I. The Definition of Prayer

There are three Hebrew and seven Greek words used in connection with prayer. Based on these words, a definition of prayer includes three facets:

First, prayer is human speech addressed to God. A second facet is that prayer asks something of God. Third, prayer is conversing with God; we carry on a conversation with Him.

From this definition we can draw a clear distinction between Bible study and prayer. When we study the Bible, God speaks to us. But when we pray, we speak to God.

A. The Presuppositions of Prayer

Based on these Hebrew and Greek words and upon our definition, there are seven presuppositions we make when we pray:

First, we presuppose that God is a personality so that we can have an I/you relationship with Him.

A second presupposition is that imminence of God; God is near and can hear our prayers.

A third presupposition is the omnipresence of God; He is everywhere. No matter where we are, He hears it.

A fourth presupposition is the sovereignty of God. We believe He has control of His creation and can bring to pass what is necessary to answer our prayers.

Fifth, we also presuppose the omniscience of God; that He knows everything and knows how best to answer our prayers.

Sixth, we presuppose the omnipotence of God; that He is all-powerful and therefore able to answer our prayers if He is willing.

Seventh, we presuppose the promises of God; that He promises to listen.

B. The Object of Faith

Faith is the first foundation of our prayer life: we have faith in God as God. Second Timothy 1:12 states, I know whom I have believed. The implication is that God must be trusted regardless of how things come out. The believer cannot demand that God answer his prayer exactly his way.

II. The Symbol of Prayer

The Biblical symbol of prayer is incense. In the Old Testament this is taught in Psalm 141:2. This is picked up by the New Testament in Revelation 5:8 and later, in Revelation 8:3.

From the fact that incense was the symbol of prayer in both Psalms and Revelation, two observations and/or conclusions can be drawn:

First, the purpose of the altar of incense was to be a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord; and

Second, this reveals how God views the prayers of the saints: the prayers of the saints are a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord.

III. The Reasons and Purpose for Prayer

First, prayer is not an option. For the believer, prayer is a command (I Sam. 12:23; Ps. 32:6; Rom. 12:12; Phil. 4:6; I Thes. 5:17, 25; I Tim. 2:8).

Second, prayer is right and proper. That is the point of Luke 18:1-8 which has three parts to it. The first part is verse one in which Jesus wants them always to pray and not to faint. The word faint here means to be disheartened. The point is that prayer will keep one from being disheartened. Then, second, He gave the parable of verses 2-5. The point of this parable is that the judge was indifferent in rendering justice. However, because of the woman's persistence, he finally gave in. The third part of the passage (vv.6-8) gives the application which is to teach persistence in prayer. Unlike the judge, God is not indifferent. God will respond to persistent prayer. The purpose of persistence is to teach us faith and to increase our faith; to change our attitude towards prayer; to teach us to "hang in there."

Third, prayer is a medium through which God bestows His gifts and blessings (Dan. 9:3; Mat. 7:7-11 and 21:22).

Fourth, prayer is essential to victory (Eph. 6:10-18).

A fifth reason for praying is to follow Yeshua's example: He prayed frequently (Mk. 1:35; Heb. 5:7).

A sixth reason for praying is to follow the example of the early church (Acts 6:4; 12:5).

A seventh reason for praying is that prayer is a channel of deliverance: from temptation (Mat. 26:41), from discouragement (Lk. 18:1), from adverse circumstances (Acts 12:3-19), from ignorance or lack of wisdom (Col. 1:9; Jas. 1:5), from physical sickness and death when God so chooses (Acts 28:8; Jas. 5:13-17), from needs (Eph. 6:18), from unbelievers (Rom. 15:30-33) and from Satan (Jas. 4:7). Prayer, then, is a channel of deliverance that we need to consistently use.

The eighth reason for praying is that prayer is also the channel for spiritual maturity: it is the means by which we fight the spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-18); the means to spiritual growth (Eph. 1:15-23 and 3:14-21; Col. 1:9-12); the means by which we develop spiritual boldness (Acts 2:41; 4:19-21; Eph. 6:18-20); through prayer we obtain the salvation of the lost (Rom. 10:1); and, the means by which we do the work of world evangelism (Mat. 9:37-38).

IV. The Promises of Prayer

God has made certain specific promises concerning prayer. In order to get a comprehensive picture of how God views prayer, we will look at fifteen passages.

The first passage (Ex. 22:22-24) states that God will hear the cry of the widow and will avenge her.

The second passage (Deut. 4:7) states that God will be near to Israel when Israel calls upon Him.

The third promise is in II Chronicles 7:12-18 and states that if the Jewish people will turn to God, He will heal their land. This promise is specifically directed to the Jewish people and the land is specifically the Land of Israel.

The fourth passage (Job 22:27) states that if one prays to God, God will hear him. God is anxious to hear our prayer.

The fifth passage is Job 33:26 which shows that if one prays to God, God will be favorable to him.

The sixth passage states, Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; and...call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you (Ps. 50:14-15).

The seventh passage is in Psalm 65:2 which says, Oh you that hears prayer. Again, the promise is made that God will hear our prayers.

The eighth passage says, God is always ready to forgive (Ps. 86:5-7). Since God is ready to forgive, the psalmist now turns to God in prayer and he asks God to give ear to his prayer and supplication. He is fully assured that as he calls upon God in his day of trouble, God will answer him.

The ninth passage (Ps. 102:17) says that God regards the prayer of the destitute.

The tenth passage is in Proverbs 15:8, The prayer of the upright is God's delight.

The eleventh passage says, God hears the prayers of the righteous (Prov. 15:29). The righteous ones on this earth are those who have been made righteous by the application of the Messiah's righteousness through our faith. God promises that those of us who have turned to Him in faith will have our prayers heard.

The twelfth passage is Luke 11:13 which says that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who will ask. In the Old Testament, the giving of the Holy Spirit was not automatic to one who believed. This statement of Luke 11:13 took place still in the Dispensation of Law and not the Dispensation of Grace. Under  the Law not every believer was given the Holy Spirit; and even those who did have the Holy Spirit did not necessarily have the Spirit permanently. So David's prayer in Psalm 51:11, Take not your Holy Spirit from me, was a valid Old Testament prayer. Believers living in the gospel period were still under the old dispensation when the giving of the Sprit was not automatic Those believers who will ask God for the Holy Spirit, He will give the Spirit to them. We do not need to pray this prayer today. The moment we believe, we receive the Holy Spirit.

The thirteenth passage is John 4:10 which says God will give eternal life to those who ask. To ask God is to pray to Him. When we pray to God and ask Him for eternal life, He will give it to us. But we need to meet the condition, which is to pray in faith. In this case, the faith that saves requires us to believe that Yeshua died for our sins, was buried and rose again.

The fourteenth passage (Jn. 9:31) says that if a man is a worshipper of God, God hears him.

The fifteenth passage is James 1:5-7 which says, If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives liberally. If we are confronted with a decision, we are admonished to make the choice on the basis of divine wisdom. Rather than praying for specific signs, pray for wisdom in making the proper choice.

V. The Places of Prayer

In the Scriptures, people prayed in a variety of places. For example, Daniel (Dan. 6:10) prayed in a private home. In Matthew 6:6, Jesus said to pray in the inner chamber. Jesus went to the mountain to pray (Mat. 14:23) and into the desert to pray (Mk. 1:35). In Acts 12:5, 12, they prayed in a private home. In Acts 16:13, 16 they prayed by a riverside. In Acts 21:5 they prayed on the beach. In I Timothy 2:8 we are told that we should pray in every place. So, there is no mandatory place of prayer in Scripture. The Scriptures encourage us to always be in a continuous, constant, ready state of mind to pray.

VI. The Times of Prayer

The Bible teaches that we should be praying at various times. For example, Psalm 55:17 mentions evening, morning and noon. Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10). First Timothy 5:5 speaks about continuing in supplication and prayer day and night. Luke 18:1 teaches, Men ought always to pray.

There are passages that speak of a morning prayer time: In the morning will I order my prayer unto you (Ps. 5:3), In the morning shall my prayer come before you (Ps. 88:13). Mark 1:35 shows that Yeshua also prayed in the morning.

The Bible also speaks about praying in the evening: As the evening sacrifice shall my prayer continue (Ps. 141:2,5). There are examples of evening prayers in Matthew 14:23 and 26:36-44. Luke 6:12 records praying all night. So there are verses that teach praying in the morning, praying in the evening and praying throughout the night.

While we are free to pray throughout the day, the Bible also points out that there were times that believers set aside for prayer (Acts 3:1; 10:9, 30). There is nothing wrong with scheduling a specific time of prayer.

We should pray in times of emergency and crisis. When these things happen, the Bible encourages us to pray. In I Chronicles 5:20, they prayed in the midst of battle. The same thing is true in II Chronicles 13:13-16 and 20:1-19. Psalm 50:15 states, Call upon me in the day of trouble. Psalms 77:1-2 and 86:7 point out that in the day of my trouble a person should reach out to God. Psalm 130:1 states that, Out of the depths I cried. Jonah (2:1-9) prayed while he was in the sea. In Luke 22:35-46, Jesus prayed as He underwent the agony of Gethsamane.

We should pray a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord before meals (Mat. 14:19 and Acts 27:35). In I Timothy 4:4-5, Paul says that all food is to be received with thanksgiving and anything we eat is sanctified through prayer.

We should pray in the midst of busyness (Lk. 5:15-16). It's easy to set aside our prayers when we are busy, but when we are most busy, we should take a few seconds out and just thank the Lord, pray to Him, seek His encouragement and seek enablement. We should never become so busy that we set aside the issue of prayer.

Prayer should be continuous. We should always have this constant readiness for praying. Luke 18:1 states, Men ought always to pray. Ephesians 6:18 says, Praying at all seasons. First Thesolonians 5:17 says, Pray without ceasing. Again, we should always be ready and willing and feel like praying at all times.

As in the places of prayers, times of prayer is also a variety; we should be careful not to become legalistic in either of these two areas.

VII. Posture of Prayer

The posture of prayer also varies. First, the Bible mentions standing while praying (Mk. 11:25; Lk. 18:13). When we stand we are standing on our feet straight up.

A second posture is that of kneeling (I Kb. 8:54; Lk. 22:41; Acts 20:36; Eph. 3:14). When we kneel we put our knees down to the floor but the rest of the body is still in an upright position.

The third posture is being prostate (Mat. 26:39). We we prostate ourselves, we actually bring our heads down to the ground and our forehead is touching the ground. The body may be totally flat, so it is like standing up in a horizontal position; or, our feet may still be in a kneeling position with our heads prostate to the ground.

A fourth posture is lying in bed. Sometimes people are too sick to be moved and lying in bed is a proper posture for prayer (II Kg. 20:2; Ps. 63:6).

A fifth posture is sitting down (I Kg. 18:42). I suspect this is the position most of us are using today whether we are in our private prayer life or in corporate prayer. While this posture has become overbalanced today, it is a valid option.

A sixth posture is the head bowed (Gen. 24:26, Ex. 4:31, 17:27).

The seventh thing on the posture of prayer concerns the eyes. Although we have become accustomed to praying with our eyes closed, there is no example anywhere in Scripture of people praying with their eyes closed. In fact, we do read of people praying with their eyes open and lifted up (Jn. 11:41; 17:1). It is not wrong to close your eyes in prayer. But there is nothing wrong with keeping your eyes open in prayer so long as your opened eyes do not allow for distraction. But some people with their eyes closed still allow their mind to wander. So many can concentrate better in their prayer life by keeping eyes open. But, here again, there is freedom in the Lord.

VIII. The Power and Results of Prayer

Prayer does result in things being accomplished. And let me bring out six things from the Bible that shows both the power and the results of prayer.

First, in Ex. 32, God was threatening to destroy Israel because of their sin of the golden calf; but, the prayer of Moses in Exodus 32:11-14 saved Israel.

A second example of power and results of prayer concerns Samuel who was able to subdue the Philistines by virtue of his prayer life (I Sam. 87:5-14).

Third, is Elijah. Elijah was able to break a drought by bringing rain through his prayer (I Kg. 18:41-45). James falls back on this (Js. 5:17-18) in order to encourage people to pray because the prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.

Fourth, prayer accomplishes the divine purpose (I Jn. 5:14-15): The plan of God not only has an end but also has a means. The means by which God will sometimes accomplish His purposes is by means of prayer.

Fifth, it results in some definite answers (Mk. 11:24; Jn. 14:13-14).

Sixth, prayer results in the glorification of God; God is glorified by means of our prayer life (Jn. 14:13).