Let's Start Praying (Part 5)

THE FIRST RECORDED PRAYER: PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES


“Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” (Gen 20:17-18)


The first hint of prayer in the Bible occurs after the birth of Seth’s son Enosh, “Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD,” (Gen 4:26). The first reference to “pray” in the Bible was Abraham for Abimelech the king of Gerar. The first prayer in scripture is not for a person’s own needs or the needs of a close relative, but for another, even one very distant. Immediately after Abraham’s prayer for Abimelech, we read,


“The LORD took note of Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time which God had spoken to him,” (Gen 21:1-2).


The Bible connects the praying of Abraham to open the “wombs of the household of Abimelech” to the story that immediately follows, “The LORD took note of Sarah…and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised….so Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,” (Gen 21:1-2). There is an implicit connection in scripture between the prayer of Abraham for Abimelech and the answer to Abraham’s prayer for Sarah to conceive. The close association of Abraham’s prayer for Abimelech and Sarah’s conception demonstrates that the answer to our prayer can come when we pray for the needs of another. From Everyman’s Talmud,


“One must not only think of himself when praying; he should also be mindful of the needs of his fellows. ‘Whoever has it in his power to pray on behalf of his neighbor and fails to do so, is called a sinner; as it said, ‘Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, (1 Sam 12:23)’ (Ber 12b). ‘Whoever prays on behalf of a fellow-man, while being in need of the same thing, will be answered first’ (B.K. 92a).’” i.e., Sarah conceived.


Fulfilling the need of Abraham after he prayed for Abimelech follows the principle of “measure for measure”. Therefore, LORD’S response to our prayer may sometimes be contingent on praying for others, just as forgiveness is contingent on forgiving another, (Matt 6:12 & 18:35).


When Jesus told His disciples, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you might be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:44-45), He may have been alluding to the prayer of Abraham for Abimelech. Although not specifically defined as an enemy, Abimelech had married the wife of Abraham. This would not have put Abimelech in good standing with Abraham or God, (Gen 20:3). Even the LORD judged Abimelech calling him “a dead man because of the woman you have taken,” (Gen 20:3). Abraham’s prayer for Abimelech demonstrated that he was a son of His Father in heaven. When our prayers are not answered it may be an indication that we are not praying enough for others. After all,


“He (God) causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same…Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (Matt 5:45-48).


These words of Jesus comes immediately after His call for believers to pray for our enemies. In effect, Jesus is saying that believers receive merit, sometimes referred to as “reward”, by doing what is difficult not by doing what is easy. The difficulty of praying for an enemy brings reward that will assist in the success of our own prayer.


Scott

Let's Start Praying More (Part 4)

ENTERING THE HOLY OF HOLIES

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place (literally the Holy of Holies) by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies wash with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-22, NASB)

The writer of Hebrews makes an amazing analogy in the ninth chapter between the “holy place” (Heb 9:2) and the “Holy of Holies” (Heb 9:3). The full impact of this analogy between the present world and the world to come is lost on the reader because of inconsistencies in the English translation. At least four times in the ninth chapter and once in the tenth chapter (Heb 9:8, 9:12, 9:24, 9:25 and 10:19), the dual Greek words “hagios hagios,” translated as “Holy of Holies” in Hebrews 9:3, is translated as “holy place.”

The holy place included the front of the temple with the menorah, the table, and the sacred bread, (Heb 9:2). The room inside the holy place that contained the the ark of the covenant, (Heb 9:4), was called the “Holy of Holies” since the presence of the LORD God dwelled there about the ark between the cherubim. When believers pray we enter into the “Holy of Holies”, as it is written, “We have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus.” Jesus even alluded to the Holy of Holies when He told His disciples,

“When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matt 6:6)

The Holy of Holies is the “inner room” in the temple behind the “door,” which is the veil of the temple. This same veil was torn at the time of the crucifixion opening the way for the believer to stand before the presence of the LORD in the Holy of Holies.

The significance of the Hebrew writer’s words is difficult to overstate. The Holy of Holies was the most sacred place on earth from the time the tabernacle was constructed in the wilderness until the destruction of the second temple. Only one person could enter the Holy of Holies and then only one time a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment. Believers have that opportunity ever day, at any hour, in any place, for any length of time. As opposed to the High Priest who could not delay for any longer than required to perform the service in the Holy of Holies, believers can remain for whatever time is necessary to empty our hearts before the LORD.

In Hebrew thinking, we should see ourselves as standing before the Divine Presence when we petition the LORD God. This is consistent with the view of the Hebrew writer since the presence of the LORD God and His throne resided above the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies as seen by Ezekiel, (Ezek 10:1-4). Maimonides, the middle-age codifier of Jewish law, wrote that the one who prays should, “regard himself as if he were standing before the Divine Presence.” (Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd Edition, Vol 16, page 459)  Although the LORD is Omnipresent residing in all places in this world, it is His “Shechinah” Presence that we stand before when we pray.

The understanding that we enter the “Holy of Holies” is consistent with the words of Paul who said believers have been “raised up with Him, and seated…with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Eph 2:6). In the same letter to the Ephesians Paul used as a proof text, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men,” (Eph 4:8).  Like the original "host of captives", believers “have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus.”

(Scott - From Austin)

Let's Start Praying More (Part 3)

DRAW NEAR TO GOD THROUGH PRAYER

“The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.” (Psa 145:18-19)

James wrote in his epistle for believers to, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” (James 4:8). The primary way given in scripture for a believer to draw near to God today is through prayer, as David said, “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him”. When we pray we set aside the world and focus on the One who made us and Who desires a relationship with us.

The phrase “draw near” reflects the actions of the Levitical priests who “draw near” to the LORD God to minister, (Ezek 43:19). The Levitical priests were able to “come near” to the altar through the presentation of “offerings”, as it is written,

“Moses then said to Aaron, ‘Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burn offering…So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for him.” (Lev 9:7-8)

The Hebrew word for “offerings” is “korban”, which comes from a root word “karab” meaning, “to come near,” sometimes reflected in scripture as “draw near”. Offerings and sacrifices allowed the priests and people of Israel “to come near” to God after the glory of the LORD filled the temple at its completion and dedication by Moses, (Ex 40:33-38).

The phrase “draw near” occurs five times in Book of Hebrews and alludes to the offerings at the temple. The Book of Hebrews was written (62-66 AD) to Hebrew believers living in Jerusalem who no longer had access to the temple during the persecution that followed the death of James, the brother of Jesus (AD 62). The writer of Hebrews encouraged these believers that they could still “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace” (Heb 4:16), “in a better hope” (Heb 7:19), “with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb 10:22), “through Him, since He always lives to make intercession” (Heb 7:25).

Building on the words of the prophet Hosea and the traditions that followed the destruction of the first temple, the writer of Hebrews offered believers a substitute for temple sacrifices to draw near to God,

“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is please,” (Heb 13:15-16).

The original Hebrew passage from Hosea literally reads, “We will pay with bulls the vows of our lips,” (Hosea 14:2, ESV). By equating prayer to sacrifice, the prophet Hosea and the Hebrew writer offered an alternative to sacrifice for every believer to draw near to God. When a believer offers to the LORD God the praise of his lips, his prayer is received through Jesus Christ as if the believer had offered a bull at the temple. The Jewish sages acknowledged the importance of prayer writing,

“Greater is prayer than sacrifices. Greater is prayer than good deeds; for you have no one greater in good deeds than our teach Moses; nevertheless he was only answered through prayer, as it is said, ‘Speak no more unto Me of this matter’ (Deut 3:26), which is followed by ‘Get thee up into the top of Pisgah’ (Deut 3:27) (Ber. 32b). The inference is that Moses’ prayer secured for him permission to view the land of promise before his death.” (Everyman's Talmud, Abraham Cohen, page 82)

In his prayer of repentance, David spoke of the true sacrifices that the LORD desires, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise,” (Psa 51:17). As Jesus said, “To love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices,” (Mark 12:33). In prayer, believers “draw near” to God and call upon His name, “for Whoever will call on the name of the LORD will be saved,” (Rom 10:13).

Just as acts of charity reflect a belief that all material possessions flow from God, so also does prayer reflects a belief that the LORD God is both

(1) Capable of answering a believer’s prayer and

(2) He desires to bestow lovingkindness on believers in response to their petitions.

Scott 

Let's Start Praying More (Part 2)

PRAYER FOR PROVIDENCE


“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” (Matt 9:37-38)

How important is prayer? Even the providence of the LORD’S eternal plan is manifested through the prayer of the saints, as Jesus said, “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” If God is all-powerful so that the providence of His plan will be manifested in the proper measure at the appointed time, why is it necessary to pray for the fulfillment of God’s plan? We can only conclude that God not only affords, but He greatly desires His creation to be active participants in the redemption of the world.

When establishing His covenant with Abraham, the LORD foretold Abraham “your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years,” (Gen 15:13). From these words, we understand that God had predetermined the duration that the descendents of Abraham would be oppressed in the land of Egypt independent of man’s freewill. Prior to the expiration of this time,

“God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.” (Ex 2:24-25).

Lost in the Exodus story is the praying of Abraham’s descendants for salvation from the oppression of Egypt. Although the LORD had fixed the duration of their bondage, it was the invisible force of prayer that set in motion the Exodus from Egypt, as the prophet Samuel recounted the sequence of events, “Your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt,” (1 Sam 12:8). Somehow, the providence of God’s plan still depended on the prayers of the saints. As stated by Rabbi Heshy Klienman,

“The arrival of the preordained time was not enough by itself to set the redemption in motion, the Ramban explains. It was when ‘Hashem heard their moaning’ that He remembered His covenant. ‘They were not…redeemed, except for the fact that their prayers were accepted with pity and mercy.’” (Praying With Fire, page 50)

For this reason, even in our generation the coming fullness of the kingdom must be prayed for, as Jesus instructed believers to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done,” (Matt 6:9).

At the exact time determined by God for the redemption of the Jewish nation, “And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Ex 12:41).  Believers might notice the apparent discrepancy between the 400 years of enslavement foretold to Abraham (Gen 15:13), and the 430 years spoken by Moses and referred to by Paul, (Gal 3:17).

 Paul, and the Hebrew sages, understood the beginning of the timeframe to coincide with the “covenant previously ratified by God” (Gal 3:17), when Abraham was seventy years old. Thirty years later, when Abraham was one hundred years old, Isaac the first descendant of the promised line was born. Although Isaac was not enslaved, the Jewish sages understood that he represented the beginning of the line of descendants that would ultimately be enslaved, and thus, the beginning of the four hundred years. The actual duration of Israel in Egypt was closer 210 years.

What do we need to pray for in the future, probably everything.

Scott

Let's Start Praying More (Part 1)

 
If the faith of a believer can be measured, the criteria would be


(1) Study of scripture,
(2) Acts of lovingkindness, and
(3) Prayer.

All three must be in a believer’s life so they can testify jointly of a believer’s faith. Of these three, faith finds its truest expression in prayer “as it stands as the intimate communion between the believer and the Creator…It is even said that ‘the Holy One, blessed be He, longs for the prayers of the righteous.’ (Jeb 64a)”.

Prayer is fundamental to “seeking” God (2 Chron 7:14), which is a necessary component of faith in God, as it is written, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him," (Heb 11:6).

“It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man’s spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life.” (Alone With God by John MacArthur, Jr.)

Prayer and faith are closely linked in the parable of “The Widow and the Unrighteous Judge,” (Luke 18:1-8). The parable was spoken by Jesus to His disciples “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” The parable concludes with the question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” When reading this statement in the context of the parable, we understand that the prayer life of a believer is strongly reflective of a believer’s faith.

We need to pray more often, with more conviction, and with more Kavannah.  The more I study prayer, the more I feel inadequate to pray.  Yet, if all we can say is "God, be merciful to me the sinner!" (Luke 18:14), the LORD desires to hear our voice.

(Scott)