Prayer in the New Testament

By Hayes Press

Explore the subject of prayer in the New Testament by reviewing some of the prayers of Paul, Jesus' teaching on prayer, an examination of "the Lord's Prayer", the role of faith in praying, the conflict of prayer and the importance of collective prayer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hayes Press
• Release date: Jun 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393302650

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE:  THE LORD’S TEACHING ON PRAYER (JACK GAULT)

The disciples one day observed their Lord while He was praying, and what they saw and heard brought home to them their own inadequacy in prayer. They saw the earnestness and sincerity with which He prayed, and perhaps heard something of what He said, and it brought from them the request, Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1). He willingly granted their request and taught them some things about prayer that they would never forget. Many of us would echo their request today, and it is timely that we should together examine the teaching of our Lord on this important matter.

He taught them not only how to pray, but also about the meaning and value of prayer. He did not teach by word only, He also instructed them by the personal example of His own prayer life, and in two of His parables gave illustrations of prayer. Several incidents in His life when the disciples were present were also used by Him to teach them about the proper attitude to prayer; and the great body of teaching about prayer contained in the writings of the apostles assuredly owed much to the Lord’s teaching ministry during the forty days prior to His ascension.

Matthew 6

Any study of the Lord’s teaching about prayer must begin at Matthew 6. What He had to say on that occasion must have appeared revolutionary to His hearers. He talked of a new relationship with God; God is our heavenly Father and we are His children. That being so it should be a most natural thing for the children of God to speak to their heavenly Father as our Father, just as earthly children would speak to their own father. It is interesting to note that the word He used for Father is the word abba, the nearest equivalent of which in our language would be daddy. A relationship so intimate and personal as this makes formal language and ritual inappropriate to the concept of prayer. There is no need for formal repetitions or hackneyed phrases, nor is it necessary to dress up our requests in high-sounding language: there should be no public display of prayer. Our personal prayers are to be private and secret, behind closed doors and shut away from the world.

The so-called Lord’s prayer of Matthew 6, loses much of its beauty and meaning by its formal repetitive use in Christian services of all kinds. Nevertheless it contains important lessons. It teaches that reverence and love should characterize our approach to our Father in heaven. It sets our priorities in that first thoughts should be of His kingdom, and that there should be a spirit of love and forgiveness towards others. Of its seven requests only one is for our earthly needs and even that is for the basic necessity of daily bread. It teaches by its brevity and simplicity that long prayers and sonorous expressions are no more effective than simple words, and that there should be no meaningless repetitions. Prayer need not be burdensome or boring, nor its practice the preserve of the educated and articulate.

The object of prayer is not that we should try to change the will of our heavenly Father; rather it is to bring our own will into correspondence with His will; Thy will be done. We pray to secure, for ourselves and for others, blessings which God is already willing to grant, but for which He expects us to make request. While many of our earthly and bodily needs call for us to make some effort of our own in meeting them, they are undoubtedly some of the blessings which God wants to bestow upon us. Prayer is also the God-given way for us to ask for, and obtain, the higher and spiritual blessings which He is also willing to give to His children.

The Lord told His disciples to ask in My name (John 14:13, 15:7 and 16, 16:23-24) and they would be heard and have their prayers answered. These words have been often misunderstood and taken to mean that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ was a form of words that would guarantee the direct answer to any prayer, but it was not meant in that way. Rather He was speaking about prayer in accord with His mind. We pray in His name when our mind is in accord with His mind, when our desires are also the desires of Christ, when we ask for right and proper things which it is possible for God to grant us, when we pray in the spirit of prayer which He exemplified; dependent and submissive to His God and Father, with the attitude of mind, nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done (Luke 22:42). This is the essential spirit of prayer.

The Lord made one pre-condition to effective prayer; If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you (John 15:7). This is one of the fundamentals of prayer that requires from the suppliant a deep devotion and obedience to the word of God.

The Lord’s example

The Gospel by Luke, on at least ten occasions, draws our attention to the Lord at prayer, as if to portray to us His dependence upon His God and Father. The most poignant and instructive occasion so recorded is the scene in the garden of Gethsemane: it is a beautiful example of prayer. The setting was so full of drama; the tension so high; the scene so human. He was parted from His disciples about a stone’s throw; He kneeled down; He spoke aloud; He made request with deep emotion and physical tension three times; but His submission to and dependence upon His God was beautifully portrayed by His words, nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done (Luke 22:42).

Sometimes we seem to think that our faith is only evidenced by the exerting of our will power into prayer, as if by much prayer we can force things to happen. It is not always true that the harder we pray the more likely the request will be granted, nor is it always true that if it is not granted, we have not really prayed hard enough. Rather it is the use of the nevertheless that matters; the acceptance of what Paul describes as the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).

The prayer of Gethsemane was a glorious example of submissive prayer and of complete obedience to and acceptance of the divine will by our Lord Jesus Christ. To follow His example

Reviews for Prayer in the New Testament

[Shane M. Cochrane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very helpful and interesting read. Enjoyed it well. Looking forward to other readings.