The Meaning of Prayer
Many know by memory the Master’s Model
Prayer. Yet, do they think of what they are really asking when they repeat His
words? Here is a lesson about prayer that bears repeating.
It has always been man’s innate desire to
reach out beyond himself, to tap the unseen powers beyond his own sphere, in an
effort to achieve results outside his reach.
Even primitive, pagan man acknowledged
unseen powers or beings beyond himself. Because he was not able to see or prove
the existence of such supernatural powers, he created icons of these imagined
forces. With them he hoped to get a physical handle on powers of the invisible
spirit world.
Some pagan practices involved carving a
talisman or totem pole from wood or stone and then inviting a spirit deity to
inhabit that humanly created object. Other objects might include a "good
luck" bracelet, ring or brooch to ward away evil spirits.
The Bible tells us not to rely on icons,
images or figures made by man for our worship or protection, neither are we to
bow down to them. Yahweh is the only true Creator and Heavenly Father.
To Whom Do We Pray?
As far back as Adam, many Biblical examples
reveal that man was able to converse with his Creator and He would respond.
We are not to take up the ways of the
heathen, but to follow examples of righteous men given us in the Bible.
Our Savior told the woman at the well in
John 4:24, "Yahweh is spirit, and
they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Yahshua
was obviously alluding to the fact that He would soon die for the sins of the
world and shortly thereafter the
Since the destruction of the
The question before us as believers in the
Bible is, to Whom are we to direct our prayers and
worship? Who will answer our prayers? Christianity teaches a Trinity, that is,
three persons make up one G-d. This Trinity supposedly consists of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, all of whom are said to be equal.
If they are all equal and able to answer
prayer, to which of the three should we preferably direct our prayers of praise
and thanks?
Do we pray to the Father? To the Son? To the Holy Spirit? What does the Bible teach on prayer? To which member of the heavenly Majesty do
we address our prayers? Your Bible had the sure answers, Acts 17:11.
Giver of Perfect Gifts
The Old Testament clearly shows that
worship and prayer were made and directed to Yahweh the Heavenly Father. He is
the one who established Covenants with those He selected. He began with Abram,
Genesis 15:18, continued with Isaac, Genesis 26:2-4, then Jacob, Hosea 12:4-5.
Later this Covenant was written and codified, and given to all
Paul shows that we as modern
Paul clearly reveals this in Galatians
3:29, "And if you be Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed according to
the promise."
Paul emphasizes those who "have been immersed into Messiah have put on
Messiah," Galatians 3:27. Thus through faith in the
Messiah and baptism into His Name we become sons of Yahweh (Gal. 3:26).
While we pray to the Father, our prayers
are through the Savior and it is only through Him that we have access to our
Heavenly Father:
"Yahshua
said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the
Father, but by me." (John 14:6).
When asked about prayer, the Savior told us
to address our prayers to the Heavenly Father, even calling Him "Our
Father," Matthew 6:9. Note that He is the giver of every perfect gift:
"For
every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither
shadow of turning." James 1:17.
We Still MUST Ask
Even though Yahweh knows our needs, we
still must ask. We must be persistent in prayer. We are to learn patience, for
He answers in a way that is for our own good. Yahweh does not always give us
whatever we ask for. At times the answer may be slow in coming to make us
reconsider our petition that we do not ask amiss.
"Be
not therefore like unto them: for your Father knows what things you have need
of, before you ask him." (Mat. 6:8)
We are encouraged to ask and persist in
prayer. If every prayer were answered immediately, we would soon become spoiled
children, lacking discipline, thinking only of ourselves and seeking our own
pleasure.
"Ask
and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be
opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and
to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his
sons ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in
heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" (Mat. 7:7-11)
Prayer that stops at the Ceiling
The following verses show that Yahweh is
attentive to those of a humble mind and those who are striving to be obedient
to Him:
"Then
Peter opened [His] mouth, and said, Of a truth I
perceive that Yahweh is not respecter of persons: But in every nation he that
fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with Him." (Acts
10:34-35)
"And
whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1John 3:22)
Those who disregard Yahweh’s law and are in
rebellion against Him do not have a favorable hearing. Willful disobedience
together with an arrogant, presumptuous attitude can make one’s very prayer
become sin.
"He
that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination," (Prov. 28:9)
The Bible is clear that Yahweh does not
hear sinners, but he listens to those who have turned to Him through Yahshua.
Note the words of the man born blind in John 9:31, "Now we know that Elohim hears not sinners;
but if any man be a worshiper of Elohim and does His will, him He hears."
Peter wrote in 1Peter 3:12, "For those the eyes of Yahweh are over the
righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of Yahweh is
against them that do evil," taken from Psalm 34:15-16.
"They
compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a
cause. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And
they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set a wicked man
over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him
be condemned: and let his prayer become sin." (Ps. 109:3-7)
If at times we feel our prayer are getting
no higher than the ceiling, we might remember the words found in Lamentation
telling us that Yahweh has blocked Himself with a cloud mass:
"Let
us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh. Let us lift up our hearts
with [our] hands unto Elohim in the heavens. We have transgressed and have
rebelled: You have not pardoned. You have covered with anger, and persecuted
us. You have slain, You have not pitied. You have
covered yourself with a cloud, that [our] prayer should not pass through." (Lam. 3:40-44)
Pray in This Manner
Prayer has been described as the act of
petitioning, prayer, giving thanks, or confessing to Elohim.
Prayer can be individual or in a group. Prayer can be either audible or silent.
The Mighty One of the Bible is a personal being who hears the prayers of His
people, 1Kings 9:3, Psalm 34:15, Matthew 7:11, 1John 5:14-15.
The Savior is a perfect model and a wise
instructor in all things. He prayed on many occasions, including His baptism, "Now when all the people were baptized,
it came to pass that Yahshua also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was
opened." (Note: this is understood as the opening of a heavenly or
deeper understanding of events.)
He also prayed at the calling of His
disciples, Luke 6:12; the transfiguration, Luke 9:29; His ordeal in Gethsemane,
Luke 22:39-46; and His impalement, Luke 23:46. He was in an attitude of prayer
at all times, and we also should be in this attitude.
Most Bible believers are quite aware of the
prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, also known as "The L-rd’s Prayer." (See
Luke 11:2-4 also). Note that we are to pray "in this manner." Not to memorize the prayer, but to follow the
pattern. Yahshua prayed:
"Our Father Which art in heaven."
We acknowledge that He is our Father and as
children we are to be obedient to Him. He resides in that third heaven, the
spiritual realm that pervades His creation. He is always present and aware of
us.
"Hallowed be Thy Name."
His Name is set apart for Himself. He alone
has that Name, and it is His personal, memorial Name by which He wants to be
remembered. We are to keep it holy by reverently calling upon His Name. We cannot
keep the Sabbath holy if we don’t observe it. Neither can we keep His Name holy
if we don’t call upon His Name Yahweh.
"The Kingdom come, Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven."
This is a request for the promised return
of His Son Yahshua the Messiah and the establishment of the millennial Kingdom
on this earth.
It is also a petition for the Son to rule
with a rod of iron, Revelation 2:26-28. He will enforce all of Yahweh’s
commandments when He rules. The Sabbath and Feast days as well as the Ten
Commandments will all be observed under Yahshua’s rule.
"Give us this day our daily
bread."
A simple petition that our needs of the day
will be met. Not our wants, but our needs…
"Forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us."
We are to forgive those who ask and freely
pardon those who confess their error and turn from their wicked ways. Thus, we
are forgiven in like manner if we also repent.
"For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever."
We acknowledge that Yahweh is omnipotent
and everliving. These are the basic concepts that our
Savior presented to His disciples, which also give a pattern for our drawing
near to Him.
We must first acknowledge Yahweh as our
Heavenly Father and regard His Name Yahweh as special, set apart or holy. We
must then recognize that we are His faithful and obedient sons and daughters.
This helps bring us into a proper attitude for addressing the Great King.
We learn from Matthew 6 that we should do
good deeds privately, not for publicity’s sake, which the Bible refers to as
sounding a trumpet. Our Father knows our hearts and attitudes.
Prayer should be brief and not used to
impress those who might hear. Personal prayer is best done in private. Our
prayers are a private and confidential conversation with Yahweh and praying
over commercial radio and TV is not in good taste.
Collective Prayer
Prayer is often given in the Assembly of
believers where, as a body, the brethren unite in mind and heart. Paul urges
the Corinthian brethren to speak intelligibly so that all understand, and not
speak into the air, 1Corinthians 14:9. In verse 16 Paul alludes to a collective
prayer of the congregation where those who hear can affirm "amen" or
"may it be so."
For centuries Jewish worship has consisted
of reading from a prayer book. While the congregation may all read the same
prayer, the prayers were written by men. The Psalms are a better choice as
these are inspired and when read together they unite the body in our prayers,
petitions, praises, and thanks to Yahweh.
When brethren gather as a body in Yahshua’s
Name, there is more power there as they unite their common goals and wills.
"Again I say unto you, That if two
of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall
be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt.
18:19-20).
New Testament prayer is routinely addressed
to none but the Heavenly Father. Some hold that Acts 7:59 shows Stephen praying
to Yahshua as he was being stoned. In reality he is simply showing mercy in
asking that those stoning him be forgiven. In this he followed Yahshua’s plea
for mercy for those killing Him, Luke 23:34.
Through the Messiah
In his letters Paul routinely mentions
giving thanks to Yahweh "through Yahshua the Messiah."
Prayer is to be offered to Yahweh through
the Name of the Messiah, John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23. This shows that we accept
the Perfect sacrifice of His Son Yahshua. We no longer bring an animal
sacrifice, but approach Yahweh and offer our sacrifice of praise to Yahweh
continually, that is the "fruit (calves, Hosea 14:2) of our lips,"
Hebrews 13:15.
Notice that this verse specifically says we
are to give thanks to Yahweh’s Name. We are to call Him by name and invoke the
memorial Name Yahweh, which He has revealed to us. Calling upon His Name Yahweh
is a very important part of acknowledging Him. We thus recognize Yahweh as our
Heavenly Father as we strive to become spiritual Israelites.
Yahshua is our High Priest Who makes
intercession for us to Yahweh. We no longer must bring a sacrificial animal,
for acceptance of the shed blood of the Savior allows us to approach Yahweh
directly. We come through the shed blood of the Lamb, Hebrews 4:14-15.
We owe a tremendous debt to Yahshua, for He
is "the Mediator of a better
Covenant which is established on better promises," Hebrew 8:6.
There is only one way open to us to
approach the Heavenly Father and that, as we have already stated, is through
His son, John 14:6. Our sins are washed away when we accept the sacrifice of
our Savior and are immersed into His saving Name Yahshua. "And in none other is there salvation: for
neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, in which
we must be saved," Acts 4:12, TSS.
Prayer is direct communication with Yahweh
the King of the entire universe. It is made possible through the death and
resurrection of His Son Yahshua. By accepting the shed blood of Yahshua and
being baptized into His Name, our sins are washed away, and we become adopted
sons and daughters of the Most High!
The Holy Spirit, which is the Power
emanating from Yahweh and shared, by His Son, guides us into truths as we
humbly accept Yahweh’s call to become a part of His assembly.
Prayer
is a privilege and our clear responsibility.
© 2007 Yahweh’s Assembly in Yahshua
2963 County Road 233, Kingdom City, Missouri 65262
View us online at: www.YAIY.org
Call Toll Free:
Main Line:
|
|
|