Prayer: Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 45

The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism I. What Is Prayer?

Prayer consists in calling upon the true God, and arises from an acknowledgment and sense of our want, and from a desire of sharing in the divine bounty, in true conversion of heart and confidence in the promise of grace for the sake of Christ the mediator, asking at the hands of God such temporal and spiritual blessings as are necessary for us; or in giving thanks to God for the benefits received.

Question 116. Why is prayer necessary for Christians?

Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which God requires of us. Moreover, God will give his grace and the Holy Spirit only to those who constantly and with heartfelt longing ask him for these gifts and thank him for them.

Tanong 116. Bakit kinakailangan ang panalangin para sa mga Kristiyano?

Sapagkat ang panalangin ay ang pinakamahalagang bahagi ng pasasalamat na hinihingi ng Diyos sa atin. Higit pa dito, ibibigay ng Diyos ang Kanyang biyaya at ang Banal na Espiritu doon lamang sa mga nagpapatuloy at may taos-pusong pag-asa na humihingi sa Kanya ng mga kaloob na ito at nagpapasalamat sa Kanya para sa mga ito.

Psalm 50:14–15 (ESV)

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Psalm 116:12–19 (ESV)

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord...You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord...Praise the Lord!

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Luke 11:9–13 ESV

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Question 117. What belongs to a prayer which pleases God and is heard by him?

The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism Question 118. What Hath God Commanded Us to Ask of Him?

Some commit an error, as it were, in the very threshhold, having an incorrect knowledge of the nature and will of God, and so violate the very first condition necessary to acceptable prayer—some err in the things which they pray for, in that they pray for things that are evil, uncertain, and not approved of by God—some ask blessings of God hypocritically—some ask without any consciousness or sense of the want of the blessings for which they pray—some have no confidence in Christ the mediator—some ask that they may be heard in the things which they pray for, and yet persist in sin—some ask things necessary for salvation, and yet do it with distrust, whilst others again address prayers to God, and yet never think of the divine promise, and therefore ask without faith, and so receive no answer to their prayers.

First, we must from the heart call upon the one true God only, who has revealed himself in his Word, for all that he has commanded us to pray. Second, we must thoroughly know our need and misery, so that we may humble ourselves before God. Third, we must rest on this firm foundation that, although we do not deserve it, God will certainly hear our prayer for the sake of Christ our Lord, as he has promised us in his Word.

Tanong 117. Ano ang kalakip ng panalanging kalugod-lugod sa Diyos at Kanyang pinapakinggan?

Una, dapat mula sa puso tayong tumawag sa nag-iisang tunay na Diyos lamang, na Siyang nagpahayag ng Kaniyang sarili sa Kaniyang Salita, para sa lahat ng iniutos Niya sa ating ipanalangin. Pangalawa, kinakailangnang lubus-lubusan nating kilalanin ang ating pangangailangan at kapighatian, nang sa gayon ay magpakumbaba tayo sa harapan ng Diyos. Pangatlo, dapat tayong manangan sa matibay na sandigang ito na, kahit hindi tayo karapat-dapat, ang Diyos ay tiyak na papakinggan ang ating panalangin alang-alang kay Cristo na ating Panginoon, tulad ng Kanyang ipinangako sa atin sa Kanyang Salita.

First, we must from the heart call upon the one true God only, who has revealed himself in his Word, for all that he has commanded us to pray.

Psalm 145:18–20 ESV

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

John 4:22–24 (ESV)

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

1 John 5:14–15 ESV

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Second, we must thoroughly know our need and misery, so that we may humble ourselves before God.

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Psalm 34:18 ESV

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Isaiah 66:2 ESV

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Third, we must rest on this firm foundation that, although we do not deserve it, God will certainly hear our prayer for the sake of Christ our Lord, as he has promised us in his Word.

Daniel 9:17–19 ESV

Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

John 14:13–14 ESV

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

James 1:6 ESV

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Question 118. What has God commanded us to ask of him?

All the things we need for body and soul, as included in the prayer which Christ our Lord himself taught us.

Tanong 118. Ano ang iniutos ng Diyos sa atin na hilingin sa Kanya?

Lahat ng bagay na kailangan ng katawan at kaluluwa, na napapaloob sa panalanging itinuro sa atin mismo ni Cristong ating Panginoon.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Question 119. What is the Lord’s prayer?

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Tanong 119. Ano ang panalangin ng Panginoon?

Ama naming nasa langit, sambahin ang ngalan Mo. Dumating nawa ang kaharian Mo, mangyari nawa ang Iyong kalooban, dito sa lupa tulad ng sa langit. Bigyan Mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw; at patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga utang, tulad ng pagpapatawad namin sa mga may utang sa amin; at huwag Mo kaming iadya sa tukso kundi iligtas Mo kami sa masama. Sapagkat sa Iyo ang kaharian, at ang kapangyarihan, at ang kaluwalhatian, magpakailan man. Siya nawa.

“Get down deep into the Scripture, God’s holy Word, and your prayers will start to fly. We pray best when we ask God for everything He already wants to give us.” — Kevin DeYoung