Prayer
Why Do We Need To Pray?
The primary reason for this study is because we are in the last days. Due to the upcoming trials we need to stay in our bibles daily and constantly go to the Lord in prayer, as it is written in I Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”. The secondary reason for this study is to help those whose prayer lives have been crippled with the misrepresentation of the gift of tongues (the ability to speaking in other languages). For many souls after leaving this false teaching, they find it hard to pray to their Heavenly Father, so I pray that this study blesses you and allows you communicate with your maker as he desires. According to the Cambridge dictionary, The word prayer means; “to speak to God either privately or in a religious ceremony to express love, admiration, thanks, or in order to ask for something”. - Cambridge dictionary
What's The Proper Prayer "Etiquette"?
When you meet an earthly king or queen, there are a few do’s and don’ts. To not abide by these rules would be considered rude, even by earthly standards. Take the monarch of England (who was Queen Elizabeth II at the time of writing). There are a few do’s and don’ts when you meet her. Etiquette for meeting the Queen:
- Courtesy or Bow
- Use the right greetings
- Be early
- Take the Queen’s lead
- Form semi-circles (lead in a series of semi- circles when coming to meet the queen)
One may ask, why am I talking about the Queen of England? Are we not talking about God? Well, what does God call Himself? Malachi 1:14 "...for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen". In fact The God that we serve is not only a Great King, but He is the King of Kings. Revelation 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and they that are with him, are called, and chosen, and faithful". If there are do’s and don’ts for talking to the Queen, how much more for the one who created that Queen?
When praying before people or a congregation.
Are You Greater Than A King? When King Solomon prayed to God in front of a congregation, he knelt down and prayed to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 6:12-13 "And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven."
Notice King Solomon "spread forth his hands toward heaven". When we pray we also lift up Holy hands towards heaven. 1 Timothy 2:8 "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting". Nowadays a lot of Christians, through ignorance, use the pagan hand symbol to pray, many do this out of ignorance for which God winks at, but now that we’ve seen a verse which shows us the way and manner in which to ask, it’s plain disobedience to ignore it. Notice the priest praying to the sun god depicted in the Tablet of Shamash. The priest prays with clasped hands. This is one the earliest depictions of this type of prayer. Thanks to the of the first beast of Revelation (the papacy), many Christians have accepted this posture of prayer.
The first thing to do in prayer to God is to humble ourselves and get on our knees. Do we have more examples of this in the Bible? Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”. Daniel, the prophet of God, kneeled three times a day in prayer, another good example to follow. Stephen when he was about to die, kneeled and petitioned to God asking not to lay the sins of the pharisees and the chief priests to their charge. Acts 7:60 "And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep".
Pope Benedict XVI showing the clasped hands form of prayer.
Peter and Paul both kneeled when they prayed. Acts 9:40 "But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up". Acts 20:36-37 "And when he (Paul) had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him". Acts 21:5 "And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed".
We have seen an apostle, a disciple, a prophet and a king all kneeling to the King of kings. When Jesus was in the mount of Olives and withdrew from his disciples, notice what he did before he prayed: Luke 22:40-42 "And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done". Are we greater than our Lord and Saviour, the one we call King of kings? If it is proper to courtesy or bow before the Queen, how much more your Heavenly Father, the “Majesty” of heaven (Hebrews 1:3). Malachi 1:14 "...for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen". In fact The God that we serve is not only a Great King, but He is the King of Kings. In fact didn’t Jesus tell us not to stand in prayer? He knows the reason why men stand in prayer. Matthew 6:5 "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men".
If more ministers followed Jesus’s example of prayer, and humbled themselves, a lot more humility would be shown on the pulpits, and when the truth reaches them they would find it easier to repent and turn to the Lord, but like the pharisees of old, even disobeying this simple command has blinded them, and with puffed up egos, their hearts are hardened. Like the pharisees of old, they do things for the praises of men. In fact, here’s an example of someone directly standing and praying in the Bible, listen to the parable by Jesus. Luke 18:10-13 "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner". The pharisee “stands and prays”, where as the publican “would not lift so much as his eyes unto heaven!”, and please do not get confused with the phrase “standing afar off”, in this context it simply means he was “staying away” or “distanced” from the pharisee. To illustrate this we see the same language in Revelation 18:10 “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come”. Revelation 18 is speaking prophetically of the nations that are “staying away” from the Vatican when they fall during the plagues, cities don’t stand. However, the point Christ Is making is clear those that stand and pray do it because they want to be seen of men. They have pride in their hearts. As they do not bow to their creator, they have the same spirit of rebellion that was in Satan. If someone physically, whether it be disability, injury or pain cannot kneel their case is not the same.
Prayer in the private closet.
When praying to God, one can speak to him privately, even from your own thoughts or spoken out loud. Psalm 4:3-5 “But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah”. The Lord knows our hearts, he knows our prayers even before we say them, but we show faith when we act. A father may know you want a bike and can tell from your demeanour, but he’s simply waiting for you to ask, he cannot force the thing upon you. A lot of things God gives us without even asking, Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”. Somethings we need to exercise faith and ask.
Prayer when emotions are high
There are times where when we pray, we are overcome with emotions and though we cannot speak. The Lord still answers our prayers, he knows our thoughts. 1 Samuel 1:9-11 “So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore”. Hannah’s mind was so sore pressed that she couldn’t make noise with her mouth. 1 Samuel 9:12 “And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. 13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken”. In times where we don’t know what to say, or we can’t speak due to the overwhelming emotions within us. The Holy Spirit will commune to God on our behalf. Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”. This doesn’t mean therefore we are to make all our prayers silent within our hearts, but it’s how we can pray without ceasing. This is in addition to our prayers out loud three times a day, we can commune with God throughout the day. Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee”.
Where did you get the three times a day number from?
Psalm 55:17 “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice”. Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”. There may be times, where there’s simply no time for prayer in the day due to the gospel work, for example Jesus would have had to skip some midday prayers because the work was so much. If we are skipping midday prayers due to working for others then this is fine, but if it's for personal gospel work or secular work, we can make time.
The difference
Notice how when praying to God in front of people kneeling is paramount, why? Because you are congregating before the great king of the universe, but in your private prayer closet you may start kneeling or you may just be talking to God throughout the day whether spoken out loud or in your thoughts. A prince may be more informal with their dad the king when their hanging out together alone. However, when before the nation or people, the prince himself knows there’s a certain way to conduct himself, lest by his example the people also treat the king’s presence with common familiarity.
Our Prayers Should Be To The Point!
Matthew 6:7-8 "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him". A God that can read your mind doesn't need you repeat the same thing over and over like a ritualistic chant. He already knows what you want before you asked him! isn't it written "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee..." Jeremiah 1:5. This isn't to say we can't ever pray the same prayer twice as Jesus prayed the same prayer three times, just before the cross. Matthew 26:44 "And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words". The lesson to learn here is that praying the same words repeatedly in the same prayer, without any heartfelt meaning to the words, just becomes a ritualistic chant. To illustrate this point, when a child asks for a toy from their parents, the parents probably already have an idea of what their child will ask for. If the child says, "can i have a toy, can i have a toy, can i have toy, can i have a toy". Such a repetition can seem annoying to the parent. However, when praying for deliverence the constant cry out to God shows you only trust in him. Luke 18:1-8 "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" It matters greatly what you are praying for to determine when repeated asking is lack of faith or essential. Jesus was going to the cross to take the sins of the whole world, but if we are asking for something just believe you’ve received it. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”.
Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield
Matthew 6:9-14 "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses". These verses are merely an outline for prayer, before you pray make sure you have no anger towards your brethren, if they’ve done something wrong against you, forgive them. Then as you pray praise the Lord for what he has done for you that day, hour, minute, literally anything, as he has done much for you. If you have any sins confess, confess them before the Lord so that you don’t retain unconfessed sin. The Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance what you have done wrong. After this now ask the Lord your petition. Be wise, if you pray for one billion dollars although it’s possible to receive that from the Lord, he knows your heart and why you’re asking, don’t deceive yourself and say it’s to help the ministry, if you truly know you just lust for money, then you ask amiss. James 4:3 “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”. When you pray do it with an unwavering heart, have faith that the Lord will answer your prayer. James 1:6 "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways".
Finally, in your prayer yield to the Father’s will, the same way a son will ask of things from his father, a father may want his son to pass certain classes in school before he rewards him. This doesn’t mean the father doesn’t want to reward him, however he knows the reward will be much more appreciated after yielding to his will. James 5:16 "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". It’s important to pray daily, a good example is Daniel, three times a day, because it is written “Men ought always to pray” Luke 18:1. Due to these trying times, we need to stick by our Heavenly Father, because only He can pull us through, we need to depend on him for our strength, so that our walk will be perfect our Lord when he returns. Maranatha!
