The English dictionary defines the word prayer as: ‘The action of praying to God; earnest entreaty.’ It certainly is true that when we pray we are speaking to our heavenly father, and we often find ourselves bringing our varied requests to him. Yet I can’t help thinking there’s a lot more to prayer than simply making Ernest entreaties to God. I decided to go to the Bible dictionary – hoping this would give me a more definite understanding of the word. It said that prayer is: ‘Personal communion with God who is a person.’ It also said that the classic contents of prayer are adoration (Telling the Lord how much we love him and worshiping him), thanksgiving (Remembering to say thank you for all the things he’s done for us), confession (Acknowledging our sin and asking for forgiveness) and partition (Bringing our requests before him). This is a much more helpful definition. It’s telling us that prayer is a personal thing, and reminding us that when we pray we’re not just speaking to an idol or something we conjure up in our imaginations but to our Lord himself.
Having established the definition of prayer, let’s answer a few basic questions. Firstly, who can pray? Is prayer just a privilege reserved for certain people at certain times, or is it something we can all do? God’s word makes it very clear. Prayer is for us all. We only have to read a few of Paul’s letters and note the number of times he urged his recipients to pray in order to see this. Also, prayer is for Christians and non-Christians alike. The first thing we urge a non-Christian to do when they show an interest in learning more about Jesus is to pray a prayer of commitment, asking Jesus to come into their lives. Prayer should be paramount in every Christian’s life. If we recognise that we cannot do anything by ourselves, but with the Lord all things are possible, then we will understand that the more time a Christian spends in prayer the better.
In old testament times, it was the role of the high priest to enter into God’s presence in the holiest of holies once a year to make atonement for the sins of the nation, but this doesn’t happen anymore, because Jesus is now our high priest, and he’s continually interceding with the Father on our behalf. The writer to the Hebrews wrote: ‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ We can now ask directly for forgiveness, if we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it wonderful to think that Jesus understands what we’re going through and how we’re feeling because he is fully human as well as fully God?
Next, who should we pray to? John 16 verse 23 says: ‘I tell you the truth, my father will give you whatever you ask in my name.’ So then we are to pray to the father, but through the son because we are to ask in the name of Jesus. We are also to pray in the spirit, because Jesus tells us in his word that the Holy Spirit will help us to pray. Often we can struggle in prayer, desperately searching for the right words, and we forget that we can ask the Spirit to help us and to lead us in our prayer times.
So who should we pray for? In the Bible we will find many types of people mentioned for whom we should pray. Here are just a few. We should pray for the sick and the needy. (James 5: 13-16.), for kings and all those in authority, (1Timothy 2: 2.), for the saving of souls, and so on. In fact, I believe that there is no limit to those whom we can pray for. Wherever we see a need, we can pray. We must also remember that there is absolutely nothing wrong with praying for ourselves. In Matthew chapter 7 verses 7 to 11, Jesus says: ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’ The fact is that our heavenly father wants to bless us. So what else can we ask for? We can pray that the Lord will equip us to do his will, or we can pray for wisdom in order to be able to handle the daily trials and situations in which we find ourselves. James 1 verse 5 says: ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.’
Finally, in answer to this question of who should we pray for, we must remember to pray for those we dislike or those who have persecuted us. This might not always be easy, but we must use Jesus as our example. When he was on the cross he forgave those who had put him there. Also Steven the first martyr prayed for his persecutors even as they were stoning him to death. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 44 Jesus tells us: ‘Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven.’
Our next question is why should we pray? Simply put, prayer is the means through which we communicate with our father in heaven. Just like any earthly father, our heavenly father loves nothing more than to talk to and hear from his children. It is during our times of prayer as well as when we are studying his word that we can really get close to him and get to know him better. Jesus told us that we must pray, yet I firmly believe that he wanted our prayer life to be something we could enjoy and look forward to, and not just a daily chore. If we really persevere and are sincere in our prayers, the Lord can often speak to us and give us words of direction, but sometimes that means waiting for a while and staying silent, allowing him to answer our prayers in his own good time. We often forget that prayer is a two-way conversation, and we are so keen to blurt out all our requests and worries that we end up not leaving any time for the Lord to answer. Then we go away wondering why he hasn’t done anything to help us.
Another thing which we can use prayer for is to give praise and thanks to our Lord. David was particularly good at this, as many of his psalms and songs were prayers, packed full of words of praise and thanksgiving. We can also use prayer as a means of asking for forgiveness for our many sins. When we pray the Lord’s prayer we include a request for the Lord to forgive our trespasses. The writer of 2 Chronicles says: ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.’ (2Chronicles 7: 14.)
Next, when can we pray? The Bible tells us that there is no time during the day or night when we cannot communicate with our father in prayer. In psalm 55, David says: ‘Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.’ So we do not necessarily need to set aside a certain time of the day for prayer, but neither should we neglect our prayer lives. We should always remember that nothing is too small or insignificant for God. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with something on my mind and I won’t be able to go back to sleep until I’ve prayed about it, but I know God is always willing to hear my prayers. After all, his word tells us to cast all our cares upon him because he cares about us. (1peter 5: 7.)
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, Paul tells us that we should pray continually, but I don’t think that this means we should spend every minute of every day on our knees in prayer. I believe that what Paul is saying here is that our spirits should always be in tune with God’s spirit, and that everything we do or say should first be considered prayerfully. Jesus is our example in all things, and he prayed before every important event in his life. He prayed before his baptism, before he began his public ministry, before he performed miracles, in the garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested and even on the cross before his death. When he was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, Jesus prayed, and so it’s especially important for us to pray when we’re being tested or going through difficult times that God will give us the strength to get through it.
The next question I’d like to look at is where should we pray? In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus told his disciples to go into a quiet room and shut the door. However, I don’t believe that he was saying that we have to have a special designated room for prayer. He was urging us to make sure that we have peace and quiet and that we are not distracted by the outside world. That’s probably why so many Biblical characters prayed in lonely places such as on the tops of mountains or in caves. However, we are also told that we should pray together as the body of Christ. We must remember that our Lord has promised us that where two or three are gathered together in his name then he will be there also. When several like-minded people gather together to pray there can be a tremendous sense of power and of the closeness of God’s presence.
Finally, how should we pray? For many of us who find prayer difficult, this is the most important question of all. Our prayers can either be spoken aloud or uttered in the silence of our hearts. Remember that God can hear us even when others can’t. (Matthew 6: 6.) Sometimes our prayers are simply too painful to be spoken aloud, but God understands because he loves us. Also, we don’t have to use complicated or intellectual words. God wants us to be intimate with him, so it’s important that we speak in a way that makes us feel comfortable and relaxed. I love to hear children pray, because with them there’s no pretence. They just come to the Lord and say whatever is on their hearts, and they don’t care what it sounds like or what other people will think.
It’s important that we pray believing that we will receive an answer. Sometimes it takes persistence. Whenever I think about persistent prayer I always think of Hannah – the mother of Samuel. She pleaded with God until eventually he gave her a son.
Finally, we should always remember to pray humbly, being careful to give God all the glory for everything that he has done, and everything that he’s going to do. We must remind ourselves that we can do nothing without him, and that we should be relying on him for everything. If we pray with that in mind and the Lord can see that we are completely reliant upon him then he will take delight in our prayers.