Prayer Afresh

What is prayer?

The English reformer Thomas Becon is credited with authoring the first treatise devoted exclusively to prayer entitled, A New Pathway unto Prayer (1542). In it, he defines prayer in simple, straightforward terms:

an earnest talk with God (Thomas Becon)

If we accept Becon’s definition of prayer, we will note that prayer is not casual. For our talk or praying to God to be earnest, our minds and hearts must be engaged in it.

This is not to suggest though that prayer must always be formal. There are times we set aside for prayer. Perhaps during our devotional times in the morning or evening there is a certain formality in that time is set aside. But even during these times of prayer, we should feel free to express our joys, sorrows, burdens, concerns.

It is right for us to approach the throne of grace with humility, but it is also right to approach the Lord as His sons and daughters.

Our Approach to Prayer

Prayer must be thoughtful

1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV

15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

Prayer must be an exercise of our minds and our souls.

But in an effort to be heart-felt in our prayers, we may be tempted to marginalize the thoughtfulness that prayer should possess.

Heartfelt prayer and thoughtful prayer are not incompatible with one another.

God has made Himself known through words, and He has invited to pray to Him with words.

We use words to pray, and words require thought.

The main concern is not eloquence, precision or correct grammar, but careful thought and awareness of what we are actually saying to God.

Many of us have experienced times where words elude us in our praying.

Romans 8:26 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Here, the Holy Spirit is compensating for the believer’s weakness. What we need to know and the encouragement we must recognize is that while we may not know what we should pray all the time, the will of God will for our lives is never in jeopardy… even when we are weak.

So prayer that is thoughtful and reflect a concern for the words spoke to God is the norm, but God’s kindness is displayed as He bears our weakness in wordless moments.

Prayer must be heartfelt

Matthew 6:7 ESV

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

When we pray, we should be concerned with sincerity. I read recently that is our prayer are not sincere they are false and dishonest.

The concern that our prayers are heartfelt is one for sincerity.

Someone noted that the typical medieval Christian was encouraged to pray by simply reciting a form of words. It was even suggested that people who did this, and repeated these prayers often, they could earn spiritual merit.

Praying heartfelt prayers requires that we understand prayer to be a means of grace in the Christian’s life. The benefits of prayer are imparted to people by God, and people are exhorted to pray.

This is the exhortation of Paul is Eph. 6 - praying at all times in the Spirit (v. 18)

Prayer must be biblical

Prayer must reflect an awareness that God has initiated the conversation with His people through His Word.

The Word of God sets the agenda for our prayer lives. (the guy from my prison ministry experience)

When our concern to be biblical in our prayer lives is weak, we are vulnerable to practices of prayer that is contrary to Scripture.

The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) is not only a prayer that should be prayed, but perhaps even more so, it is a prayer that establishes a pattern for our prayers.

[The Lord’s Prayer] contains the chief things that we have to ask, or God has to bestow. Thomas Watson, “The Lord’s Prayer”.

Biblical prayers may quote Scripture, paraphrase Scripture or adapt Scripture for personal application, but fundamentally, biblical prayers are moulded by and filtered through Scripture.

Scripture filters out certain approaches to prayer and shapes it as well.