In-Depth Bible Study on Prayer

[bdavidc]

I have been wanting to dig much deeper into what the Bible actually teaches about prayer, and I decided to start working through it one subject at a time. I am going through this study myself as I post it, because I know there is a lot about prayer that I still need to understand better. I don't claim to have every question figured out, and really, that is part of the reason I wanted to do this study in the first place.

What I would like us to do here is keep coming back to the Bible. I am not interested in what different traditions say prayer is supposed to be, or what somebody's favorite preacher or theological system says about it. I want to look at what Scripture actually says and try to understand it in context.

Study #1: Why Pray If God Already Knows What We Need?​

This is one of those questions that sounds simple at first, but the more I think about it, the more important I believe it is. Jesus said in Matthew 6:8, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

That raises an obvious question for me. If God already knows exactly what I need before I ever say a word, then why does He tell me to pray?

What really stands out is what Jesus says right after that. He does not say that because the Father already knows, there is no reason to ask. Instead He says, “After this manner therefore pray ye...” (Matthew 6:9).

So right there we can see that prayer is not about giving God information He does not already have. He knows our needs before we ever bring them to Him, but He still tells us to ask.

Jesus also said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). James says, “ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). Then James immediately warns that we can ask wrongly, “that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). So this is obviously not about treating God like someone we go to whenever we want something.

Daniel gives us something else to think about. He understood from Jeremiah's prophecy that the seventy years of Jerusalem's desolation were coming to an end. God had already revealed what He was going to do, but Daniel did not look at that and say there was no reason to pray because God had already decided it.

Daniel said, “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications...” (Daniel 9:3).

That really gets my attention. God's promise did not stop Daniel from praying. It actually moved him to pray.

We see something similar in Acts 4. The believers understood that what happened to Christ took place according to what God's “hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28). They clearly understood that God was sovereign over what had happened, but they still prayed. They asked God for boldness, and He answered them.

Then we come to Jesus Himself in Gethsemane. He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).

That tells me something important too. Prayer is not about trying to bend God's will until He gives us what we want. Jesus brought His request to the Father, but He also submitted Himself completely to the Father's will.

The more I look at these passages, the more I am beginning to see that prayer is much deeper than simply telling God what we need. God already knows. God is sovereign. God is good. Yet He still tells His children to come to Him and ask.

That is where I would like to start this study. I am still thinking through this myself, and I would really like to hear what others see in these passages too. Why do you think God wants us to ask Him for things He already knows we need?

 

[marks]

That is where I would like to start this study. I am still thinking through this myself, and I would really like to hear what others see in these passages too. Why do you think God wants us to ask Him for things He already knows we need?

To me the heart of the matter is communion with God. He intends us to participate with Him in His works. As we do so, we become more like Him.

We, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into that same image. We see God's glory reflected in us when we allow Him to work through us, participating with Him. Seeing His work, being involved in it, we come to know Him and His character experientially, which changes us.

When we ask, and He provides, we have that direct link between our request and His provision, and we are immediately thankful, being conscious of His care for us.

Praying for what God has already promised is an act of our faith, and we are not just passively waiting, but we are actively declaring ourselves to believe.

As James wrote, You have not because you ask not, praying for our requests, for things that God would not do unless we ask, this allows us to initiate good in the creative sense that mirrors our Father in heaven. He brought about what He considered good in His creation, and He allows us to bring about good through His working in response to our prayers.

Some of my thoughts, nothing more.

Much love!

 

[bdavidc]

As we are just starting this study on prayer, I want to share one more thought to keep before us as we proceed.

I think that our prayer life and walk with God reveals much about our spiritual condition. However, I also think that God’s Word must shape our prayers. How can we know how to pray if we do not know what God has revealed to us about Himself, His will for us, the promises He has given to us, and how He wants us to live?

For that matter, that is why I think it is so important to actually study God’s Word for ourselves. Not just hear what someone else says it means, but pick it up, read it, think about it, and compare it with other parts of Scripture. The more we know God’s Word, the more it should impact our prayers.

Jesus said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” John 15:7.

I believe there is a connection there. Jesus is connecting our prayers with His words abiding in us. They are not to be two disjointed parts of our Christian walk.

John tells us, “if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” (1 John 5:14).
Prayer is not about manipulating God to get Him to change His will to match ours. The more we know His Word, the more our thinking will be lined up with His will…and that should determine what we pray for and how we pray.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this study is that I don’t want to just learn more about prayer. I want Scripture to change the way that we actually pray.

As we study together I would love to hear how studying God’s Word has impacted not only how you pray but what you pray for.

 

[marks]

I would add that the heart of prayer is communion with our faithful Creator. Having an actual relationship with our God.

Much love!

 

[bdavidc]

Please let me know if anyone is interested in this Prayer Bible Study. If not, I will not proceed.