PRAYER

 The church that Jesus built should be a church that prays. It should be one that prays as a church and where individuals pray daily.

There are many examples in the Bible of people praying.

Abraham and Sarah prayed for a child, Genesis 15:1-6.

Hannah prayed for a child, I Samuel 1:11.

David prayed for his child’s life, II Samuel 12:16.

Daniel prayed to God 3 times a day, even though the king had commanded that no one could pray or worship anyone but him.

Jesus prayed many times. He even taught His disciples to pray, Matthew 6:5-15.

We know from scripture that God answered Abraham’s prayer and gave him Isaac. But God answered Abraham’s prayer in God’s time, not Abraham’s.

God answered Hannah’s prayer, and she gave Samuel back to God by allowing him to live in the temple with Eli. He served Eli and grew up to be a prophet of God.

David committed a sin, and God told him that part of his punishment would be the loss of his child. David prayed anyway, but the child died.

God saved Daniel’s life because of the prayers he offered and the consistency with which he prayed. Daniel was, however, thrown into the lions’ den and subjected to possible harm before God saved him.

Jesus prayed for God to not make Him suffer. He prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” Luke 11:42 (KJV). God answered Jesus prayer but in a different way than He answered the prayers of those already mentioned. Jesus did have to die, but He was willing.

God may not always give us what we want in the exact way we request it, but He will always answer our prayers. Sometimes God says, ”yes” like He did with Hannah. Sometimes He says, “no” like He did with King David and with Jesus. Sometimes He says, “wait” like He did with Abraham and Sarah.

We have a great example of prayer in the model prayer, given by Jesus to His disciples. In this prayer, Jesus helped them and us to understand the basics of our prayers.

Beginning in Matthew 6:5, Jesus tells the disciples not to pray as the hypocrites did. They stood on street corners and prayed to be seen of men. Their goal was to put their prayers on display so they could look righteous. But Jesus tells the people to pray in secret. They were also told not to use vain repetitions, or to be ritualistic in their prayers. This was the habit of the Gentiles.

In the model prayer, Jesus told the disciples to first address God. We don’t pray to any other than God. We are not to pray to an idol, the mother of Jesus, or to any man. No man can answer our prayers or forgive our sins.

Second, Jesus told the disciples that they should show honor to the Father because He is holy. No one on earth deserves the reverence and respect that we give to God.

Thirdly, the disciples were to pray for the kingdom to come. The kingdom the disciples prayed for was the church. The church was established in Acts 2, so we cannot pray for the kingdom to come.

Fourth, we are to ask for those things we need. You will notice that verse 11 says, “Give us this day our daily bread”. This is a reasonable request, not a request for material things. This is a request for something we need.

Fifth, we are to ask for forgiveness of our sins. But notice that Jesus said, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”. God is going to forgive us the way we forgive others. That is why our treatment of others is so important.

Sixth, we are to ask for help in our temptations and that we may be delivered from evil. We certainly want to ask God for assistance in enduring the trials that come to us each day.

Ephesians 5:20 tells us to pray in the name of Jesus. We can’t pray in another name. Paul also prayed in the name of Jesus.

These scriptures and examples give us God’s plan for prayer both in our private lives and in our worship. Our pattern is to want God’s will to be done, believe God will answer our prayers, pray according to Jesus’ example, and to pray in Jesus’ name. Anything else is not acceptable.

When we find churches or organized groups that pray to one other than our Heavenly Father, we need to continue looking for the church that Jesus built.

Sandra Oliver