, and become more Christlike. Part of that
self-control is being humble. David spoke of this in Psalm 35:13 when he
expressed his loyalty to Saul and his family. We must approach God with
humility, which includes in prayer. Solomon humbled himself before the Lord in
1 Kings 8:28 when he referred to himself as a servant of the LORD God.
Peter added to humility in prayer. He taught, “The end of all
things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the
purpose of prayer.” This “sound judgment and sober spirit” he spoke of is
self-control and humility. Besides that, when he said a person must approach
prayer with a sober spirit, he meant the pray-er must be calm and collected in
his or her spirit, temperate and dispassionate.
To approach the Lord in prayer requires the person praying to be humble,
self-controlled, calm, and collected. Building and deepening a relationship
needs peace to occur. Frantic-ness is inevitable, but is not conducive to
meaningful communication and growth.
Love of People
When approaching the Lord in prayer, a person must harbor no
ill will–wrath and bitterness–toward another person. Jesus taught this in the
Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:23. He said, “Therefore, if you are presenting
your offering at the altar and there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be
reconciled to your brother and then come and present your offer.” Jesus taught
that interpersonal relationships can hinder our relationship with God because
our emotions get in the way. If a person is fraught with negative emotions
those emotions carry-over into other spheres of life including our relationship
with God.
Peter and Paul both taught people need to live with
understanding and care toward other people so they can approach God in peace
and without anger, bitterness, or fretting. In 1 Peter 3:7, Peter spoke about
husbands and wives, the closest human relationship. He said, “You husbands in
the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone
weaker, since she is a woman, and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace
of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.” By harboring anger or a
grudge against a person, we do not honor him or her. Bitterness takes root in a
heart and prevents genuine communion with God. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:8,
“Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting holy hands, without
wrath and dissension.” He taught the same thing Peter did. One cannot lift his/her
hands in prayer if he/she lifts them in anger toward another person.
Our relationship with other people affects our relationship
with God. These relationships include the husband and wife relationship, other
familial relationships, and encounters with friends and other people within our
sphere. We must honor, care for, and love other people. That was the second
part of the greatest commandment Jesus taught. Love of other people is the
second part of the Ten Commandments God gave Moses for the Israelites–love one
another. The first part is to love and honor God.
Acknowledge and Love Jesus
This should be obvious based on the myriad other teachings
to people who pray. Yet we must include it lest someone say he or she did not
know. Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God and one person of the triune Godhead,
when Jesus told His followers and God told His children–Israel-to love the LORD
with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, they meant for all God’s
children to love Jesus Christ with their whole being, too. In John 16:26-27,
Jesus told His followers because His followers love Him, the Father loves them
and will listen to their prayers.
Jesus said one other thing in this passage. He said to ask
in Jesus name whatever you will and the Father will give it to you (John
16:23-27). Does that mean those words, “In Jesus name,” are a magic formula like
“abracadabra?” It does not. By saying them, you recognize and acknowledge that
Jesus is your Savior and has the power to answer your prayers. Jesus said this
more than once. He meant it. Jesus said it again in John 14:13 when He said,
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be
glorified in the Son.” He said it in John 15:16, too. He said, “You did not
choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My
name He may give to you.” Notice what asking anything in Jesus’ name means-
·
It means He is your Savior. You identify with
Him and suffer as a Christian as He suffered while on earth.
·
Asking in Jesus’ name means the Father gets the
glory. If that for which you ask will not bring God glory, Jesus will not ask
the Father and your request will go unfilled.
·
Asking in Jesus’ name means you are a Christian
bearing fruit, growing towards perfection in Christ, and that for which you ask
leads to more fruit, a harvest that testifies about God.
Pray in Agreement
This last listed attribute, action, or attitude expected of
the one who prays to God is not unimportant. Upon it hinges harmony, love of
other people, and love of God. Without these, a person cannot be an effective
pray-er. Without these, one does not grow toward righteousness, genuinely seek
to be in communion with God, and grow toward Christlikeness.
The author of Acts, most likely Luke, wrote concerning this
attribute of an effective pray-er three times. In Acts 1:14 the disciples were
of one mind and continually devoted to prayer. Luke said in Acts 16:13 Paul
sought a place of prayer to be with other like-minded believers seeking to be
with God. In Acts 20:36, before Paul left Ephesus for the last time, he
cherished time to pray with the Ephesian Christians.
·
Praying with other people requires agreement for
that which each prays and, therefore, unity.
·
Praying is important enough to seek other people
with whom to join in harmony and seek the Lord.
·
Praying with other people is effective when each
person praying in the group agrees on what he or she says to God in adoration,
confession, thanksgiving, and/or petition. Jesus taught this, too.
Jesus taught His followers to pray together, too. In Matthew
18:19-20, Jesus said, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth
about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is
in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in their
midst.” When more than one Christian communicates with God about the same
thing, most likely those people are praying what the heart of God wills.
The question arises: Does praying with other people make
prayer more effective? In practicality, it does not because whether one person
prays according to the will of God or several people pray, God hears and
answers the prayers of a righteous person. With more than one person praying in
concert, prayers in unison rise before God for the same thing. The urgency of
heart among the people each seeking God’s heart and will on a specific request gladdens
His heart and perhaps makes the answer to prayer arrive sooner. He might rain down
His blessings sooner.
Recap
Does God hear our prayers? The answer is yes if the pray-er
is righteous. Righteousness comes from being in a right relationship with God.
Throughout the Bible, the different authors inspired by God agreed upon eleven
things that made a pray-er effective. The first is the most important and leads
to the others occurring. Without the first, some of the other ten are missing
and God will not listen nor answer prayer. For prayer to be effective-for God
to listen to and answer a prayer–the person praying (the pray-er) must genuinely
seek the Lord and His will. If that occurs, God promises He will hear from
heaven (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Relevance and Conclusion
Do we approach prayer as an item on our daily to-do list? Do
we treat it as just a Christian discipline? Prayer is not just a wish list or a
get-out-of-jail-free card. Genuine prayer comes from a person seeking to grow
in his or her relationship with God–to know Him and His will–and to grow more like
Christ each day. The Bible records eleven attributes, actions, and attitudes of
a person who is seeking a growing relationship with God. None of us is perfect.
Each of us needs to grow in at least one of these areas. In which area are you
weakest and do you need to grow?
·
Righteousness
·
Belief
·
Praying in Solitude
·
Watchfulness and Alertness
·
Ceaseless Praying
·
Fervency and Enthusiasm
·
Approach to God
·
Self-Control
·
Love of People
·
Acknowledgement and Love of Jesus
·
Praying in Agreement
This question and its answer is between you and God. Take it
to God and ask Him to show you where you need to change so your relationship
with Him can grow and you will glorify Him in your prayer life and public life.
James said true wisdom and understanding from God results in righteousness
(James 3). Today is the day for you to ask God for His wisdom and understanding
about your prayer life.
What will you do
today?
