A distinction needs to be made between the various
occurrences of the words “pray” and “prayer”
in most translations of the Bible and the modern connotation of the
same words. In the OT, the main Hebrew words translated as “to
pray” and “prayer” (palal and tepillah) refer to
the act of bringing a petition or request before God. They do not
normally, if ever, refer to the other elements that we today think of
as being included in the act of praying, such as praise or
thanksgiving. The same is the case in the NT, where the main Greek
words translated “to
pray” and “prayer” (proseuchomai and proseuchē)
also specifically denote making a petition or request to God. But
other words and constructions in both Testaments are also translated
“to pray” and “prayer,” and this article will
deal with the larger concept,
including praise, thanksgiving, petition, and confession, as opposed
to the narrower meaning of the particular Hebrew and Greek terms (see
also Praise; Thanksgiving; Worship).
Old
Testament
In
the OT there is no language or understanding comparable to modern
ways of talking about prayer as conversational or dialogical. Prayer
does not involve mutuality. Prayer is something that humans offer to
God, and the situation is never reversed; God does not pray to
humans. Understanding this preserves the proper distinction between
the sovereign God and the praying subject. Therefore, prayers in the
OT are reverential. Some OT prayers have extended introductions, such
as that found in Neh. 1:5, that seem to pile up names for God. These
should be seen as instances not of stiltedness or ostentation, but
rather as setting up a kind of “buffer zone” in
recognition of the distance between the Creator and the creature. In
the NT, compare the same phenomenon in Eph. 1:17.
Many
of the prayers in the OT are explicitly set in a covenantal context.
God owes nothing to his creatures, but God has sworn to be faithful
to those with whom he has entered into covenant. Thus, many OT
prayers specifically appeal to the covenant as a motivation for both
those praying and God’s answering (1 Kings 8:23–25;
Neh. 1:5–11; 9:32; Pss. 25:10–11; 44:17–26; 74:20;
89:39–49). In postexilic books such as Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Daniel, an important feature in the recorded prayers is the use of
prior Scripture, praying God’s words (many times covenantal)
back to him (in the NT, see Acts 4:24–30). Also, the closeness
engendered by the covenant relationship between God and his people
was unique in the ancient Near Eastern context. So Moses can marvel,
“What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them
the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?”
(Deut. 4:7).
Prayer
must be made from a heart that is right toward God. There is no
guarantee that God will hear every prayer (Ps. 66:18; Prov. 1:28;
Isa. 1:15; 59:2). For the most part, the “rightness” that
God requires in prayer is “a broken and contrite heart”
(Ps. 51:17; cf. Isa. 66:2).
Although
several passages talk about prayer in the context of sacrifice (e.g.,
Gen. 13:4), there is surprisingly little emphasis on prayer in the
legal texts about sacrifice in the Pentateuch, no prescriptions for
the kinds of prayer or the words that are to be said in connection
with the sacrifices. Interestingly, however, in later, perhaps
postexilic contexts, where there is no temple and therefore no
sacrifice, we find texts such as Ps. 141:2, where the petitioner asks
God to accept prayer as if it were an offering of incense and the
evening sacrifice (cf. Prov. 15:8; in the NT, see Rev. 5:8).
A
presupposition of prayer in the OT is that God hears prayer and may
indeed answer and effect the change being requested. Prayer is not
primarily about changing the psychological state or the heart of the
one praying, but rather about God changing the circumstances of the
one praying.
There
is a striking honesty, some would even say brashness, evident in many
OT prayers. Jeremiah laments that God has deceived both the people
(Jer. 4:10) and Jeremiah himself (20:7) and complains about God’s
justice (12:1–4). Job stands, as it were, in God’s face
and demands that the Almighty answer his questions (Job 31:35–37).
The psalmist accuses God of having broken his covenant promises (Ps.
89:39). While it is true that God does, to some extent, rebuke
Jeremiah and Job (Jer. 12:5; Job 38–42), he does not ignore
them or cast them aside. This would seem, ultimately, to encourage
such honesty and boldness on the part of those who pray.
Literarily,
accounts of prayers in narratives serve to provide characterizations
of the ones praying. The recorded prayers of people such as Abraham,
Moses, Hannah, Ezra, and Nehemiah demonstrate their true piety and
humility before God. By contrast, the prayer of Jonah recorded in
Jon. 2, in its narrative context, betrays a certain hypocrisy on the
part of the reluctant prophet.
New
Testament
The
depiction of prayer in the NT is largely consistent with that of the
OT, but there are important developments.
Jesus
tells his disciples to address God as “Father” (Matt.
6:9; cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Although recent scholarship has
demonstrated that “Abba” is not the equivalent of our
“daddy,” it expresses a certain intimacy that goes beyond
what was prevalent at the time, but retains an element of reverence
as well. God is not just “Father,” but “our Father
in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). Even Jesus addresses God as “Holy
Father” (John 17:11), “Righteous Father” (John
17:25), and “Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (Matt.
11:25). And Paul, as mentioned earlier, uses a buffer zone, rarely in
his epistles using the word “Father” by itself, but
instead referring to “God our Father” (e.g., Rom. 1:7)
and frequently using the phrase “the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Eph. 1:3; cf.
Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:3). God is our Father, but still he is a Father
before whom one reverently kneels (Eph. 3:14).
Prayer
to God is now to be made in the name of Jesus (Matt. 18:19–20;
John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23–26). While there is some debate as to
the exact nuance of this idea, it seems clear that, at the very
least, prayers in Jesus’ name need to be ones that Jesus would
affirm and are in accordance with his holy character and expressed
will. It is, in essence, saying to God that the prayer being offered
is one that Jesus would approve.
Prayer
can also be made to Jesus (John 14:14), and such devotion to him in
the early church is evidence of his being regarded as deity. The
instances of this in the NT are rare, however, and generally either
exclamatory or rhetorical (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20).
The norm would still seem to be that prayer is to be made to the
Father, through Jesus’ name.
Unlike
anything prior in the OT, Jesus tells his followers to pray for their
enemies (Matt. 5:44). Jesus and his followers serve as examples (Luke
23:34; Acts 7:60).
The
Holy Spirit plays a vital role in prayers. It is by him that we are
able to call out, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).
The Spirit himself intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26). Our praying is to
be done in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20; possibly 1 Cor.
14:15).
Jesus
encourages fervent and even continual or repeated prayer (Luke
18:1–8), but not showy or repetitive prayer (Matt. 6:5–8).
Jesus
becomes the model of prayer. He prays before important decisions
(Luke 6:12–13) and in connection with significant crisis points
(Matt. 14:23; 26:36–44; Luke 3:21; 9:29; John 12:27). He offers
prayers that are not answered (Luke 22:41–44) and prayers that
are (Heb. 5:7). Even as he tells his disciples to always pray and not
give up (Luke 18:1 [which is also the meaning of the sometimes overly
literalized “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thess. 5:17
NRSV]), so he himself wrestles in prayer (Luke 22:41–44; Heb.
5:7). He has prayed for his disciples (John 17; Luke 22:32), and even
now, in heaven, he still intercedes for us (Heb. 7:25). Indeed, our
intercession before God’s throne is valid because his is (Heb.
4:14–16).
