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According to the Trinity Catechism: “Prayer is an offering of our hearts to God to lay before him our desires, needs, sins, thanksgivings, and adoration, all in the name of Christ and according to his will.” — TC Q.91
1 John 5:14 ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
Philippians 4:6–8 ESV
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Psalm 10:17 ESV
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
Psalm 145:19 ESV
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
Almost every belief system incorporates prayer in some way.
As Christians we are invited to call on the name of the Lord.
Gen 4:26 ESV
To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.
Not only that, we are invited to pray to the almighty, soverign, creator of the universe, and to call him Father.
Matthew 6:1–16 ESV
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “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. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:1–16 ESV
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Not only does he invite us to pray, but he promises to provide, that he will give good things to those who ask—particularly those who ask in faith.
Matthew 7:7–11 ESV
“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. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Prayer in the NT
His teaching on prayer, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, is to be understood as contrasting with current Jewish practices, not with OT ideals. Prayer is an expression of sincere desire. It is not to inform God of matters that he would otherwise be ignorant of, and the validity of prayer is not affected by length or repetitiveness. Private prayer is to be discreet, secret (Mt 6:5–15)
Further Reading: Jesus’ prayer recorded in John 17 is an amazing example of praying to the Father like a son.
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.
1 John 5:14 ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
This can be a very difficult promise to trust, and to act on. It's mostly because our experience or understanding has given us reason to doubt that this is true. We pray and we wonder/doubt if God will do it. James 1:5-8 teaches us that our doubt has an affect on the success of our prayer.
James 1:5-8 ESV
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
An important element of our prayer is of course to ask in faith, but also not to ask with the wrong motives.
As we saw in Philippians 4 we can identify at least some of the things that are within God's will—"whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things". However, according to John 14:13, Jesus wants to accomplish things we ask according to his authority and promises because it makes a big deal of his Father; who we've already established wants to give good gifts to his children.
Example: A tale from a sportsman's hunting experience.
We should pray for things that are stated in his will to be accomplished and be expectant that we can know his will.
James 5:16-18 ESV
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
In order to pray like this, we must have God's own help—the Helper, who teaches us what to say, and interceeds for us.
Romans 8:24–28 ESV
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 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. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Praying with the help of the Spirit can sometiems be a mysterious thing, such as praying in the Spirit; a spiritual language. But it is also often simply praying with a special faith that he provides, a confidence to ask for things believing they are from the Lord himself.
1 Corinthians 14:1–19 ESV
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 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. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
“Almost every day of our lives, you and I step into apparently random situations. If we perceive they are ordained of the Spirit, we will learn to respond tot hem, knowing God has brought us to them. There will be occasions when we will have a seemingly random thought, or a “signaling,” which might seem accidental; but wisdom will teach us to seize these moments as intended by God to cause us to intercede for someone or some situation.
The issue of intercession does’t have to do only ith grand national and international issues, as we have already reflected upon, but also with anything that the Lord places before us as a point of intersecting our daily lives. Perhaps you are driving along and see and accident in the road. Recognized that in God’s providence He has you present to intercede.
Please capture the divine significance of this for a moment. In many cases, you and I are the only people he has on the scene who have sufficient spiritual sensitive to know that we can make a difference. The Lord wants to salt all of society with people who have this understanding—people who recognized that, as intercessors, they are present for the purpose of travailing in prayer for a world that otherwise would experience only the tragic consequences of life’s problems, without the hope of divine entry to their circumstances through intercession.” — Jack Hayford
Nehemiah 9:5–6 ESV
Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
Confession
Nehemiah 9:16–17 ESV
“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
Supplication
Nehemiah 9:32 ESV
“Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.
Ephesians 3:14–19 ESV
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
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