Prayer

In Christianity and many other religions, prayer is the process of directly connecting to God, usually for the purpose of deliberate communication.

Through prayer our thoughts and hopes are heard and understood. Oftentimes, prayer will result in feeling God's presence or feeling like one is touched by God. This feeling of a connection is cited by many theists as proof of God's existence. It is through prayer that man can understand God's will in his life and ask God for the courage and strength to carry his message to the world. Prayer is common throughout the Bible in both the Old Testament and the New.

How not to Pray

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned against hypocrisy in prayer:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

At the time the religious authorities believed it was necessary to pray at specific times of the day, and would often make sure they were in large crowds of people when those times arose so that they could be seen and heard by all. Jesus did not approve of this.

Jesus also gave instructions on how not to pray:

"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

Pagan prayers at the time believed that there was power in words and continous repetition and if you said a word often enough, then you could eventually own that object or claim that power for yourself. Jesus condemned this.

A guideline of how one should Pray

In Christianity, Jesus gives a guideline of how one should pray to God with The Lord's Prayer:

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever, Amen."

God is the only heavenly object of prayer in the Bible

Private and Public Prayer

There are many instances in the Bible of praying in private and also of praying within a group, and sometimes even of praying in public.

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Jesus praying at Gethsemane

Jesus also instructed:

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Even though he was with his disciples, Jesus also went off alone to pray on the Mount of Olives before he was about to be seized and crucified.

There are also many examples in the Bible of group prayer or praying in front of others:

• Solomon prayed publicly in dedicating the temple (1_Kings 8:22-61 ).
• Daniel prayed alone in his room, but by an open window where he could be seen (Daniel 6:10-11 ).
• Jesus sometimes prayed with his disciples (Luke 9:18 ).
• The Church prayed for Peter's miraculous release from prison (Acts 12:5 ).
• Jesus prayed in public, such as in Matthew 19:13-15 when Jesus prayed for the children brought to him.

Other religions, and even different traditions within Christianity have developed their own practices related to prayer.

Modern societies often oppose and discourage public prayer. For example, in the United States classroom prayer is forbidden in government schools.

Different types of prayer in the Bible

The Bible is much a book or prayer, containing about 650 different prayers, and consisting of various types. Some types that are categorized are,

• 1. Prayer of supplication. (1 Kg. 8: 37-40; 54-55; Lk. 11: 9-13; Ja. 5: 17-18)
• 2. Prayer of intercession. (Gn 18: 22-33; 1 Kg. 18: 41-46; 2 Kings 4: 32-36 Acts 12: 1-18)
• 3. Prayer of faith. (Mk. 11:12-14; 11: 20-25, Luke 7: 1-10; Ja. 5: 13-18, Mt. 9: 18-26)
• 4. Prayer of agreement. (Gn. 11: 1-9; Ex. 17: 8-13; Psalm 133: 1-3; Mt. 18: 19-20; Acts 4:23; Heb. 10: 24-25)
• 5. Prayer of praise and thanksgiving. (Ps. 100; 149:4-9; Acts 16:16-34; 1Thes. 5:15-19)

Quotes on prayer

• Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16 (Bible)

• In what name they were to present their petitions: Ask in my name. To ask in Christ's name is, (1.) To plead his merit and intercession, and to depend upon that plea. (2.) It is to aim at his glory and to seek this as our highest end in all our prayers. - Matthew Henry

• We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; The Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself. - Oswald Chambers

• Prayer crowns God with the honor and glory due to His name, and God crowns prayer with assurance and comfort. The most praying souls are the most assured souls. - Thomas B. Brooks

• The great thing in prayer is to feel that we are putting our supplications into the bosom of omnipotent love. - Andrew Murray

• We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. - Oswald Chambers

• Teach us to pray that we may cause The enemy to flee, That we his evil power may bind, His prisoners to free. - Watchman Nee

• Prayer is the great engine to overthrow and rout my spiritual enemies, the great means to procure the graces of which I stand in hourly need. - John Newton

• Pray, always pray; when sickness wastes thy frame, Prayer brings the healing power of Jesus' name. - A. B. Simpson

• Prayer is the force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician, I have seen men, after all other therapy had failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength. - Dr. Alexis Carrel

• Every time we pray our horizon is altered, our attitude to things is altered, not sometimes but every time, and the amazing thing is that we don't pray more. - Oswald Chambers

• One night alone in prayer might make us new men, changed from poverty of soul to spiritual wealth, from trembling to triumphing. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

• The less I pray, the harder it gets; the more I pray, the better it goes. - Martin Luther

• He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and a happy life. - William Law

• If you can't pray as you want to, pray as you can. God knows what you mean. - Vance Havner

• It is not so true that "prayer changes things" as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man's disposition. - Oswald Chambers

• We read of preaching the Word out of season, but we do not read of praying out of season, for that is never out of season. - Matthew Henry

• To God your every Want In instant Prayer display, Pray always; Pray, and never faint; Pray, without ceasing, Pray. - Charles Wesley

• Pray, always pray; beneath sins heaviest load, Prayer claims the blood from Jesus' side that flowed. Pray, always pray; though weary, faint, and lone, Prayer nestles by the Father's sheltering throne. - A. B. Simpson

• Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

• Tomorrow I plan to work, work, from early until late. In fact I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer. - Martin Luther

• Refusal to pray is passive rebellion against God, "in whose hand thy breathe is." - Anonymous

• All the prayers in the Scripture you will find to be reasoning with God, not a multitude of words heaped together. - Stephen Charnock

• The best prayers have often more groans than words.- John Bunyan

• Unless I had the spirit of prayer, I could do nothing. - Charles G. Finney

• A man's state before God may always be measured by his prayers.- J. C. Ryle

• Oh, what a cause of thankfulness it is that we have a gracious God to go to on all occasions! Use and enjoy this privilege and you can never be miserable. Oh, what an unspeakable privilege is prayer! - Lady Maxwell

Perhaps the most noted author on prayer is the late Methodist minister E. M. Bounds (1835 - 1913):

• Prayer honors God, acknowledges His being, exalts His power, adores His providence, secures His aid.

• By prayer, the ability is secured to feel the law of love, to speak according to the law of love, and to do everything in harmony with the law of love.

• Praying which does not result in pure conduct is a delusion. We have missed the whole office and virtue of praying if it does not rectify conduct. It is in the very nature of things that we must quit praying, or quit bad conduct.

• Natural ability and educational advantages do not figure as factors in this matter of prayer; but a capacity for faith, the power of a thorough consecration, the ability of self-littleness, an absolute losing of one's self in God's glory and an ever present and insatiable yearning and seeking after all the fullness of God.

• The goal of prayer is the ear of God, a goal that can only be reached by patient and continued and continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him and permitting Him to speak to us. Only by so doing can we expect to know Him, and as we come to know Him better we shall spend more time in His presence and find that presence a constant and ever-increasing delight.

• Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to count the times, but to gain the prayer. We cannot quit praying because heart and soul are in it. We pray "with all perseverance." We hang to our prayers because by them we live. We press our pleas because we must have them, or die.

Effectual prayer

Many people attest to answered prayer. An evangelical Christian, George Mueller (1805-1898), probably best known as the "Father of Orphans", prayerfully meet the needs of thousands of children. Mueller and his wife decided to depend on God alone to supply their needs - never again to approach people about them - and 68 years later Mueller had prayed in over seven and a half million dollars, and logged in his journal 50,000 specific answers to prayer - 5,000 were answered on the very day of their asking.

Prayer in other religions

In Hinduism, Prayer is an integral part of the daily living. Chanting of mantras is the most important form of prayer in Hinduism. Some devotees meditate chanting different names of the Gods.

See also

• Classroom prayer
• Hail Mary
• Rosary
• Sinner's prayer
• The Lord's Prayer

External links

• Prayer, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• All the Prayers of the Bible, with commentary. Online book by Herbert Lockyer
• Compilation of most of the prayers in the Bible
• Collection of Notable Prayers Found in the Bible
• Prayers Catholic Online.
• Mates, Nathan, Praying in Public 9th April 2000.
• Prayers
• The Biology of Belief