What is prayer Archives - Page 4 of 5

In previous posts, we have seen that both the prayers of Jesus and the prayers of Paul were conversational prayers with God. They talked to God about the same sorts of things they would talk to anyone else about, and used the same sort of language. The book of Psalms reflects something similar about prayer. When we pray the Psalms, we learn to pray to God in a way that sounds like we are talking to anyone else.

The Psalms as Prayers

The Psalms are not exactly prayers. They are actually songs that were intended to be sung. But they are not just songs, either. They were intended to be sung when Israel worshiped God in the temple and during their annual festivals. As such, it is safe to think of the Psalms as prayers to God that are sung.

And the great thing about the Psalms is that they reflect the full range of human emotions. If you are feeling something … there’s a Psalm you can use to pray about it.

Most of the Psalms are about giving praise and honor God, and calling on the people to faithfully love and serve Him, but sometimes the Psalmist is angry with God, and tells Him so (Psalms 10:1; 22:1; 42:9; 74:1, 11). Other times the Psalmist is angry and people, and tells God about this too, to the point of asking God to destroy his enemies (Psalms 54:5; 79:10; 143:12). Sometimes the Psalms are quite long (Psalm 119). Sometimes short (Psalm 117). Sometimes they use repetition (Psalm 136). Sometimes they focus on simply praising God (Psalm 150), while others focusing on His past works (Psalm 78).

Walter Brueggemann, in his excellent little book, Praying the Psalms, says that the Psalms are not the voice of God addressing us, but rather contain the voice of a common humanity addressing God (p. 1). When you pray the Psalms, you are praying together with believers throughout the world and throughout time.

Conversations with God

When people wonder what sorts of things they can and should pray about, and what kind of language and words to use when communicating with God, it is often not enough to just tell them that they can have a conversation with God just like with any other person. For some, this seems too informal.

So it is often always a good idea to also recommend the Book of Psalms a helpful guide to learning how to pray and what to pray for. As people pray through the Psalms, they learn that pretty much anything can be said to God, and any emotion is welcome by Him. There are no taboo topics or emotions.

Again, from Walter Brueggemann: “The Psalter knows that life is dislocated. No cover-up is necessary” (Praying the Psalms, p. 9).

But this is just like our real relationships in life, right? Your genuine relationships, your meaningful friendships, are the ones where you interact with each other with honesty and reality. You share your emotions, feelings, and ideas without fear of being judged. Where you do not have this freedom to be real, you do not have a real friendship.

So why do we so often hold back in our prayers? We should not and we must not, if we desire true friendship with God. When we pray the Psalms, we learn to express all our feelings and emotions to God, just as we do with any true friend.

But this is just like life, isn’t it? Our conversations with others cover the whole spectrum of emotions and subjects. Sometimes we are careful with our words and ideas. Other times we don’t hold back.

Just like the prayers of Jesus and the prayers of Paul, praying the Psalms helps us see that prayer is an ongoing and open conversation with God.

All of this, I think, helps us understand what Paul meant when He instructed the Thessalonian believers to “Pray without ceasing.”.

What about praying the Scriptures?

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How to Pray like Paul

By Jeremy Myers

3 Comments

We have previously learned that the prayers of Jesus were most likely conversational prayers with God. They were very similar in substance and language to any conversation Jesus might have with His disciples.

But what about Paul’s prayers? Were they this way?

The Prayers of Paul

There are few examples of Paul actually praying in the New Testament, but there are several places in Paul’s letters where he writes about his prayer requests and how he prays (See Rom 15:5-6, 13; Eph 1:16-19; 3:16-19; Php 1:9-11; Col 1:9-12; 2 Thess 1:11-12).

By looking at these short descriptions of Paul’s prayers, we can learn a few things about how to pray like Paul.

The short descriptions of Paul’s prayers provide a small glimpse into what Paul prayed for and how he prayed. And as we look at what Paul tells the various churches about his prayers for them, it often sounds as if he transitions from writing about what he prayers to actually praying. That is, some of his descriptions of his prayers actually sound like prayers themselves.

So if someone is looking for written prayers which can help guide our own prayer life and helps us know how to pray according to the will of God, the prayers of Paul are always good places to start.

Many of the recorded prayer requests of Paul are nearly identical to the recorded prayer requests of Jesus in John 17. Both Jesus and Paul pray that believers would glorify God through faithful obedience and grow in unity with each other. One other similarity is that just as we saw with Jesus, there is no special language or terminology.

The very things Paul writes about in his letters are the very things he prays about to God, using the same ideas, the same language, and the same style.

Conversational Prayers of Paul

It seems that with Paul, as with Jesus, there is no set structure, form, language, or requests that must be used in prayer. Just as there is no set structure, form, language, and topics that must be used in any other conversation, Paul simply talked to God the way he talked to anyone else.

This means that we don’t need special outlines or languages for prayer. Paul didn’t need these. Jesus didn’t need these. And we don’t need them.

For example, in the past, I have counseled people to use the acronym ACTS for their prayers: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. In recent years, I have had second thoughts about this. I suppose it is not a bad pattern, but it misses the point of prayer. I don’t have acronyms for conversation topics with anyone else … so why should I have them when I talk to God?

Paul gives us a glimpse into his prayer life here where prayer is like having a conversation with God. Just as conversations with people get dull and boring if we talk about the same things all the time and always in the same order, so also conversation with God can get dull and boring if we always come to Him with the same prayers, the same items, the same requests, always in the same order.

When we talk with God, we can talk to Him just as we would any other person.

This will make it real, meaningful, and lively. Sometimes the conversations are short; sometimes they are long. Sometimes they are heated with debate and disagreement; sometimes they are full of praise and love. Sometimes more can be said simply by remaining silent.

We have seen that Jesus prayed this way, and that Paul prayed this way, and in the next post, we will look at the book of Psalms, which contains numerous examples of this type of praying. My book, What is Prayer? also contains more details on this subject.

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4 Tips on How to Pray like Jesus

By Jeremy Myers

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John 17 records the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Upper Room with His disciples at the conclusion of their last supper together. By looking at this prayer, we can learn how to pray like Jesus.

Though the Gospels frequently record Jesus going off by Himself to pray, this is the only recorded prayer of Jesus of any length which provides an indication of the sort of things Jesus might have said when He prayed.

What can we learn from this prayer of Jesus about how to pray?

The Structure of the Prayer

Scholars have long noted that the prayer is divided into three basic sections.

First, Jesus prays for Himself (John 17:1-5), then for His disciples (John 17:6-19), and finally for all who would believe in Him (John 17:20-26). Much can be said about the content of Jesus’ prayer, especially that the primary prayer request of Jesus for all who would believe in Him is that we would be unified (John 17:21).

But my purpose here is not to analyze and explain the prayer of Jesus as much as it is to simply look at how Jesus prayed.

The Posture of the Prayer of Jesus

Notice first the posture of Jesus.

The text does not tell us if Jesus was sitting, standing, or reclining (though reclining on the floor was the typical way of eating meals and conversing afterwards in first century Middle Eastern culture).

One thing is for sure though: Jesus definitely was not bowing folding His hands, bowing His head, and closing His eyes. To the contrary, the text says He “lifted up His eyes to heaven” (John 17:1), which indicates that His eyes were open and His head was raised.

Nevertheless, this is not the “God-approved” posture of prayer. It is not as if such things as kneeling or standing, arms up or arms down, eyes open or eyes closed make any difference in whether or not God hears and answers our prayers. If God is concerned about any sort of posture in our prayers, it is the posture of our hearts, which no one can see but Him alone.

The Prayer Requests of Jesus

What else can we learn from the prayer of Jesus about how to pray?

Well, notice that Jesus begins by praying for Himself. How often have we been told in sermons and books on prayer that we must not begin with ourselves, but instead, begin with adoration of God, and thanksgiving for what He has done?

I have not only heard sermons like this; I have preached sermons about this!

Yet the first thing Jesus does is pray for Himself.

But notice what He prays about for Himself. The primary prayer of Jesus for Himself is that He would glorify the Father. So really, this first prayer request is not exactly about Jesus, but about glorifying God the Father. This is a great thing to pray for yourself, because brining glory to God the father is one of the primary reasons we are here on earth.

Of course, Jesus does spend the entire prayer just praying for Himself … as some of us are guilty of doing (myself included!). Instead, He spends most of His time praying for others.

I think most of us are familiar with the concept of praying for other people, and so I will not belabor the point, other than to say that the primary prayer requests of Jesus for others is that they would remain faithful to God, and in unity with one another. I don’t think God minds hearing prayers for Aunt Mabel’s bunion, our neighbor’s dog, and how the rent is overdue, especially when these are issues that really do concern us. But I do believe that it would be wise for all Christians to develop a broader vision for prayer than how we can use it to tell God about our aches and pains and bills.

How Jesus Does Not Pray

Notice also what is not in this prayer of Jesus.

Nowhere is the needless repetition of the name of God. Nowhere is any attempt to ward off the devil. Nowhere is any flowery and fancy language to impress those who present with His advanced holiness.

In fact, there is almost nothing that sets this prayer apart from any other conversation Jesus has with any of His disciples elsewhere in the Gospels. His conversation with God sounds pretty much just like a conversation He might have with Peter, or Matthew, or John.

For Jesus, communicating with God was just like communicating with others. No special language was needed.

Conversational Prayer

And this brings us to what I think is the main thing we can learn from the prayer of Jesus in John 17.

As I read this prayer, it almost sounds as if the prayer is a small part of a much longer conversation He has been having with God for a very long time. As such, Jesus does not appear to have the need to fit everything in, follow a prayer outline, use any special language, remember any prayer requests, or even begin and end the prayer with a flowery introduction and conclusion.

He simply transitions from talking to His disciples to talking to God. One second He is looking at His disciples and speaking with them, and then next He is looking at God and speaking with Him. His tone and language and posture and even the content of what He is saying does not really change. For Jesus, prayer is just continuing a conversation with God.

When understood this way, prayer become much less of a mystery about how to pray and what to pray for and who can pray and where to pray, and much more like a conversation we have in everyday life.

If you can talk with a friend, you can talk to God. That is how Jesus prayed, and how we can pray too. I write a lot more about this in my book, What is Prayer?

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Pitfalls of Prayer Meetings

By Jeremy Myers

15 Comments

I have heard thousands of prayers in prayer meetings that are genuine, heart-felt, meaningful, conversations with God about Who He is, what He has done, and how we would like Him to help us live life and serve Him better.

But even where the prayers are meaningful and heart-felt, there are still numerous pitfalls to prayer meetings.

Pitfalls of Prayer Meetings — Pitfall - One of my favorite games as a kid.

Questioning Prayer Meetings

For example, have you ever noticed that the true “prayer warriors” of the typical church rarely come to “Prayer meetings”?

Have you ever wondered why? Have you ever thought it odd that when you ask your pastor to pray for a pressing need in your life, he writes it down, and then says, “I’ll bring it up at the prayer meeting this Wednesday”?

Has it ever seemed strange to you that although there can be dozens of people out in the community loving others, serving the poor, meeting needs, and helping the homeless, the “truly spiritual people” are those who come to church on Wednesday night for the prayer meeting where they pray for the poor, the homeless, and the other needs of the community? Why are the ones who pray about these needs more spiritual than the ones who actually go meet the needs?

Prayer Meeting Slogans

And then there are all the sermons and slogans about how the church advances on its knees, how kneeling men are real men, and how the attendance at the prayer meeting reveals the true health and vitality of the church. Aside from the fact that I am just not sure these ideas are true, it seems that these sermons and slogans really don’t get people to pray more, but simply guilt them into showing up for another meeting in the church building.

Prayer Meetings Teach Bad Prayer Habits

The main reason a church might want to consider letting prayer meetings cease is that even when prayer meetings are healthy and people don’t learn bad types of praying, they still teach people bad habits about prayer.

Biblical Prayer Posture — Is bowing the head, clasping the hands, and closing the eyes the Biblical prayer posture?

Rather than show people how to pray without ceasing, they teach people that there is a time and a place and a particular method for prayer. We must sit in a circle, clasp our hands, close our eyes, bow our heads, and only then, will God hear our prayers. Prayer meetings teach people that prayer is more effective when there are several people gathered in a room praying about something. They teach people that aside from attending church on Sunday morning, the next most important thing in their life as a follower of Jesus is attending church on Wednesday night.

But none of this is actually true!

Prayer is vital, and gathering with other believers is vital, and praying together with others is vital, but none of this requires a regularly scheduled prayer meeting, as practiced in some churches today. Learning how to pray, learning what to pray for, and learning how prayer is answered, might best be accomplished in other ways.

Like what? Receive my online email training about prayer to find out:

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Hey Pastor! Stop talking to the devil in your prayers!

By Jeremy Myers

30 Comments

So far in this series on prayer, we have looked at a few types of “bad habit” prayers you might have heard: Magic Words prayer, the Let God to the Talking prayer, and the Father God Jesus Christ Glory Hallelujah prayer. We now turn to another shocking type of prayer you might hear in a prayer meeting or from a pulpit.

This type may be the worst because although the person thinks they are talking to God, they actually spend a good portion of the prayer talking to the Devil.

Have you ever heard a prayer like this? You probably have.

Here is an example of a prayer I heard quite recently:

God, we thank you for your many answers to prayer this week, and—Devil! I rebuke you in the name of Jesus—and God, may you guide us and direct us this week according to your will—Satan! I bind you and cast you out with the authority of the name of Jesus!—and God, we especially want to lift up to you today Sister Maynard—Get out Satan! Get out! Leave her alone!—who is struggling with the flu this week—Evil spirit of the flu, get out of her! Leave foul demon!—may you use your power and might to restore her to health…

I’m not sure God likes to share prayers to Him this way. Half of the prayer is a conversation with Him, and the other half is a conversation with the devil. I know that they are praying against the devil, but such a practice is not learned from Scripture (the opposite is actually taught: 2 Peter 2:10-11; Jude 9).

When we pray to God, we should not spend time also talking to the devil.

When you pray, talk to God, focus on God, glorify God, and listen to God. Don’t waste any time or words trying to talk to the devil, rebuke the devil, or cast out the devil. Satan is already defeated. You don’t need to give him a second thought (or even a first).

Do you want to pray like never before?

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Why you should try Praying the Psalms

The Psalms as Prayers

Conversations with God

Do you want to pray like never before?

How to Pray like Paul

The Prayers of Paul

Conversational Prayers of Paul

Do you want to pray like never before?

4 Tips on How to Pray like Jesus

The Structure of the Prayer

The Posture of the Prayer of Jesus

The Prayer Requests of Jesus

How Jesus Does Not Pray

Conversational Prayer

Do you want to pray like never before?

Pitfalls of Prayer Meetings

Questioning Prayer Meetings

Prayer Meeting Slogans

Prayer Meetings Teach Bad Prayer Habits

Do you want to pray like never before?

Hey Pastor! Stop talking to the devil in your prayers!

Do you want to pray like never before?

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