Before God Mike Sarkissian 2-2010

Before God:
The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer
Mike J. Sarkissian
Copyright page
Copyright 2009 by Mike J. Sarkissian
Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright 2001
by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News
Publishers.
ii
To my wife, my family, and my church God, by His free,

amazing, sovereign grace, has been faithful answering my prayers
regarding my three most important ministries.
iii
Endorsements for Before God

"Mike Sarkissian's work in Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer shows
obvious signs of study and godly devotion, and I am thankful for those
things."
Rev. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Ph.D.,
President and Charles W. Colson Professor of Theology
Calvin Theological Seminary
Before God is a clear and helpful Prayer 101 manual for beginning
Christians and a refresher for more advanced believers. All the basics are
here--what prayer is, the Lord's Prayer, how to pray, and why prayer is
essential. The concluding chapter on Robert Murray M'Cheyne's prayer
life is alone worth the price of the book. I pray that Before God will stir
you up to a fuller life of prayer and supplication.
Dr. Joel R. Beeke
President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids
"There have been many aids to prayer, but can there be too many? Not if
Christians continue to struggle in prayer. Before God is a helpful guide
for beginners and old-hands alike to encourage godly, disciplined prayer.
Bishop Ryle wrote, the habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a
true Christian, and in this brief manual you will find a treasure-trove of
good things to foster just such a habit."
Dr. Derek W. H. Thomas
John E. Richards Professor of Theology
Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson)
"This is more than just another Christian book on prayer. It is one of

the most practical books of our time. If we heed Mike's words, we can
counter the culture in which we live, work, think, and minister."
Mark Spence
Dean of Students
Way of the Master
School of Biblical Evangelism
iv
As a pastor with thirty years of experience in three different countries, it

seems as if Gods people struggle to pray and then to have a consistent
prayer life. Individuals, couples, and families desperately need to learn to
pray. Of course, Scripture is our best source, but in his goodness our
Lord provides us with books like Mike Sarkissians to give us new and
exciting insights into this means of grace. Mikes book will be a blessing
both to the new Christian as well as for the one who has walked with his
or her Lord for many years. I highly recommend Before God to all
Christians.
Dr. Ron Gleason, Ph.D.
Senior Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA), Yorba Linda, CA.
Before God is written with the intention of bringing intensely practical,

seminary-depth teaching on the vital spiritual discipline of prayer to the
common Christian in the pew, whose prayer life has been an on-again,
off-again exercise marked at times, perhaps, by passion and effectiveness,
but more commonly by uncertainty and tedium. For those who find
themselves crying out with the disciples, Lord, teach us to pray!, this
book will be a considerable boon. Comprehensive in scope, seasoned
throughout with rich insights from the Puritans and other giants of the
faith, and written in a fashion simple enough to enable easy acquisition
and passionate enough to stir up a deeper love for the God to whom we
pray, it will certainly find a wide and grateful audience in today's
Church.
Nathan Pitchford
Consultant for Selection and Review
Monergism Books
In driving out the moneychangers, the Lord Jesus reminded his

disciples that His Fathers house was a house of prayer (Matt. 21:13).
This book by Mike Sarkissian, will remind you that prayer is essential to
the Christian life, strengthening you to overturn the money changers in
your heart and be more like our Lord - zealous for your Fathers house
(John 2:17) the Temple of God, which temple you are (1 Cor. 3:17).
Jerry Johnson, M.Phil.
President, The Apologetics Group & NiceneCouncil.com
"This book is both scholarly and practical, in depth and simple, thought
provoking and moving, and a great read for all who desire to grow and
deepen their prayer lives."
Al Breems
Pastor, Oasis Community Church
Moreno Valley, CA
Mike Sarkissian does an exceptional job of presenting a biblical

understanding on the topic of prayer, and demonstrating its essential
role in the lives of Jesus and the apostles. His book will not only provide
you with biblical guidance on how and why to pray, but it is also a great
testament to the providential work of God through the prayers of His
saints. Church history reminds us that the lives of great men and
women of faith were characterized by persistent prayer. So too, if you
want to be greatly used by God and a faithful witness for Christ, then
this book is a MUST read.
Dr. William Rudge Jr.
Executive Assistant for Bill Rudge Ministries
Mike Sarkissian has given the body of Christ a rare gift. Rarely do we
see books that emerge on the subject of prayer that make much impact
on people today. If we listen and take heed to the insights of Before God
we will find a feast for the soul. The subject is thoroughly explored,
offering a wide base and background on prayer, Before God takes us on a
tour de force that exposes one to prayer in the best of Puritan and
Reformed thought. Best of all are the exegetical insights the author
leaves us with regarding the doctrine of prayer. For the believer who is
serious about communion with God, this title comes highly recommended.
Emilio Ramos
Pastor, Sovereign Joy Community Church, Keller TX.
vi
Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer goes beyond the many
superficial formulas for prayer we hear of today. It is a straightforward,
well-rounded and biblically-based look at various aspects of one of Gods
greatest gifts to believers; prayer! Pastors and teachers would do well to
educate their listeners on the issues addressed in this book.
Blessings!
Pastor Ted Slattery
Valley Christian Church of the Brethren in Christ
vii
Table of Contents
Foreword by Stephen Macasil ....................................................................... xiv
Preface ............................................................................................................ xx
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................ xxii
Introduction .................................................................................................xxiv
Part One: What is Prayer?
Chapter 1: How Should We Measure Truth? ............................................... 1

Feelings ............................................................................................. 1
Experience ........................................................................................ 3
Reason .............................................................................................. 6
Faith .................................................................................................. 8
Chapter 2: Scripture Alone .......................................................................... 11

Our Biblical Case Study ................................................................. 11
Our Reliance Upon Scripture ........................................................ 13
The Hermeneutics of Prayer ........................................................... 16
The Grammatical-Historical Method of Interpretation ................. 18
Chapter 3: Communication and Communion .......................................... 21

Prayer as Communication .............................................................. 21
Prayer as Communion .................................................................... 24
viii
Chapter 4: Jesus Prayer Life ........................................................................ 31

Prayer Marked His Devotional Life ................................................ 31
Prayer Marked His Ministry ........................................................... 34
Chapter 5: Jesus Our Mediator and High Priest ........................................ 39

Jesus as Our Sacrifice ...................................................................... 40
Jesus Our Intercessor ...................................................................... 41
Jesus Prays for Himself ................................................................... 42
Jesus Prayer for the Apostles .......................................................... 43
Jesus Prayer for All the Believers ................................................... 44
Conclusion ..................................................................................... 46
Part Two: The Components of Prayer An Exegesis of the
Lords Prayer
Chapter 6: The Foreword to the Lords Prayer .......................................... 51

The Need to Learn How to Pray .................................................... 51
The Privilege of Intimacy with the Father ...................................... 53
Chapter 7: The First Petition ...................................................................... 61

What is Petition? ............................................................................. 61
The Name of God ........................................................................... 62
Hallowed be Your Name ................................................................ 65
The Holiness of God ...................................................................... 68
Chapter 8: The Second Petition .................................................................. 73

Your Kingdom Come ..................................................................... 73
ix
What Type of Kingdom .................................................................. 73

Kingdom of Grace .......................................................................... 74
Kingdom of Glory .......................................................................... 77
Chapter 9: The Third Petition .................................................................... 83

The Will of God ............................................................................. 83
The Will of His Desire .................................................................... 84
The Will of His Decree .................................................................. 85
What Will Are We to Pray For? ..................................................... 87
Active Obedience ........................................................................... 88
The Privilege and Honor to do His Will ....................................... 91
Passive Obedience .......................................................................... 93
Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven ............................. 96
Chapter 10: The Fourth Petition ................................................................ 99

A Request Made for Man ............................................................... 99
Give Us Each Day Our Daily Bread ............................................. 100
God as the Great Giver ................................................................ 101
Chapter 11: The Fifth Petition .................................................................. 105

Taking Care of Our Souls ............................................................ 105
Forgive us Our Sins ...................................................................... 106
What is Confession? ..................................................................... 108
Confession is Ongoing ................................................................. 112
Forgiving Others ........................................................................... 114
Chapter 12: The Sixth Petition ................................................................. 119

x
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation ............................................. 119

Where Do Temptations Come From? ......................................... 119
Deliver Us From the Evil One ..................................................... 121
How To Be Better Prepared for Temptation ............................... 122
The Proud and the Idle: Two Targets for Temptation ................ 126
Why God Allows Us to be Tempted ............................................ 127
Chapter 13: Additional Components of Prayer ....................................... 133
Thanksgiving ................................................................................. 133
Adoration ...................................................................................... 136
Praise ............................................................................................. 139
Intercession ................................................................................... 142
Part Three: Additional Thoughts on Prayer
Chapter 14: The Importance of Prayer ..................................................... 149

The Command to Pray ................................................................. 149
The Fellowship From Prayer ........................................................ 151
A Deepening of Trust ................................................................... 153
Gods Sovereignty and Prayer ....................................................... 154
In the Name of Jesus ..................................................................... 157
Unanswered Prayers ..................................................................... 160
Chapter 15: The Manner of Prayer ............................................................ 169

Lifting Up the Hands and Eyes .................................................... 169
Standing ........................................................................................ 170
Kneeling ........................................................................................ 170
Bowing of the Head ...................................................................... 171
xi
Bowing Facedown ......................................................................... 171

Public Prayer ................................................................................. 171
Private Prayer ................................................................................ 177
Being Specific in Prayer ................................................................ 180
Prayer Meetings and Revivals ....................................................... 182
Prayer and the Family ................................................................... 186
Chapter 16: Issues in Prayer ...................................................................... 191

Our Legal Basis for Approaching the Throne of Grace .............. 191
The Role of the Holy Spirit .......................................................... 193
Who Do We Pray To? .................................................................. 195
What Types of Prayers Can We Give? ......................................... 198
Giving Arguments in Prayer ......................................................... 199
Prayer and Fasting ........................................................................ 202
Laying on of Hands and Anointing Oil ....................................... 207
Chapter 17: Robert Murray McCheyne: A Preacher Marked by Prayer 215

The Life of Robert Murray McCheyne ........................................ 216
A Man Moved to Pray .................................................................. 218
Prayer, the Precursor to Revival ................................................... 219
Prayer, the Means for Effective preaching .................................... 221
Bibliography ............................................................................................... 226

Concordance ................................................................................................ 233
Scripture Index ........................................................................................... 241
xii
xiii
Foreword
HE BIBLE makes plain that humans bear the

Image of God. This, the Imago Dei, gives man
rationality, innate ideas and the a priori categories that
account for his intelligence. As a rational being, man can
think and share his thoughts by communicating with one
another through language. This highly complex form of
cognitive gifting even involves the process by which I am
relaying my thoughts to you at this moment. It is only
because we are created in the Image of God that we are
established as the highest form of created beings on earth.
American Calvinist Philosopher, Gordon H. Clark, convincingly argues that mans ability to think and speak were
given to him by God for the essential purpose of receiving a
verbal revelation, of approaching God in prayer, and of
conversing with other men about God and spiritual realities.1 Greatly influenced by Clark, American Theologian
Carl F. H. Henry echoes this thesis,
The Bible depicts man as specially equipped by God for the
express purposes of knowing Gods rational-verbal revelation,
of communicating with God in praise and prayer, and of discoursing with fellow-men about God and his will. God enabled the first Adam to express his thoughts linguistically.
1
Clark, Gordon H. (1961). Religion, Reason, and Revelation (136). Hobbs, NM,
The Trinity Foundation
xiv
Human language is adequate for theological knowledge and

communication because all men are divinely furnished with
certain common ideas. Linguistics is therefore serviceable
both to Gods verbal revelation and to the divine inspiration
of chosen writers for conveying revealed information.2
The significance of the biblical theists philosophy of

language is most emphatically shown by its monopoly on the
only valid account and justification of the origin of human
language. That God created humans with the intention of
communicating with them implies that He created them
with the ability to communicate. By reasoning from an
axiom other than the Bible, man has produced some pretty
fanciful inventions as to the origin of human language.
None of them, however, are valid.
Since humans inherently possess the ability to communicate rationally as endowed by God for specific purposes
such as receiving verbal revelation, prayer, and communicating with other humans about Him, it is no surprise to learn
that Scripture is replete with passages recording verbal
communication between God and man. In the passage of
the burning bush we read that God said to Moses, I am the
God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob. Immediately upon learning of his
call to go to Pharaoh in Egypt, Moses replied to God, Who
2
Henry, C. F. H. (1999). God, Revelation, and Authority (3:389). Wheaton, Ill.:

Crossway Books.
xv
am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of

Israel out of Egypt? This is but one of many demonstrations
of verbal communication between God and man that is
initiated by God.
Scripture also contains many passages demonstrating
mans initiation of verbal communication with God. When
man initiates reverent communication with God, it is called
prayer. Abraham prayed (Gen. 20:17), Isaac prayed (Gen.
25:21), Jacob prayed (Gen. 32:9-12), and Moses prayed (Exo.
8:30). In each of these instances we have an inerrant recording of these men approaching God through language with
the belief that He hears them. The Old Testament records
hundreds of instances of communication between God and
man, and they are all in propositional form.
Fast forward to the New Testament and we read a
summary of Jesus Sermon on the Mount where He devoted
a portion of the sermon to giving instructions on approaching God properly in prayer. Not only did Jesus verbally instruct
His disciples on prayer, but He also modeled by example the
way we are to pray. We also find many examples in the New
Testament of the prayers of the Apostles. In a few cases the
Apostle Paul includes in his letters some of the specific
requests of his prayers. We also find several passages where
Paul asks for prayer from others. Both Testaments teach the
doctrine of prayer.
xvi
In this book, Mike Sarkissian does an excellent job

of organizing the many mentions and references to prayer in
the Bible. He is clear and understandable in his explanation
of some difficult passages. Careful reading of Mikes exegesis
and application of Scripture promises high reward. He
labors to make proper distinctions where they are necessary
and avoids irrelevant discussions so as to preserve the
reverence and weight of the topic at hand. Therefore the
book reads much like a handbook at times, which is exactly
what one needs if they are serious about studying the biblical
doctrine of prayer. There are too many new books that seem
to be more about the authors personal view of a subject, but
Mikes firm commitment to Sola Scriptura keeps his mind on
track as he crucifies the desire to put just another opinion
on the shelf.
Mike approaches the subject of prayer soberly, with
fear and reverence for God and His Word. This is seen in
his style where he rarely conjectures and is often repeating to
the reader what the Bible has to say. This godly characteristic
is also noticeable in his life. In person, Mike is cautious to
speculate and quick to pray. May this method become
contagious once again, and may more ministers of the
Gospel discontinue flooding the market with new ideas and
rather begin repeating to their people what the Bible has to
say! It has been an honor and a blessing to know Mike
Sarkissian personally. It has also been an honor and a
blessing to pray to our God together many times alongside
xvii
him. It is my prayer that each reader of Before God gains a

fuller appreciation and knowledge of the biblical doctrine of
prayer, and that it results in an increasingly fuller prayer life
for each one of us to the glory of God!
--Stephen Macasil
xviii
xix
Preface
URING THE past couple of years in Seminary I

have had my hands rather full. Besides taking a
heavy course load and working full time, my wife Aurora
and I were led to plant a church in a neighboring community to the one in which we live. It has been a tremendous
blessing watching the Lord build His church and change
people by His sovereign grace.
At the beginning of my second semester, after carefully
searching through the course catalog for an elective to take, I
decided on the course A Theology of Prayer. For me, prayer
has always been one of the spiritual disciplines that I have
struggled to maintain on a consistent and passionate basis. I
decided to take this course because I knew it would be one
way to challenge myself to increase the intensity, duration,
and consistency of my prayer life. This is exactly what the
class has done for me.
The books which I was required to read for the course
were an enormous blessing. The great John Bunyans classic
work Prayer, B.M. Palmers book Theology of Prayer and
Charles Spurgeons sermon on Effective Prayer were among
those which were central in shaping my mindset about the
value of true effective biblical prayer. Each author contributed another aspect to prayer that was needed to remind me
of the ever so important nature of this spiritual discipline
that is so often neglected by Christians and which was most
certainly neglected by me.
Though I never heard his voice, from the pages of his
book Preaching and Preachers, the distinguished Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Joness words about prayer echoed in my head,
xx
Above all and this I regard as most important of all

always respond to every impulse to pray. 3
It was in this manner that I was led to turn an academic
paper into this book concerning prayer. I never have and
never will claim to be a great man of prayer, like Spurgeon,
Bunyan or the great divines of the past but in my interactions with them the Holy Spirit has provoked me to this
task. My personal prayer is that this book would inform,
encourage, and challenge the reader regarding the nature of
effective prayer.
Whether you are a new believer or a seasoned saint, a
lay-person or theologically trained, may this book inspire you
to pursue an effective prayer life. As a result of Gods people
being people of prayer, may we by Gods grace experience an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit to revive a weakened Church
to the praise and glory of our gracious God.
Soli Deo Gloria!
--Mike J. Sarkissian
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (London: Hodder and

Stoughton, 1971), 170-171.
xxi
Acknowledgements
LL GLORY to God from whom all blessings flow.

In His kindness and providence God has brought
many people, both pastors and lay persons, around me who
have encouraged me to turn what was simply a paper into an
actual book.
I am deeply indebted to the professors who have challenged me throughout my time in seminary in many doctrinal, practical, and pastoral ways. I am also extremely
grateful for the friendship, fellowship, and encouragement
of Pastor Al Breems of Oasis Community Church and
Pastor Bob Moore of Sovereign Grace Community Church.
I am certain that God used these men, among others, to
pray for me that I might be strengthened by the Lord for the
task of writing this book. Thank you for your fellowship and
encouragement.
Moreover, I thank the Lord for those of you who spent
your precious and valuable time to read through and edit
chapters and sections of this book: Dr. William Rudge Jr.,
Jerrad Schmittle, and Matt Sarkissian. I praise God for you
brothers and appreciate all your insight and help.
God was also gracious in leading me to an excellent
editor at Covenant Seminary, Kristen Sagar. Thanks,
Kristen, for the countless hours you spent working on the
manuscript.
To the brothers from Sovereign Grace Community
Church in Perris such as Martin Robles and Cisco Palomino, who sat attentively while I read portions to them,
making sure that the manuscript was sound and read
correctly, those times were instrumental in the process.
Thanks be to God for you. Furthermore, I also want to
thank the Lord for Stephen Macasil and Thomas Terry at
xxii
STF Magazine who gave me vision for this project, encouraged me, and were willing to help in the publishing process.
Praise God for my family who has been very supportive
of me in this process as well. I must say that my wife Aurora
has been my number one supporter in this work. She has
been wonderful, understanding, patient, and encouraging to
me in our ministry and in my time writing this book. I love
you and thank the Lord for such a wonderful helpmate such
as you.
xxiii
Introduction
HERE ARE times in life when tragedy unexpectedly

arises. Whether it is merely on a family level or a
national level, one of the familiar consolations during a time
of grief is prayer. Prayer has brought people from different
neighborhoods, ethnicities, and religions together during
difficult times throughout history. One report indicates that
forty-seven percent of Americans pray nearly every day.4 Back
in 1995 a national study of youth and religion examined the
questions, Do teens pray? and How often? They concluded that eighty percent of all teenagers pray, and more
than forty percent pray daily.5 A Newsweek poll in 2003
reported that eighty-four percent of Americans believe that
prayer promotes healing.6
But what does this really mean? What difference does it
make if all these people are praying together across religious
boundaries? What difference does it make if they pray daily?
The question that is the most relevant for all those people
praying is whether or not they are praying to the true God.
And if they are, does He hear them? If it is the case that the
one and only true God is not hearing their prayers, then it
does not matter who is praying together or how often they
pray. This book will define, document, and defend the
Rasmussen Report. 2005.

http://legacy.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Prayer.html (accessed June 6,
2008).
5
National Study of Youth and Religion. Prayer.
http://www.youthandreligion.org/research/ (accessed June 6, 2008).
6
Prayer Heals.
www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43041
(accessed June 8, 2008).
xxiv
biblical doctrine of prayer and examine its importance for

the church today.
In Part One of this book we will answer the question,
What is Prayer? We will look at the different ways people
try to answer that question: feelings, experience, reason, and
faith. A brief look at the life of Jonah will then lead us into
why the Scripture must be our basis for finding out what
prayer actually is. We will then move to the two elements
essential in our definition of prayer: communication and
communion. Finally, we will look at the prayer life of Jesus
and how can we learn from Him and His ministry as our
great High Priest.
Part Two examines the various components of prayer. In
order to do this, we will interpret the famous Lords Prayer,
phrase by phrase. We will look at each of the six petitions
contained in that prayer and how they can help us pray
effectively. There are other components such as adoration,
praise, and intercession which were not explicitly mentioned
in the prayer. We will examine those and see how they must
also be incorporated into our prayer lives.
In Part Three, Additional Thoughts on Prayer, we will
discover the importance of prayer and how it is the means by
which we have fellowship with God and learn to trust Him.
We will also clear up some common misconceptions about
prayer. Furthermore, we look at what the Bible says about
the manner of prayer. Is there one way to pray? What about
praying in public? We will look at issues in prayer such as to
whom do we pray, fasting, and the laying on of hands.
Finally, we will take a very brief look at the role of prayer in
the life of the great Scottish preacher Robert Murray
McCheyne.
xxv
Part One: What is

Prayer?
Chapter One: How Are We To

Measure Truth?
HERE IS no shortage of confusion of what prayer

actually is. If you ask the average person on the
street why they believe what they believe about prayer you
will find responses such as, I just feel this is what prayer is,
or This is what I think prayer is. Some even say, Prayer is
personal and I have faith that what I believe about prayer is
true.
It is because of the myriad of thoughts and beliefs
regarding prayer that we must first establish how we measure
truth. Do we measure truth according to our feelings,
experience, reason, or faith? Are these adequate means to
discover truth or is there any other way? There must be a
standard as to how we can measure truth; otherwise we will
never be able to determine what is considered prayer and
what is not.
Feelings
A short time ago my wife Aurora was perusing a magazine at the doctors office. She came across an article that
was entitled, Cast a Spell. The article, in Cosmo Girl, began
by stating
Need a little help getting what you want? Try one of these
cool spells! You may think magic is all smoke and mirrors.
But the truth is, spells are an ancient and very powerful
form of prayer7
7
Lexa Rosean, Cast a Spell, Cosmo Girl, April 2008, 32.

1
Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer
It then proceeded to give detailed steps for spells that

can get you money, attract someone, and even mend a
friendship. How wonderful! I did not know whether to
laugh or cry when I read that all you needed to do to make
some money was to dust your hands with cinnamon,
ginger, and basil, and rub them together vigorously chanting
the amount of money you need. Oh, and dont forget the
clever little rhyme that goes with it, money, money, come to
me. As I will, so mote it be! It only takes fourteen days to
see results, says the writer.
This does seem to be more comical than real, but I have
spoken with Wiccans and other Pagans who believe this type
of nonsense simply because they feel that it is true. Sadly,
this kind of thinking also resides in the Christian church.
There are many who practice the saying, If it feels good, do
it.
Those who believe their feelings to be the origin of truth
are mystics. These people believe that their heart tells them
right from wrong and leads them into all truth. Our feelings,
though they are important, can never be the standard for
truth. Human emotions are too inconsistent. They change
constantly. This is why mystics could never come to an
agreement on issues where they have different feelings.
Whose feelings are most true?
We know that feelings cannot be the standard for truth
simply because each one of us has experienced conflict. I can
remember countless times when I had been waiting for my
wife to get ready so we could go somewhere. When she took
so much time that I knew we would be late for our destination my impatience drove me to a choice: either I could
attempt to be long-suffering and help her, or I could become
angry and hurt her feelings.
2
Chapter One: How Are We To Measure Truth?
Since I am still a sinner (and will be until glory) there

have been times where my impatience grew to the point that
I said something insensitive and even sinful. This is not
behavior fitting of any husband, especially a Christian one.
My damaging words brought pain and harm to my wife. She
felt unappreciated and unloved. I thank God that although
she felt this way, she did not make her feelings the basis for
truth. Rather than act out against me (as I did to her), she
covered over my sin with love. It has been said, If we lived
our lives according to our feelings, some of us would never
get out of bed. How true that is! Though there are times in
life where our feelings accurately portray reality, the fact is
that our feelings can and do betray us.
Experience
There is yet another area where mankind has been led
astray in basing truth claims: experience. Some people
exclusively reduce all knowledge to their experiences, while
others occasionally do this. Many philosophers and scientists
demand that all knowledge, except for mathematical and
basic logical principles, comes from the five senses see,
taste, touch, hear, and smell. Interestingly enough, they do
not come to this conclusion solely from the five senses,
therefore they contradict themselves.
All of us, at one time or another have been deceived by
our senses. There is an old tree stump that sits off a main
road in my city. When I drive by this stump, I see that it
looks like an old man sitting down in the same pose as
Rodins famous statue, The Thinker. I have seen many people
peering out of their cars as if they were wondering what that
old man was doing out in the field. Even though I have
3
driven by this tree stump hundreds of times I still continue

to glance at it in curiosity.
Optical illusions are another example of the trouble with
our senses. These are much more prevalent than most
people realize. Our senses deceive us into thinking that there
is an actual location for a rainbow8 or that anti-solar rays are
coming from the direction of the sun.9 The senses also fool
us into thinking that a stick bends when it is placed halfway
into the water. And let us not forget the story of the Texas
rancher who was sure he was looking at a mirage and drove
his pick-up truck into a lake.
The fact is that our senses are not completely accurate.
Moreover, humans are not always capable of approaching
experiences in an objective manner.10 Years ago there was a
troubled young woman in our church who used her experience as the standard for all truth. Though she claimed that
the Bible was her standard, she really interpreted the Bible
by her experience. This woman had experienced demonic
spirits in her life and had even been possessed by a demon
during a time of backsliding. She therefore believed that
Christians could be possessed by demons because of disobedience to the Word of God.
Never mind that the Scripture adamantly denies this
belief stating that the work of Christ is completely sufficient
for all deliverance. Christ Jesus disarmed the rulers and
8
The location of a rainbow is really only determined by where the viewer

is in relation to the position of the sun and rain.
9
Anti-solar rays are seen in the direction opposite to the sun. They are
caused by scattered sunlight from water vapor and other particles.
10
For more information regarding the problems with Empiricism see
Gordon H. Clark Religion, Reason, and Revelation (Hobbs, NM.: Trinity
Foundation, 1961), 54-58 and Alister E. McGrath, Intellectual Dont Need
God and Other Modern Myths (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 1993), 153155.
4
authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over

them in him (Col. 2:15). Nonetheless, since the woman
experienced this phenomenon it must be true, or so she
thought.
About that same time there was a single mom who
attended our church. She had made it clear that she was
husband-hunting. One day, after reading an Old Testament
passage, her young son told her that he wanted a little
brother. The name he uttered just happened to be the name
of one of the characters in her devotion that morning. Thus,
there had been confirmation that her husband to be was
an uninformed young man in our church by the same name.
Needless to say, the relationship did not work.
Examples like this are found everywhere. I was recently
witnessing to a small group of people at a baseball park.
After I told one guy how he needed to repent and come to
the Lord, he told me he couldnt because God was angry
with him. He believed this because the last time he stepped
foot in a church was the same day Southern California was
hit with a devastating 7.3 earthquake.
His girlfriend immediately spoke up as if she never heard
this story before. She said something along the lines that she
believed the earthquake was to get her going back to church.
Here we have two people experiencing the same event, but
they had two completely different interpretations. Our
experiences in life are important and can provide valuable
information. However, they must be interpreted by something that is outside of the experience, otherwise everything
becomes relative.
Reason
One response toward the feelings and experience
centered person is to declare that only what is rational is real
and what is real is rational. This was the cry of the sixteenth
century Enlightenment era, when people reacted against the
authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The problem with this response was that it relied too
much on Reason. In effect, the claim is that human reason
alone is the basis for discovering truth and telling us everything we need to know about the world and about God.
This means that only through man-centered philosophy can
we find the answers to the tough questions in life. Whatever
man is able to rationally defend is true. Conversely, anything
that is not reasonable or logical, according to Reason, must
be untrue. This is called Rationalism.
Rationalists, those who believe that only what is reasonable is true, deny a risen Jesus because it does not seem
reasonable to them. Because they reason apart from
Scripture they conveniently dismiss the fact that the Bible
declares there were more than five-hundred witnesses who
saw the risen Christ (1 Cor. 15:6). Furthermore, the inability
of skeptics throughout the ages to find a single logical
contradiction contained in New Testament documents that
bear witness to the resurrection are irrelevant to these
Rationalists because they believe that the resurrection could
not reasonably have occurred.
The third President of the United States, Thomas
Jefferson, elevated reason to the point of stupidity. He was a
deist11 who, though he believed in God, rejected miracles
and everything in the Bible which he could not rationally
11
A deist is a person who believes that there is a God who exists but he
is uninvolved with the world.
6
understand. Therefore, it is said that he took a pair of

scissors and cut out every passage in the Gospels which had
a miracle contained in it.12
When a proclaiming Christian begins to defer to reason
on such a level it can be very dangerous. Years ago, a friend
of mine began moving in this direction as he started taking
higher level math courses in college. His love for math led
him into rationalism and he began to doubt the doctrine of
justification by faith alone. His reason could not fathom
how God could justify sinners without sinners doing any
works to deserve justification. It is sad to say that his own
reason has led him farther and farther away from the truth.
In December of 2005 I participated in a three-on-three
panel debate regarding the doctrine of the Trinity. Our
opponents were Unitarian Rationalists who completely
opposed this historic Christian doctrine. After a few hours
of debate, it became evident that they could not agree with
the exegetical arguments from the pages of Scripture. They
rejected the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, not because of
the passages in the Bible, but because they could not make
sense of it due to their prior commitment to Rationalism.
Reasoning or thinking, although very helpful in ascertaining truth, should never be viewed as the sole judge and
origin of truth. As a professor of mine used to say, One
persons reason is another persons stupidity. Reason is
finite and has been corrupted by human sin (Gen. 6:5; Rom.
1:18, 25; 8:20). Moreover, all discussions based upon
unaided Reason become relativistic as people disagree about
whose Reason should be the final authority. This is exactly
12
Louis Sahagun, Jefferson Bible reveals Founding Fathers view of God, Faith
(Los Angeles Times, July, 5, 2008).
7
what happened in the sixteenth century and what is currently happening today.13
Faith
This might sound odd, but at first glance, however, there
are plenty of people out there who believe that something is
true simply because they believe it. It is their faith in something that makes it true. Thus, faith becomes the origin and
judge of all truth. This is definitely a reaction to those who
hold reason up on the highest pedestal. The phrase faith
for faiths sake captures the essence of this position, which
is no doubt against the use of reason and the intellect.
I have witnessed the pathetic results of this type of
thinking through many encounters with both unbelievers
and believers. People who uphold faith as the origin of all
truth seem to believe that faith is blind and totally separate
from reason. Reason has been pushed away to the point
where people believe that faith without reason is the ideal.
Those Christians who hold to this position forget that the
very definition of faith, found in Hebrews 11:1, states that
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen (KJV). So when people separate knowledge
from faith they make a critical error.
Shortly after my conversion I visited an old childhood
friend and began talking to his father about what was new in
my life. I shared with him how God had changed me and
13
Gordon Clark, in the chapter on Faith and Reason in his book

Religion, Reason, and Revelation, convincingly argues against the claims
that religion must be limited only to rationalism. He refutes the
rationalist case that all knowledge originates from reason alone by giving
examples from other disciplines. He wrote on page 54 that if astronomy
and botany must progress apart from rationalism, it is inconsistent to
demand that religion should be so confined.
8
how I was now studying apologetics (the defense of the

Christian faith). His response staggered me. He was puzzled
at why I would go to church three nights a week and study
such things because, Michael, all you need is faith, he said.
What was I supposed to be putting my faith in? I was
confused. Was my faith to be put in faith? That seemed to
be exactly what he was talking about as our conversation
continued.
There are also those who elevate their personal faith in
God (whether it is the God of the Bible or not) to the point
that they do not need any evidence whatsoever. As a matter
of fact, they see evidence and rational support as contrary to
their faith. It is as if they believe that using their minds is a
sin.
I have met many Mormons like this. It is no secret that
there is not one shred of evidence that proves the Book of
Mormon to be an accurate piece of literature. The coins,
cities, places, rivers, artifacts, and tribes mentioned in that
book have never been discovered (and just about every foot
of New York has been unearthed). Though Mormon scholars look at this as an embarrassment, a good friend of mine
in High School looked at this fact as a good thing. Since
there is no evidence to prove Mormonism to be true (except
the burning in his bosom when he prayed) this revealed to
him that he had a true genuine faith. The faith that my good
friend had was unquestionably a blind faith and a faith
contrary to what the Bible teaches.
We must never forget that the biblical understanding of
faith is not a blind leap or a placing of the intellect to the
side. True biblical faith can never be separated from the
knowledge upon which it reasonably rests.
10
Chapter Two: Scripture Alone

Our Biblical Case Study: Jonah
AVING LOOKED at feelings, experience, reason,

and faith as possible ways for measuring truth, we
now turn to Scripture, the only objective measure of truth.
As the Westminster Confession of Faith states,
The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are
to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be
examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no
other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.14
We can learn a lot from the life of the reluctant prophet,

Jonah. The Lord revealed his Word to Jonah when He called
him to go to Nineveh (Jon. 1:1-3). The Lord said, Arise, go
to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their
evil has come up before me (Jon. 1:2).
Jonah did not like this Word from God. The Assyrians
were the sworn enemies of Israel and had been persecuting
everyone in that Middle East region for years. Assyria was
also the center of the regions idol worship. As John Calvin
noted, unbridled licentiousness ruled there; there was also
there extreme blindness, they had no knowledge of divine
worship; in a word, they were sunk in extreme darkness, and
the devil in every way reigned there.15 There was no doubt
that Jonah moped around about Gods calling to go to
Nineveh. Jonah did not feel that it was fair for the Assyrians
14
Westminster Confession of Faith 1:10

John Calvin, Calvins Commentaries, Vol. 14. Commentaries on the Twelve
Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 2009), 27.
15
11
to receive grace and mercy from the Covenant God of Israel,

Yahweh (Jon. 4:2).
If anything, as any Israelite would have thought, the
Assyrians deserved judgment for their wickedness. Their
experience was that God judged sin. This is how God had
always worked in the past with wicked pagan nations wasnt
it? So what did Jonah do? You know the story.
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of
the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board,
to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of
the LORD. (Jon. 1:3)
It seems obvious that Jonah had already convinced

himself to disobey the Word of God. As Jonah approached
the harbor he noticed a ship leaving for Tarshish, which lies
in the exact opposite direction of Nineveh. He already had
money, and the ship was about to leave, so he must have
reasoned, as many Christians do today, I know that God
had revealed His Word to me but with all these coincidences
this could be confirmation. Here we see that Jonah was
supplementing Gods Word with his experience. What is
more, Jonah followed what he believed his experience to be
even though it contradicted the very Word of God. Though
he already planned on disobeying Gods Word, he nonetheless, used his immediate experiences to justify this outright
rebellion. This is what we do, saints!
The apostle Paul made it clear in his letter to the Corinthians that one must not go beyond what is written i.e. go
beyond the revelation of God (1 Cor. 4:6). The reason not
to go beyond the Word of God is so that none of you may
be puffed up in favor of one against another. The instant
we go outside the boundaries of Scripture we enter
12
into dangerous territory. If we are left to our own reason,

feelings, experience, and faith we can never come to the
truth about prayer, or anything else for that manner.
Though our reason, feelings, experience, and faith are
important they must be in line with Scripture.
The Word of God states that None is righteous, no, not
one; no one understands; no one seeks for God (Rom.
3:10-11). The apostle Paul said that the carnal mind, regarding its emotional focus toward God, is hostile to God and
cannot submit to Gods law (Rom. 8:7). This human heart
issue of man existed before the days of Noah, and even
before the flood when, The LORD saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen.
6:5). This is the result of Adams fall into sin, and it impacts
every one of us.
This is the reason that if we begin with man who is
limited in knowledge, easily deceived by his feelings, biased
in his observations, and fallen by nature we will always end
with skepticism and relativism. Not once in the entire Bible
does God ask the nation of Israel or the church what they
felt about His laws. The revealed Word of God is true not
because people feel good about it, or experienced it, or
found evidence for it, but simply because God said it! If
Jonah had listened and trusted the Word of God above all
else, he would have not have had to go through the difficulties he experienced. But is that not like us?
Our Reliance Upon Scripture

To get an accurate explanation of prayer, we must go to
the Bible. One of the great systematic theologians of the
twentieth century, John Murray, described our reliance upon
13
the Scripture very skillfully. He wrote, Scripture in its total

extent, according to the conception entertained by our Lord
and his apostles, is the only revelation of the mind and will
of God available to us.16 This is to say that the special
revelation God gave through the sixty-six books of the Old
and New Testaments contains exactly what God wanted us
to have. The entire Scripture has been given so that the
man of God may be competent, equipped for every good
work (2 Tim 3:17).
The Cambridge Declaration states that Scripture is, to be
the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can
bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is
necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by
which all Christian behavior must be measured.17 The Bible
enlightens us with everything that God wants us to know
concerning all things necessary for His own glory, mans
salvation, faith and life, which unquestionably includes the
subject of prayer.18 This biblical principle is known as sola
Scriptura, i.e. Scripture alone. There are an abundance of
passages which testify to this. Psalm 19:7-9 states:
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; The
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening
the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The rules of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
16
John Murray, The Finality and Sufficiency of Scripture in The Collected

Writings of John Murray (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1976), 1:16-22.
17
The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, The Cambridge Declaration
(April 20, 1996).
18
Westminster Confession of Faith 1:6
14
The Covenant God Yahweh also stated in Isaiah 55:11,

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall
not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I
purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
The Word of God, according to Isaiah will accomplish
Gods purpose and needs with no supplementation whatsoever. Likewise, in his second epistle the apostle Peter wrote:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain
to life (salvation) and godliness (sanctification), through the
knowledge of him (where? In Scripture) who called us by his
own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us
his precious and very great promises, so that through
them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Pet. 1:3-4, italics mine)
Dr. Robert Morey powerfully discusses how one must

rely upon the Scripture to come to any true knowledge
about prayer. He writes:
Prayer demonstrates the bankruptcy of Natural Theology19 because it cannot tell us anything about prayer (Isa.
8:20). The disciple did not look within himself to his own
reason, experience, feelings or faith to tell him how to
pray because true prayer is not intuitive, self-evident or
universal. It must be revealed.20
Dr. John Frame gave an excellent explanation of how

our reliance on Scripture relates to our feelings and emo19
Natural Theology refers to the grounding of truth in anything else

other than the revealed Word of God.
20
Robert Morey, A Theology of Prayer Syllabus MIN 502 (Irvine: California
Biblical University, 2007), 15.
15
tions. In his massive work, The Doctrine of God: A Theology of

Lordship, he writes:
Feelings do play an important role in human knowledge,
both of Scripture and of other things. But sola Scriptura
means that Scripture alone is the complete transcript of
Gods word to us. Emotions (together with reason,
imagination, sense perception, etc.) can help us understand and apply Scripture to our circumstances, but they
cannot add anything to the words of God in the Bible.
That is, emotions can sometimes make us aware of considerations that are relevant to a decision. But apart from
Scripture, they cannot obligate us to make one decision
rather than another. Only Scripture provides divine
norms, norms establishing an ultimate obligation.21
In the final analysis, the only feelings, experience, and

reason that truly count are the Lords. Therefore, to place
our reason, feelings, faith or experience above the Word of
God is to depend upon our own understanding. To do such
a shameful thing is to go against the well-known Proverb
that states, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do
not lean on your own understanding (Prov. 3:5).
The Hermeneutics of Prayer

To many, the Bible is the standard by which we can
measure truth upon. However, many people have difficulty
interpreting the Bible. Our understanding of Scripture
requires a framework of rules within which we may interpret
the text correctly. Theologians often refer to this as hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the art and science of biblical
21
John Frame, Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship (Philipsburg, New

Jersey: P&R
Publishing, 2002), 539.
16
interpretation. The goal is to find out what the author was

trying to communicate to the original recipients of the
writing. However, there can be some problems with interpreting the Bible. One problem is that everyone who
attempts to interpret (which is everyone who reads the Bible)
comes to the Bible with his or her own ideas about the
Bible. These are called presuppositions.
Many times these presuppositions are incorrect. For example, some come to the Bible assuming that the meaning
of the text is relative to each readers own circumstances. In
other words, a Bible verse can mean something totally
different to you than it does to me. Others come to the
Scripture believing that there are errors contained in it and
we cannot know exactly what God tried to communicate.
Both of these presuppositions are mistaken and result in
numerous false interpretations. Incorrect assumptions about
the Bible prohibit proper exegesis of the text. Exegesis is
when we draw out the meaning from the text. It must be
made clear that when we carry incorrect ideas into our
interpretation, we can fall into the error of eisegesis (i.e. the
reading of meaning into the text).
There are many well intentioned people within the
realm of Christianity who interpret the Bible according to
how they feel, what they have experienced, or what they
think, and thus they do not properly seek to understand
what the author intended. They completely disregard the
fact that the author had a reason why he wrote what he
wrote. Some do this out of ignorance and others do this
willingly.
17
The Grammatical-Historical Method of

Interpretation
Historical evidence as well as common sense tell us that
the best way to discover the authors intention in writing is
to interpret in light of the facts of history and the rules of
grammar. This is essentially what people do every day when
reading any other book, magazine, newspaper or online
article. In trying to find out what the author was trying to
communicate to the original readers there are some basic
principles that help guide our interpretation of Scripture as
we seek to explore what the Bible has to say about prayer.
We must interpret the Scripture grammatically. What is
the ordinary meaning of the words in the passage? We ought
to take the normal or plain meaning of the words unless it is
impossible to do so. One popular maxim states, If the plain
meaning makes sense, then we dont have to seek any other
sense. The ordinary use of language is how the Lord brings
His revelation to us. The words, grammar, and syntax must
all be studied to arrive at what the authors original intent
was.
Of course, in light of this we must take into consideration the genre or type of literature we are reading. The
normal approach of all languages is to interpret a text
literally and to take into account the type of literature in
question and the different literary forms that are present.
Some parts of Scripture are narratives; some are simply
poetic and they must be interpreted accordingly. This means
that we must allow for symbolism, figures of speech, metaphors, and similes. This is what we do in our interpretation
of everyday reading of media such as books, newspaper
articles, and blogs.
18
We also take a historical approach. What is the historical

background of the letter or book that is being written? What
was the author was trying to communicate to the original
readers? The great Charles Hodge, in his classic Systematic
Theology said that the words must be taken in the sense
attached to them in the age and by the people to whom they
were addressed.22
In addition, we must consider the context of the passage.
This means that it is important in our interpretation to
consider the author, setting, time, culture, and even the
particular reason or problem for the writing. Cultists are
fond of isolating passages, taking them completely out of
context. We must take into consideration the immediate
context (the verses before and after) and the general context,
or what the entire Scripture says about the subject. To not
do this is to be unfaithful in our attempt to seek truth.
Another principle that is helpful in interpreting the Bible is to interpret Scripture with Scripture. What this means
is that since the Bible is Gods Holy inspired authoritative
Word it will not contradict itself. Hodge writes, God
cannot teach in one place anything which is inconsistent
with what He teaches in another. Hence Scripture must
explain Scripture.23 Finally, in accordance with the Scripture and all other sounds theologians we must understand
that Scripture can only be interpreted under the guidance
and direction of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14; John 14:26).
These are just a few brief principles that we must employ as
22
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (New York, Charles Scribner &

Co, 1872; reprint Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Publishing, Volumes 13, 1940).
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.iii.vi.v_1.html (accessed
June 18, 2009).
23
Ibid., http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.iii.vi.v_1.html
19
we seek to understand the Word of God concerning this

ever so important topic of prayer.
20
Chapter Three:
Communication and
Communion
Prayer as Communication
OST PEOPLE are familiar with the fact that

prayer is some type of communication with God.
As a matter of fact, when a child or a brand new believer
asks us how to pray we usually let them know that prayer is
simply talking to God. Though there is more to it, this is
nonetheless a true statement. But as we shall see, prayer is so
much more than just talking to God.
One of the main Hebrew words for prayer is hL'piT. tef-illaw. This word is derived from ll;P' paw-lal and means to
judge or to think. There are literally hundreds of passages
in the Bible that either record or address the topic of prayer.
It would be way too exhaustive to discuss the numerous
words for prayer found in Scripture.24 From the various
terms in Scripture regarding the nature of prayer, one clear
element that can be concluded is that prayer is personal
communication with the Covenant God of the Bible.
The Scripture refers to men calling on the name of the
Lord. It is written that Abraham, built an altar to the
LORD and called upon the name of the LORD (Gen. 12:8;
c.f. 21:33). The text says, and he called ar"!q.YIw wa-yik-raw.
24
For more information on the various terms used for prayer you may
wish to consult any of the following works: The International Standard
Bible Encyclopaedia. CD-ROM (Seattle: Biblesoft, 1996), Fausset's Bible
Dictionary. CD-ROM. (Seattle: Biblesoft, 1998), or McClintock and Strong
Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. (Seattle: Biblesoft, 2000).
21
This word is sometimes translated and he invoked (Gen.

4:26). The Hebrew scholars who translated the Bible into
Greek25 two centuries before Christ used the word
evpekale,sato (epekalesato), which has the same meaning, to
call, name, give a name, invoke.
The calling or invoking of the name of the Lord is an
attempt to verbally express something to God. It is verbal
communication with the Lord. Many times in the Psalms we
see King David begin with an invocation that actually
prepares him for prayer. In Psalm 4:1 he stated, Answer me
when I call, O God of my righteousness! Or listen to the
divinely inspired writer as he began Psalm 17:1, Hear a just
cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer
from lips free of deceit! This language is commonly seen in
the Psalms (61:1; 64:1; 86:1; 102:1; 143:1).
There is direct verbal communication between God and
man in biblical prayer. This is evident all throughout the
Scripture, and nobody really argues this. In Psalm 5 King
David directly addresses God:
Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my
God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in
the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to
You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5:1-3 NKJV)
However, this communication to God does not always

have to be spoken out loud. Benjamin Palmer, the 19th
century Professor of Ecclesiastical History, wrote an excellent
book called Theology of Prayer. He makes the following
statement about what many godly men and women have
learned in their lives, Many a prayer does not form itself
25
This translation is known as the Septuagint (LXX).

22
Chapter Three: Communication and Communion
into speech at all. The real prayer lies back of the utterance
in the thought, in the desire, in the constant and quiet
attitude of the spirit towards God.26
This same thought is expressed by the great John Bunyan.
It is not the mouth that is the main thing to be looked at
in prayer, but whether the heart is so full of affection and
earnestness in prayer with God that it is impossible to express their sense and desire.27
Any person who has been through a rough trial where

God has broken him or her can attest to this. Years ago one
of my family members was in a state of rebellion to God. His
sin had grieved our family very deeply. It was to the point
where I could not be around him. Fellowship had to be cut.
The pain that it brought to my family only increased my
heartache. Whenever I visited certain family members, heard
his name spoken, or ran into some old friends who reminded me of him, my soul would silently ask God to
change his heart. I was so significantly troubled that he had
wandered so far away from God that I could not pray out
loud for him, let alone even pray clearly at times. My prayers
consisted of short cries to God or plain silence. I praise God
that the Lord was so gracious in answering my prayers and
bringing him back home.
There have also been times in my prayer life where I am
in complete silence because I just do not know what to say.
If I were to say anything it would be wrong, I reason. Yet, my
soul is pouring out to God. My thoughts are concentrated
26
Benjamin Palmer, Theology of Prayer: As Viewed in the Religion of Nature

and in the System of Grace (Richmond: Presbyterian Committee of
Publication, 1894), 23.
27
John Bunyan, Prayer (Carlisle, Pa.: The Banner of Truth, 1999), 33.
23
upon Him and His greatness, as I am calling on Him about

whatever petition it may be. However, at the same time I
recognize my weakness which is why I sometimes cannot
utter a single word.
That there is communication involved between two
people suggests that there is some kind of a relationship.
Much of the communication we have with people in our
lives is superficial and not very meaningful. How often have
you said to somebody or heard from somebody, How are
you doing? You know the standard reply is, Good. How
are you? Nobody expects a true response to that question.
As each one of us have learned in life, if we stop having
conversations with people, our relationships slowly decline
until they no longer exist. Healthy, continuous communication is what is needed for solid friendships and marriages. If
my wife and I stop our daily communication, our marriage
will be in trouble.
How much more important is our communication with
God? It is infinitely more important that we have healthy
communication with Him. Whether it is out loud or within
our very souls we must be in constant communication with
God if we are to maintain a deep meaningful relationship
with Him.
Prayer as Communion
Nevertheless, it must be noted that one can communicate with God, verbally or non-verbally, and it still may not
be considered prayer. At any given time in the world this is
probably happening more often than true genuine prayer
occurs. As we continue throughout this book, we will find
that the reason is because most people do not have a proper
understanding of the nature of true prayer. They think
prayer is only communication.
24
As a teacher, there are times when my elementary

students blurt out an answer or begin speaking to me
without raising their hands and remaining quiet. I hear
everything they are saying, and I might even be looking right
at them. However, I ignore them and do not listen or attend
to them. They quickly realize they need to follow the correct
procedures before they can get my attention.
So, it is with the Lord. He hears everything we say or
think. Even before we think it, He knows what we are going
to ask. Yet, there are times He will not listen to our prayers.
Why is this so? King David in Psalm 66 gives us one reason
why this happens. David is in the middle of praising God for
His wonderful works and says:
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what
he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But
truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my
prayer. (Psalm 66:16-19)
David was fully aware that God would not hear or listen
to his prayer if there was sin in his life. The word iniquity
comes from the Hebrew term !w<a aw-ven which can mean
trouble, deceit, wickedness or idolatry. When these types of
behaviors are within a person who is praying the Lord will
not pay any attention to that prayer, unless it is a prayer of
repentance. This is true because biblical prayer also contains
the element of communion with God.
The well-known Puritan commentator, Matthew Henry
wrote:
Note, Iniquity, regarded in the heart, will certainly spoil
the comfort and success of prayer; for the sacrifice of the
wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Those that continue in
25
love and league with sin have no interest either in the

promise or in the Mediator, and therefore cannot expect
to speed in prayer.28
The person who prays to God must have an interest in

the Mediator, Jesus. If there is no interest or desire to know
Him and seek Him, then the person praying, as Matthew
Henry wrote, cannot expect to speed in prayer. This means
they should not expect to get anything from God by their
prayer.
Sin in a persons life, as King David realized, totally
disrupts the communion between God and man. As the
Proverb states, If one turns away his ear from hearing the
law, even his prayer is an abomination (Prov. 28:9). This is
a very powerful statement that reiterates the truth that, in
the sight of God, communication without communion is
not spiritual communication.
One of the great Princeton Theologians, B. B. Warfield
stated that prayer is a means of grace above everything else
because it is in all its forms conscious communion with
God.29 This is so true, because one must be mindful of the
fact that he or she is in Gods presence communicating and
communing with the Creator. In describing this element of
true prayer, one must think of it as a mutual communing.
God is communing with us while we are communing with
Him.
This idea of communion with God is extremely important when considering the nature of prayer. It cannot be left
out of the discussion. Because they have a relationship with
the Living God, when the people of God call out and pray to
28
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henrys Commentary on the Whole Bible

(Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1997) Logos Library System.
29
B.B Warfield, Prayer as a Means of Grace, Faith and Life (Carlisle:
The Banner Of Truth Trust, 1916), 146.
26
Him, they commune with and enjoy His presence. The great
Puritan John Owen was known as a man who sought out
and experienced communion with God. At the end of his
life, after finishing his seven-volume commentary on Hebrews, he stated:
I must now say, that, after all my searching and reading,
prayer and assiduous meditation have been my only resort, and by far the most useful means of light and assistance. By these have my thoughts been freed from many
an entanglement.30
Prayer and meditation were the bedrock of Owens

communion with God. The apostle John refers to this
joyous communion in the opening of his first epistle. In 1
John 1:3 he wrote:
that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to
you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ.
John is calling his readers to a true genuine Christian

fellowship. Fellowship comes from the Greek word koinwni,a (koinonia) and can mean partnership, communion,
and a close relationship. It includes the concept behind it of
a mutual sharing of something significant, which in this case
is a shared life in Christ.
John says, so that you too may have fellowship with us.
Fellowship was the very purpose of what he was writing.
John emphasizes this concept here. The New Testament
church had close fellowship with one another where they
30
John Owen, Commentary on Hebrews Works I (Grand Rapids, MI.:

Baker Book House, reprinted 1980), 85.
27
shared material goods and spiritual benefits (Acts 2:42;

4:32). This true fellowship within that church was with the
Father and the Son, and it undoubtedly included true
prayer.
A person cannot have fellowship with the Living God
and not be in communion with Him because these things
are one and the same. Because of this reality regarding
prayer and fellowship with God, the great preacher of the
twentieth century, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, powerfully
declared that prayer is the highest activity of the human
soul.31 Wow, what a statement! What an honor that we as
human beings could be able, by Gods grace, to communicate and commune with our Creator. Our souls were meant
for such a magnificent opportunity.
The standard definition of prayer is the one which was
written more than three-hundred years ago by John Bunyan.
In his classic work, Prayer, Bunyan wrote:
Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of
the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength
and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God
has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of
the Church, with submission in faith to the will of God.32
This Puritan writer not only includes the two elements

of communication and communion, but also brings in just
about all of the other components of prayer. We will see this
as we take an even closer look at what the Bible says about
prayer.
31
Tony Sargent, The Sacred Anointing: The Preaching of Dr. Martyn LloydJones (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1994), 136.
32
Bunyan, Prayer, 13.
28
29
Chapter Four: Jesus Prayer

Life
Prayer Marked His Devotional Life
EFORE WE identify all the components of prayer

we must first briefly draw attention to some aspects
of Jesus prayer life. Jesus, being the sinless Son of God,
provides the perfect example for how we should pray, and
the part that prayer plays in a persons devotional life.
Every Christian must have a devotional life where they
are setting apart time to be with God. It is in this devotional
time with the Lord where we can begin our day in His
presence, pursuing Him in prayer, and seeking to hear His
voice as we meditate on His Word. This is what David was
referring to when he wrote Psalm 63. He begins by writing,
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul
thirsts for you (Psa. 63:1). He was eager to start his day in
the presence of the Lord. He goes on to write:
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my
mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember
you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of
the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow
of your wings I will sing for joy. (Psalm 63:5-7)
May our minds be as consumed with God as Davids

mind was. He eagerly sought after God in the morning and
meditated on Him at night. At this point in Davids life,
God was on his mind all day and it brought him joy. This
reminds me of a story about D.L. Moody.
31
One day a busy father went into his study where he very
much wanted to get caught up with some writing deadlines.
He had no sooner picked up his pen, hoping to escape
interruptions, when his five-year-old son walked in and sat
down. Gruffly the father looked up and said, Well, what do
you want, son? Nothing, Daddy, replied the boy. I just
wanted to be where you are. The boys father was a famous
American evangelist of the past century Dwight L. Moody,
who later told the story to illustrate the fact that prayer
brings us into the presence of a loving Father in heaven who
is keenly interested in our lives.33
This little child just wanted to be near his father. The
mighty King David just wanted to be in the presence of his
God, to meditate on His goodness and His protection. This
is what we also see in the Lord Jesus devotional life.
The Gospel of Luke focuses on the humanity of Jesus
and the fact that He is the universal savior.34 The author,
Luke, discusses the prayer life of Jesus quite frequently. We
see that Jesus of Nazareth was not the type of person who
would have only prayed driving prayers or meal time prayers,
as many of us often do. He spent a considerable amount of
quality time alone with His Father (Luke 9:18, 29). Prayer
was a constant part of His devotional life. Jesus prayed, and
prayed a lot. It was a characteristic of His ministry. This is
something that has quite possibly escaped twenty-first
century American Christianity.
There was a time in my walk with the Lord that my
prayer life was absent from my devotional life. I would read
my daily bread and even give thanks to the Lord often but
33
This story is taken from Harold Salas Touching God: 52 Guidelines for
Personal Prayer (Camp Hill, Pa.: Christian Publications, Inc. 2000), 45.
34
Universal savior, meaning, that Jesus came to save people from all
nations. He did not come only to save the Jews. This phrase does not
mean He came to save every single person.
32
Chapter Four: Jesus Prayer Life
there was nothing else involved. Besides a couple of prayer

retreats I went on with my church in those years I do not
remember going out on my own to pray and seek God more
than a few times.
Jesus made it a habit to spend time in prayer. He would
regularly withdraw from the hustle and bustle of every day
life and go into the wilderness to pray (Luke 5:16). Jesus
would go out and pray in the quiet of the morning to start
His day off right. It is written in the Gospel of Mark, And
rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he
departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he
prayed (Mark 1:35). I am definitely not a morning person,
so to see that Jesus would wake up when it was still dark to
pray convicts me greatly.
Matthew also records how Jesus would often get away to
pray. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up
on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he
was there alone (Matt. 14:23).
On the last day of a great feast in Jerusalem, people
debated about who Jesus was. He had just stated that He, in
fact, was the One who gives living water. As the people were
confused and arguing about whether Jesus was the Messiah,
John closes the section with these words, they went each to
his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives (John
7:53-8:1). Everyone else went home, but Jesus went off to
pray. Though the text does not say it, we can most likely
conclude that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to get away
from everything and to spend time in prayer with His
Father. What a great example for Christians!
Getting away to pray like Jesus did is something that can
be very difficult for many people today who work a nine to
five job, commute an hour or more, and have children and
responsibilities at home. Even those who do not have a
schedule like that still find it tough to get away and pray.
33
Why is this the case? Is it because people do not value prayer

anymore? Is it because we have been brainwashed by our
society to think that we are too busy and must always be
doing something? The old adage is true, if you are too busy
for Jesus, then you are too busy.
With the amount of people who were trying to see Jesus
or be healed by Him, He had to have been just as busy as the
typical person in America today, if not more. Since our lives
are so busy, it seems more reasonable that we ought to make
time to get away and pray more often. If we value our
spiritual lives at all, we must include time for prayer in our
daily schedules. Prayer marked Jesus devotional life, and if
we want to be like Jesus, it must mark our devotional lives as
well.
Prayer Marked His Ministry

Luke highlights for his readers the important fact that
Jesus always prayed before He made difficult decisions and
before major events in His ministry. Prayer was His typical
reaction to everything. He began His three-year public
ministry with prayer. Luke is the only Gospel writer to
report that at His baptism, Jesus was praying. This was no
ordinary prayer, either. As He prayed, the heavens were
opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily
form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, You are
my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased (Luke 3:2122). Amazing!
What was Jesus doing the night before He chose the
twelve disciples? Praying, of course! Luke tells us that Jesus
went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). What devotion and
commitment He had to His Father. It only seems reasonable
34
Chapter Four: Jesus Prayer Life
that Jesus was praying for His disciples and the ministry
which was to come. Moreover, it was also after some solitary
prayer time that Jesus initiated the conversation with His
disciples that led to Peters great confession that Jesus is the
Messiah of God (Luke 9:18-20).
In addition to this colossal moment in Jesus ministry,
there was the time of the transfiguration of Christ. The Lord
Jesus, as was His custom, went up on a mountain to pray.
This time He took Peter, John, and James with Him. Luke
records:
And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which
he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:28-31)
And we must not forget that fateful night at the Garden

of Gethsemane, hours from His arrest and crucifixion.
When Jesus and His disciples were at the Mount of Olives,
He withdrew from them and prayed passionately. His prayer
was so intense that his sweat became like great drops of
blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:39-46). Jesus
was brought to the point of death that night in prayer. This
revealed the level of distress that Jesus was experiencing
regarding what was going to take place that next day, in
which He would have the Fathers wrath poured out on Him
as the substitute for sinners.
Some people wonder why it was even necessary for Jesus
to pray, considering that He is the very Son of God, having
the same nature as the Father. As the Second Person of the
Triune God became a man, He also experienced everything
that went along with being a human. This, of course,
35
includes becoming dependent upon the Father. He not only

experienced this dependency, but perfected it.
You and I are also dependent upon the Father for every
breath we take. However, we do not live in such a manner as
Jesus did, always pleasing the Father, always being dependent upon Him (John 8:29). If we did live in a minute by
minute attitude of dependency upon the Father, then our
prayer lives would probably be much greater, more intense,
and more effective than they are today.
36
37
Chapter Five: Jesus Our

Mediator and High Priest
At the Garden
HE NIGHT before the crucifixion took place there

was something that Luke did not record. On the
way from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus lifted up His eyes and prayed to His Father (John 17:1).
Only John recorded the content of this prayer, which has
been called the great High Priestly prayer of Jesus Christ
(John 17:1-26).
There is no doubt that Jesus prayed for His disciples
throughout His ministry. He even told Peter how He had
prayed that Peter would have ultimate victory over Satan and
that his faith should not fail (Luke 22:32). But here in
John 17, it is as if Jesus began a new phase in His ministry.
He would be ending His earthly ministry, which would
culminate with His atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary,
and He would begin His intercessory ministry. One could
call this new phase His prayer ministry.
The author of Hebrews captured both aspects of Jesus as
the great High Priest when he wrote that Jesus is also able
to save to the uttermost those who come to God through
Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them
(Heb. 7:25). Jesus work on the cross was completed to the
fullest, since He is able to save to the uttermost. He
accomplished redemption and set many free from the curse
of sin. Secondly, as our great High Priest, He is continually
before the Father praying for His people.
39
Jesus as Our Sacrifice

In the Old Testament Levitical system, a priest was a
man appointed by God to perform two main duties. Priests
came from the tribe of Levi,35 and they would intercede for
the people and offer sacrifices for them (Lev. 4:3). According
to Leviticus 16, the high priest would offer a bull as a sin
offering for himself and his family every year on the Day of
Atonement (16:3, 6, 11). The high priest would then enter
the Holy of Holies36 and sprinkle the blood on the mercy
seat seven times (Lev. 16:14). After this he would go into the
courtyard and cast lots for two goats (16:7, 8). One would be
offered up as a sacrifice on behalf of the people (16:5, 9, 15),
and the other was released into the wilderness as the scapegoat (16:20-22).
The problem with these Old Testament sacrifices, which
were repeated over and over again, was that they were unable
to remove sin. This is why it is written that it is impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb.
10:4). All of the sacrifices of lambs on Passover only foreshadowed and pointed toward the greater Lamb, the perfect
sacrifice of Christ Himself.
Jesus came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself
(Heb. 9:26b). The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, walk
in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2). Jesus
35
The Scripture declares that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek

(Heb. 5:6-10; 6:20; 7:11, 17). Unlike the Levitical priests who were
descendants of Levi, Jesus is a descendant of Judah. Psalm 110: 4 states
that He would be a priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek. This Priesthood is superior to the Levitical, because it is
continual (Heb. 7:3).
36
This was the inner most room in the temple, where, the Ark of the
Covenant was located.
40
Chapter Five: Jesus Our Mediator and High Priest
made atonement for the sins of His people at the cross. He

offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins (Heb. 10:12).
Moreover, when He offered the perfect sacrifice, paying
for our sins, the curtain that blocked the entrance to the
Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51).
This curtain was a symbol that spoke of the wall of sin that
separates men from God. At His death, the tearing of the
curtain signified that the way into Gods presence was now
opened by the new and living way that he opened for us
through the curtain, that is, through his flesh (Heb. 10:20).
The priestly work of Christ in making atonement has been
accomplished! Now believers can draw near with a true
heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled
clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with
pure water (Heb. 10:22). It is the death of Jesus Christ that
atoned for our sins.
Jesus as Our Intercessor

The other duty of the priest was to intercede for the
people. This is exactly what we see Jesus do in John 17. Jesus
intercedes for the apostles and all believers as the Mediator
between God the Father and sinful man (1 Tim. 2:5). This is
the true Lords Prayer and the greatest prayer ever to be
prayed on earth. In this prayer we hear the interpersonal
communion between the Second Person of the Triune God,
the Son, and the First Person of the Triune God, the Father.
This prayer is typically divided into three parts. Jesus
prays for Himself in verses 1-5, for His apostles in verses 619, and for all future believers in verses 20-26.37 We must be
37
This is a general division of the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. Since

there are elements in each section that belong to the other groups one
cannot draw clear distinctions. William Hendriksen uses three concen41
thankful to God the Holy Spirit for leading John to record

this prayer. This prayer, although spoken aloud so the
apostles would hear and be comforted, is a prayer that ought
to encourage and comfort every Christian, for in it we can
hear the Lord Himself praying for us.
Jesus Prayer for Himself

Jesus prayer, however, cannot be in the truest sense an
example for believers to imitate, since it is the prayer of
Christ our great High Priest. Nevertheless, we can still learn
much from it. For example, in the first part we see that the
glory of God is the purpose of this prayer. Dr. Arturo
Azurdia, in his lecture on this passage,38 stated that Jesus
realized that His part in the saving plan of God had now
arrived at its predetermined moment and thus He prays a
prayer for reciprocal glory. Both the Father and the Son
would be glorified in this coming hour.
It had been stated on numerous occasions that His
hour had not yet come (John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20), but here
Jesus knew the hour of His death had come. This is the
culmination of His entire ministry. So in verse one, He
pours out His heart to the Father and prays, Father, the
hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify
you (John 17:1).
Jesus, without one ounce of selfishness, desires to be
glorified in the hour of His crucifixion for the very purpose
tric circles to show the three parts of the prayer. The inner circle
represents Christs prayer for Himself. The middle circle speaks of His
prayer for the apostles but it also has references to Himself. The outer
circle, though it speaks of His request for all believers, which includes
the apostles, also makes reference to Himself as well.
38
Dr. Arturo Azurdias lecture on John 17, A Prayer for Reciprocal Glory
can be found on www.spiritempoweredpreaching.com/sermons.htm
42
of bringing glory to the Father. He wanted the greatness and

worth of the Father to be made known by His coming
sacrifice. Jesus restates this desire for mutual glory in verse
five, And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence
with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
He yearns to be back in the presence of His Father, where
He shared in the divine glory before all creation. Except
now, in light of His work as the Mediator and High Priest,
He looks forward to the glory of rejoicing in the salvation of
His people.
Jesus Prayer for the Apostles

The very subject of His intercession is His people. This is
what characterizes Jesus ministry as the Mediator and High
Priest. In the second section Jesus declares how He manifested the name of the Father to those whom the Father
gave Him (John 17:2, 6; c.f. 6:37; 39; 43; 65). This means
Jesus opened their eyes to the truth and gave them eternal
life. These people are the subjects for whom He is praying in
verses 6-19. He says in verse 9, I am praying for them. I am
not praying for the world but for those whom you have
given me, for they are yours. These are His apostles.
Though this primarily speaks of His immediate disciples at
the time, it also has relevance for all disciples at all times.
It was for these that Jesus laid down His life. He prayed,
Holy Father, keep them in your name (John 17:11). He
prayed for their security in Christ, for the purpose that they
may be one, even as we are one (John 17:11). This prayer
for unity among believers included the idea that Christians
may constantly be united in love as they stand against the
43
world system.39 As the Father and the Son are constantly one
in regards to essence, so believers ought to be one regarding
their stand against evil. Jesus knew that the evil one will
come against them, and rather than praying that the disciples be taken out of the world, He prayed that the Father
would keep them from the evil one (John 17:15).
Earlier, He told the disciples about Satan (John 12:31;
14:30; 16:11). He warned them that the hour is coming,
indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his
own home, and will leave me alone (John 16:32). He
specifically told Peter that Satan asked to sift him as wheat
(Luke 22:31). Yet, Jesus intercession for His disciples would
keep them from the evil one.
J.C. Ryle comments on this special intercession by the
Lord Jesus. He wrote, We learn, for one thing, that the
Lord Jesus does things for His believing people which He
does not do for the wicked and unbelieving. He helps their
souls40 What a gracious God we serve! Finally, Jesus called
on the Father to Sanctify them in the truth (17:17). He
basically asked the Father to make the disciples more holy;
that they might live more and more in accordance with the
Word of God.
Jesus Prayer for All the Believers

In the final section of this wonderful intercessory
prayer, Jesus widened the scope to include all believers who
were living then and all who would live in the future. I do
not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in
39
The force of the durative present active subjunctive word w=sin is one
of continuous action.
40
J.C Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Volume Four: John10:31
21:25 (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, reprinted 2007), 181.
44
me through their word (John 17:20). This includes us! As

we read John 17:20-26 we hear Jesus prayer for us that very
night before He was crucified for our sins.
Generally speaking, it is an amazing, encouraging thing
to hear another person pray for you. It stirs up your emotions and strengthens you for ministry. Yet, here we have no
ordinary person praying for us, but the Lord Jesus Christ,
the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Second Person of
the Trinity, who is the image of the invisible God. Worthy is
the Lamb who was slain! I love what William Hendriksen
writes about this prayer. The eye of Jesus scans the centuries, and presses to his loving heart all his true followers, as if
they had all been saved even at this very moment. 41
The Lord prayed for all believers in a similar manner as
He did for the apostles, that they may all be one (John
17:21; c.f. 17:11). Jesus even repeats this in verse 22. The
idea that the Universal Church may be united together in
one mind and purpose so that the world may believe the
Father sent the Son (John 17:21) is of utmost importance to
Him.
This unity is demonstrated when believers love one
another.42 Jesus made this known when He said, By this all
people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another (John 13:35; c.f. 15:12, 17). F.F. Bruce
remarked, The unity for which he prays is a unity of life; it
is, in fact, their participation in the unity of love which
41
William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to John: New

Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Book House, 1953),
363.
42
Christians should always be loving toward one another. They should
also seek for unity and peace with others. Yet, this peace and unity
should never be at the expense of the truth.
45
subsists eternally between the Father and the Son.43 When

Christians pattern their oneness after the oneness between
the Father and the Son, this reveals that they are truly
followers of the Lord.
Conclusion
Jesus is truly our great High Priest! His sacrifice was once
and for all. It accomplished redemption for us to the praise
of the glory of His grace. Even now, as we await His Second
Coming, He is actively ministering on behalf of believers.
This is a profound truth that ought to stir us up to worship
Him.
It is not for the world that He intercedes, but those for
whom He died for. Hebrews 9:24 states, For Christ has
entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are
copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God on our behalf. We Christians stand in His grace not only because of His atoning
work on the cross but because Jesus is currently praying for
us. As the Scripture says, He lives to make intercession for
us (Heb. 7:25).
This means that the Lord Jesus is currently in the
presence of His Father and sets before Him the all-sufficient
merits of His redemption on our behalf. When lifes difficulties cause us to want to quit and give up, the Lord is here
for us (Matt. 28:20). He is faithful, and it is because of Him
that we continue in the faith. He is the founder and
perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). He perfects our faith, and
keeps us in the faith because He prays for us.
J.C. Ryle described this magnificent truth beautifully:
43
F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition and Notes (Grand
Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 1993), 335.
46
This special intercession of the Lord Jesus is one grand

secret of the believers safety. He is daily watched, and
thought for, and provided for with unfailing care, by one
whose eye never slumbers and never sleeps. Jesus is able
to save them to the uttermost who come unto god by
him, because He ever liveth to make intercession for
them. (Heb. 7:25.) They never perish, because he never
ceases to pray for them, and His prayer must prevail. They
stand and persevere to the end, not because of their own
strength and goodness, but because Jesus intercedes for
them.44
Therefore, as Paul reminded us, For there is one God,

and there is one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). Because of this work that Christ
has accomplished on our behalf, we now can come confidently to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
44
J.C Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John10:31 21:25, 182.

47
Part Two: The

Components of Prayer
An Exegesis of the
Lords Prayer
49
Chapter Six: The Foreword to

the Lords Prayer
The Need to Learn How to Pray
N LUKE 11:1 we read, Now Jesus was praying in a

certain place, and when he finished, one of his
disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught
his disciples. From the time Jesus was baptized by John the
Baptist in the Jordan River up until this point, about a year
had passed. The disciples had been used to going to the
synagogues and the temple and hearing the cold, impersonal, repetitious prayers of the Pharisees. But once they
began following Jesus, they must have immediately noticed
that His prayer life was different. It was passionate and
powerful. It was much different than what they were used to.
When Jesus prayed things happened. Jesus prayer life
commanded the disciples attention enough for them to ask
Him for instruction on how to pray.
Whichever disciple this was who asked the question
Lord, teach us to pray understood, first and foremost, that
all disciples need to be taught how to pray. True prayer is
not something that is ingrained in humans. It is not something that happens to people automatically. We tell people
that it is easy to pray because it is just talking to God. This
is true to a certain extent, as we looked at the element of
communication in prayer, but it is more than just talking
to God. A person who is born of God does not immediately
attain some high level transforming prayer life. We must be
taught how to pray.
51
Prayer, by its very definition, is where we seek strength

and assistance from God. Samuel Prime, a witness of the last
national awakening in America, stated in his book The Power
of Prayer: The New York Revival of 1858 that, Prayeris the
key which opens the windows of heaven. It is weakness
going to Infinite Power for aid. It is emptiness going to
Infinite Fullness for supply. 45
This language describes dependence. What we learn here
from this question posed by one of the Lords disciples is
that the secrets of true prayer come from dependence upon
the special revelation of the Lord Himself. Notice the
dependence of the disciple in this question, Lord, teach us
to pray. This disciple fully depended on the Lord for
instruction in prayer.
These disciples were depending upon Jesus to teach
them how to pray. This is something that all disciples of the
Lord ought to do. We must stop winging it with our prayers
and sit at the masters feet to learn from Him.
Jesus answer to the disciples question leads us into the
famous renowned Lords Prayer. We will examine each
part of this beautiful prayer. This prayer is probably one of
the most well-known parts of Scripture. The nineteenth
century theologian J.C. Ryle commented about the popularity of this prayer, Happy would it be for the world, if this
prayer was as well known in the spirit, as it is in the letter!46
Even in his day, Ryle recognized how people memorized the
prayer without understanding how it could benefit their
prayer life.
45
Samuel Prime, The Power of Prayer: The New York Revival of 1858
(Carlisle, Pa.: The Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1991), 194.
46
J.C Ryle. Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Volume One: Matthew, Mark
(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, reprinted 2007), 50.
52
Chapter Six: The Foreword to the Lords Prayer
The Lords Prayer, as some have noted, should be titled

The Disciples Prayer, considering that it was the disciples
who asked the Lord to teach them how to pray. Because the
disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He modeled for them this
prayer. Let us not forget that this is a prayer that was simply
meant to be a model and was not a prayer that Jesus would
have prayed. Why would Jesus not have prayed this prayer?
One reason is that Jesus could not have asked the Father to
forgive Him of any sins in view of the fact that He is the
sinless Son of God (Luke 11:4). Nevertheless, this prayer is
truly a remarkable model, appropriate for all those who
sincerely desire to enter into Gods presence with genuine
prayer.
Jesus answered the disciples plea for instruction on
prayer in the following verses (Luke 11:2-4).47
And he said to them, When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each
day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us
not into temptation.
The Privilege of Intimacy with the Father

There is much to learn from this simple yet comprehensive prayer. The principle component with which Jesus
begins is an acknowledgement of the intimate relationship
that believers have with God.
Oh, what a privilege it is for the Christian to have intimacy with the very God of heaven. Dr. William Rudge Jr., in
47
The Lords Prayer is also recorded in Matthew 6:9-13.

53
his observance of other religions, described the absence of

this ever so important factor:
I remember when I was in India and I would watch the
people go to the temple and offer sacrifices to their gods.
You could tell on their faces how much they desired to be
connected to their supposed deity; yet, their philosophical
system provided such a chasm between god and man. I
see this same reality in Islam, where Allah is completely
transcendent from the world. I am thankful that we
(Christians) not only serve a transcendent God, but that
we also serve a God who personally invests Himself with
His creation.48
The Lord Jesus said, When you pray, say: Father. This
one word here is packed with so much goodness and grace.
And notice to whom this prayer is addressed. This prayer is
not addressed to Mary, to any angels, to any saints, or to any
of the prophets of old. You will look in vain to find one
single prayer in all of Scripture where a believer addresses
anyone except God Himself.
This prayer is addressed to God the Father. It is a personal address to the Living God. Jesus did not say, When
you pray, say: Great Spirit. He said, say: Father. This is
truly an awesome honor we have. The believer can address
the Almighty God, who created all things, as Father. In
one of the greatest Christian works of all time, Institutes of
the Christian Religion, John Calvin revels in this blessing:
Hence he both calls himself our Father, and is pleased to
be so called by us, by this delightful name relieving us of
all distrust, since no where can a stronger affection be
found than in a father. Hence, too, he could not have
48
William Rudge Jr., Letter to the Author. 12 Dec. 2008.

54
given us a stronger testimony of his boundless love than

in calling us his sons.49
What is even more mind blowing than the fact that we

can call God Father is what Calvin discussed and what
Paul mentioned in the letter to the Galatians. He wrote
because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son
into our hearts, crying. Abba! Father! (Gal. 4:6; c.f. Rom.
8:15). This is the same term that Jesus used to address His
Father when He was praying the night before His crucifixion. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for
you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what
you will (Mark 14:26).
Abba is an expression that comes from the Aramaic
language. It is a word that a young child would use to cry out
for his Daddy. The word Abba entails a great deal of
warmth, dependence, and love. How comforting it is to
know that we can use this term when we address the God of
all creation. What a grand privilege we have! It might seem
surreal that we can have such a close relationship with God.
Yet, this is what He desires for His children.
How is God like a Father to humanity? He is as a Father
to all humanity in the sense that He has created all things.
We are indeed his offspring, the apostle Paul stated as he
preached the gospel to the Greeks (Acts 17:28). In Malachi
2:10, the prophet rebukes those people who have violated
Gods covenant and asks, Have we not all one Father? Has
not one God created us?
Yes, it is true. God is the Father of all things by the virtue of His status as Creator. Nevertheless, let us not forget
the declaration of one of the most famous Puritan preachers,
49
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion. Translated by Henry

Beveridge (Peabody, Ma.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008), 593.
55
Thomas Watson (1620-1686) that there is little comfort in

this; for God is Father in the same way to the devils by
creation; but he that made them will not save them.50
However, God is also a Father to a specific people
whom He chose before the foundation of the world (Eph.
1:4). Paul said it was in love he predestined us for adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his
will (Eph. 1:5). And again, he wrote for in Christ Jesus you
are all sons of God, through faith (Gal. 3:26). Therefore,
this prayer presupposes that one who prays is a believer and
has received the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15). You see,
unless a person has been born of God, he or she cannot
rightly call God Father.
John Bunyan rebukes those who call God Father and
do not know Him:
And know, that to say God is your Father, in a way of
prayer or conference, without any experiment of the work
of grace on your souls, it is to say you are Jews and are
not, and so do lie. You say, Our Father; God says, You
blaspheme! 51
Some people object to this and are highly offended to

hear that not all people are children of God. As we have
seen, in one sense, it is acceptable to say that God is the
Father of all people. However, the Bible specifically speaks of
the fact that there are those who are children of God and
50
Thomas Watson, The Lords Prayer First published as part of A Body of

Practical Divinity, 1692 (Book For the Ages. AGES Software Albany, OR.:
1997), 6.
http://www.lawtonprecepts.org/library/pdf/WAT_LDPR.PDF (accessed
July 19, 2008).
51
Bunyan, Prayer, 29.
56
those who are children of the devil. The Lord Jesus said to
the Jews who claimed to be children of God:
If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came
from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord,
but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It
is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of
your father the devil, and your will is to do your fathers
desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has
nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character,
for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:42-44)
Jesus adamantly told these religious people that they did

not have God as their Father in the specific spiritual sense.
This had to be shocking to them since Jews were part of the
covenant people of God. The nation of Israel was called
Gods firstborn son (Exo. 4:22). Since these people did
not hear Jesus word, meaning they did not love the Son of
God, they proved that they were not children of God.
The word Father takes some people back to a bad
childhood, where they might have been abused, neglected,
or even abandoned by an earthly father. It is unfortunate
that so many have been hurt and let down in such a way.
This seems to be the norm in our day and age. But God is
our perfect heavenly Father who is faithful and righteous. To
His children, He said, I will never leave you nor forsake
you (Heb. 13:5; Deut. 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5). He is one on
whom we can safely rely. To be able to call God Father
becomes a great privilege for the child of God.
From the words of our Savior it is plain that not everybody can address the Father in such an intimate personal
way. Moreover, in Luke 11:1, the disciple referred to Jesus as
Lord. This term is a specific title that acknowledged the
57
authority and Lordship of Christ over all things. One who

acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all things is a
person who has received the Spirit of adoption. This lines
up with what the apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 12:3,
no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15).
This title was given to Him because it refers to the fact that
He, God the Holy Spirit, regenerates and adopts His people
at conversion. Therefore, at the moment of salvation, the
Holy Spirit imparts eternal life to the believer. This is what it
means to say that the believer has been made alive from the
dead (Rom. 6:13), and alive together with Christ (Eph.
2:5). The apostle John alluded to this biblical concept when
he said, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God (John 1:12).
The new believer has now moved out of the category of
an enemy of God (Rom. 5:10) with a wicked heart whose
spiritual Father was the devil. They have now become an
adopted child of God (John 1:12) with a new heart (Ezek.
36:25-26), who is placed in a new relationship to God.
Adoption by God is the greatest privilege available to fallen
man.
As the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 34
states, Adoption is an act of Gods free grace, whereby we
are received into the number, and have a right to all the
privileges of the sons of God. By the amazing grace of God,
the Father has legally declared the person to be a part of His
family now. What an incredible blessing! In addition, when
a person is adopted by human parents, they are considered
to be the same as those children regularly born into the
family, and they take on the name and blessings that come
with membership in that new family. So it is for the person
who has become a child of God.
58
Scripture declares that by adoption we receive the

benefits of sonship, such as reconciliation, freedom from sin
and continued forgiveness. We also receive the privilege of
being considered heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ
(Rom. 8:17). That means that every believer will receive the
full inheritance of Christ, all by the grace of God (Matt
25:21; John 17:22; 2 Cor. 8:9). Adoption is a tremendous
benefit which is the ultimate foundation one must have to
learn the secrets of true prayer. John Newton said, The
spirit of prayer is the fruit and token of the Spirit of adoption.52
Since God is our Father, we ought to pray because we
love to be in His presence, and because we love to commune
with Him. For the believer, true prayer will be as natural as
breathing, for he or she will be constrained to spend time in
prayer. Regarding the believers natural desire to pray, Dr.
Morey stated, Prayer is the souls automatic response to the
Spirits work of regeneration; or to put it in other words, all
true Christians are characterized by a life of true prayer.53
This makes complete sense. To object to this would be
absurd. But what does this tell us about those who hardly
spend any time in prayer and claim to be born again? At
best, it probably explains the hardship and the lack of victory
and joy in those peoples lives. At worst, it demonstrates that
their confession of Christ was empty and that they have not
been born of God.
52
Puritan Sermons, John Newton: On Public Prayer, Fire and Ice:

Puritan and Reformed Writings.
http://www.puritansermons.com/newton/newton4.htm (accessed July
10, 2008).
53
Morey, A Theology of Prayer Syllabus, 27.
59
Chapter Seven: The First

Petition
What is Petition?
HERE OUGHT to be no argument from anyone

regarding John Bunyans and the Scriptures
assessment on how only the Christian is able to call God
Father. For even the next phrase in the prayer solidifies
this: hallowed be your name. This phrase was uttered as
the first petition in this prayer. A petition is a request made
to an authority. When people sign petitions for laws to
change, they are requesting that a change to be made. They
do not request a change from just anyone, but from one that
has the power to grant that change. Furthermore, our
petitions are only addressed to a Being that has the power to
either grant that need.54
So when we petition God, we are calling upon Him, who
is the authority, for something that is needed. This should
automatically change some of our thinking about prayer.
Too many people pray as if God is a genie and all we need to
do is rub our Bibles three times, click our heels and go to
church and He will give us whatever we desire. This type of
thinking mocks God and displays no understanding of what
prayer is.
The believer is to present his or her requests to God,
asking for what is needed. It most certainly is needed for
believers to keep His name holy. But petition is more than a
simple request. As B.M. Palmer stated, There has to be a
sense of need awakened in the soul. The want must not only
54
Benjamin Palmer, Theology of Prayer, 38.

61
exist, but must be felt.55 This is where a meager repeating of

a prayer request fails to qualify as a true petition. When a
person from church asks me to pray that they could bring
glory to God in a job interview, and I do not have any
sentiment attached to that prayer, I might as well not even
have prayed for them. I am not saying that we ought to weep
every time we petition the Lord, but the prayer ought to be
from the heart. There must be some meaning connected.
The Name of God

The Lord Jesus, in this prayer, gives us six petitions that
we ought to call upon the Father to grant. The first petition
in the Lords Prayer is, hallowed be your name. When we
understand what the word name means, we will not only
understand what it means to hallow His name but also
what it meant when God commanded His people to not
take the name of the LORD your God in vain (Exo. 20:7).
The Hebrew word for name is ~v shame and means name
or reputation. This term closely lines up with the Greek
word o;noma (onoma) which has the same meaning.
Today, it is likely that most people are not sure of the
meanings of their own names. It was much different in the
biblical times. In Jewish thought, a persons name had real
significance because it either described a persons character
or signified the parents hope for their childs character or
essence. Another way to look at it is that the name represented the person, especially when God named them. For
example, God changed Abrams name meaning exalted
father to Abraham father of a multitude in Genesis 17:5.
55
Ibid., 36.
62
Chapter Seven: The First Petition
The example of Nabal is also interesting. In a conversation with King David, Abigail said the following about her
husband, Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow,
Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and
folly is with him (1 Sam. 25:25). Though I am hard-pressed
to say Nabals parents actually named him this hoping he
would become a fool, nevertheless, this name stuck to him at
one point in his life and spoke of his character.
Likewise, when the Scripture refers to the name of God
it is speaking about His divine person and character. There
are a variety of names given to God, either by Himself or by
others. Each one gives a description of the nature and
character of God. The following are just a few of the many
names we see for God in the Bible.56
The name Yahweh hw"hoy yah-weh is the most sacred and
personal name of God. It is used almost six-thousand times
and is translated as LORD in all capitals in English Bibles.
Though this name was known before the Mosaic period
(Gen. 9:26), it became more predominant during and after
that time. This name is derived from the imperfect form of
the verb to be and speaks of Gods eternal existence and
unchanging nature (John 8:58). This was the name God
used to identify Himself to Israel and establish His covenant
with them (Gen. 12:8; Exo. 3:14-15).
Adon !Ada' aw-done is a name used for God over fourhundred times in the Old Testament. Jewish people use this
term and substituted it for Yahweh hw"hoy yah-weh in the
Hebrew Bible. They misunderstood Leviticus 24:16 and did
>
56
For more information on the names of God see Robert Reymond, A

New Systematic Theology for the Christian Faith, (Nashville, TN.: Thomas
Nelson, 1998), 153-160; Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand
Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, reprinted 1996), 47-51.
63
not want to blaspheme the name of Yahweh. It means

lord or master and is used of humans and God. This
name emphasizes the servant-master relationship (Gen. 24:9)
and suggests Gods sovereign authority as Master. This term
is usually translated Lord or LORD in small capitals in
English Bibles.
The title Elyon !Ayl.[, el-yone is derived from a verb meaning to go up and portrays God as the high and exalted one
(Isa. 14:14). It has the idea of the Possessor of heaven and
earth in Genesis 14:19. This name emphasizes Gods
transcendence and majesty and is found frequently in
Hebrew poetry.
The name Shaddai yD;v shad-dahee comes from the verb
to moisten and points to God as being the Blesser or
Nourisher. This word is used forty-eight times, mostly in the
times of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Throughout Genesis, this word is used of God to make the
Patriarchs fruitful (17:1-8; 28:3; 35:11). Israel (i.e. Jacob), in
speaking to Judah, says, And may God Almighty grant you
mercy before the man, and may he send back your other
brother and Benjamin (Gen. 43:14). Therefore, this name
has the idea that God is there to bring support, comfort, and
blessing to His people.
Every title or name given to God brings out another
facet of His glorious character. Though there are many
names given to God, to speak of His name is to speak of
the whole manifestation of God in His relation to His
people.57
57
Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 47.

64
Hallowed be Your Name

His name or person is so great that it must be hallowed;
it must be glorified! Now this is not just a statement that
Gods name would become hallowed by human actions,
because His name is already hallowed. Rather, this is a
request to Almighty God that His name would be kept Holy
by us as we live our daily lives. This petition is one which
will last into eternity future, for there will never be a time
when this will no longer be needed.
Therefore, in this part of the prayer, the believer is
calling upon God requesting His name to be hallowed
a`giasqh,tw (hagiastheto). For something to be hallowed is to
be sanctified or made holy. It comes from the word a`gia,zw,
(hagiazo) which means to sanctify or make holy. The idea
behind this petition is that as the sacred vessels within Gods
temple were set apart from the common use, so ought the
very name of God be set apart as well. Rather than speaking
of God in an empty, irreverent way, we ought to magnify His
name above all names and speak of Him with the highest
reverence.
John Calvin stated it in such a way, It must be our
desire that God may receive the honor which is his due: that
men may never think or speak of him without the greatest
reverence.58 This is what David had in mind when he
wrote, Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your
glory be over all the earth! (Psa. 57:5) Therefore, believers
should ask for Gods name to shine forth gloriously in our
lives.
We bring glory to His name when we trust in Him. This
is what the Psalmist stated in Psalm 33:21, For our heart is
glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. To trust in
58
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 596.

65
His holy name is to believe and trust in His Word. King

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and brought Him glory. He
was the first king of Judah to remove the high places (2
Kings 18:4). The Scripture says, He trusted in the LORD,
the God of Israel... For he held fast to the LORD. He did
not depart from following him, but kept the commandments
that the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was
with him; wherever he went out, he prospered (2 Kings
18:5-7).
When we love Him above all things, we bring glory to
Him. David prayed, But let all who take refuge in you
rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection
over them, that those who love your name may exult in you
(Psa. 5:11). This is a special devoted love that only God
deserves. So to trust Him, love Him, and appreciate Him
above all things is to hallow His name.
Furthermore, when we give to the Lord the honor that is
due to Him, we hallow His name. In Psalm 8:9, King David
recognized this truth when he cried out, O LORD, our
Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! He
magnified the Lord. David realized that to honor and
sanctify the name of God is better than life. King Herod, on
the other hand, rather than giving honor and glory to God,
tried to take Gods glory and was struck down. Immediately
an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not
give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed
his last. (Acts 12:23)
This was the same fate that King Nebuchadnezzar
suffered when he said, Is not this great Babylon, which I
have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for
the glory of my majesty? (Dan. 4:30). Rather than dying on
the spot (as would later happen with Herod), Nebuchadnezzar was was driven from among men and ate grass like an
ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair
66
grew as long as eagles feathers, and his nails were like birds
claws (Dan. 4:33).
We must give God the glory He deserves. The Psalmist
commanded the people of Israel in such a way. Ascribe to
the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the
glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his
courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth (Psa. 96:7-9)! This is
reverence and honor to which our God deserves. The song
the saints sing in heaven is entirely appropriate, Worthy are
you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and
power, for you created all things, and by your will they
existed and were created (Rev. 4:11).
To ask God that His name be hallowed is to ask Him to
bring glory to Himself in our lives and in the world. As
Christians, our lives must honor and glorify God in all that
we do. We should strive to be great employees, students,
sons, daughters, athletes, husbands, wives, or whatever it is
that we do and are. But why should we? The Lord Jesus
answered this question when He stated that in all things,
let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven
(Matt. 5:16). This is what Peter meant when he wrote that
in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (1
Pet. 4:11).
This is such an important part of prayer because His
name cannot be hallowed in our lives unless He makes it so.
On our own, all we could do is bring dishonor to His name.
This is why we should call out to God, asking Him to enable
us to live such holy lives that the person and attributes of
our God would be holy and set apart above all. This was the
object of one of the Lords prayers. Jesus, though His soul
was deeply troubled as He thought about the crucifixion,
prayed, Father, glorify your name (John 12:28).
67
That God be glorified and that His name be hallowed is

a petition that resides in the heart of every believer. When a
believer is living out this petition, he or she recognizes and
has reverence for Gods sovereignty and holiness.
The Holiness of God

Who could actually attempt to hallow Gods name apart
from a work of His free grace? None of us could. This is why
we should never approach the throne of God in prayer in a
light hearted manner. God is holy. Of all the magnificent
attributes of God that He is eternal, self-existent, faithful,
loving, sovereign, gracious, and merciful before His very
throne, Isaiah heard the seraphim call out to one another
regarding Gods holiness. In Isaiah 6:3 we read, And one
called to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of
hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! He is wholly
other and totally set apart from all things in creation. He is
the most Holy One and is free from all impurity and sin
(Psa. 71:22). His holiness makes man conscious of sin (Job
34:10; Hab. 1:13).
Abraham recognized this fact as he felt the reality of
Gods presence and spoke to the Lord saying, Behold, I
have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust
and ashes (Gen. 18:27). For a man in that day to say he was
dust and ashes was to recognize how unworthy and
despicable he was. This is genuine humility here.
God is holy, and we are sinners. We are unworthy to call
Him Father or to ask anything of Him. Furthermore, we
are unworthy to come into His presence. Therefore, we must
have a proper reverence for Him. Pastor and theologian Dr.
R.C. Sproul reminds us that in heaven the name of God is
68
holy. It is breathed by angels in a sacred hush. Heaven is a

place where reverence for God is total.59
Regarding the holiness of God and prayer, the great
evangelist and educator R.A. Torrey asserted the following,
We should never utter one syllable of prayer either in
public or in private until we are definitely conscious that we
have come into the presence of God and are actually praying
to Him.60
This is a sober reminder of how our attitudes should be
when we go before God in prayer. In his brilliant exposition
Effective Prayer, Charles Spurgeon also described the reverence and awe we must have as we go before the presence of
God in prayer.
Our spiritual sacrifices should be offered with holy carefulness. God forbid that our prayer should be a mere
leaping out of bed and kneeling down, and saying anything that comes first to hand. On the contrary, may we
wait upon the Lord with holy fear and sacred awe.61
It could not be said any better. May we be a people who

hallow His name. For to not hallow His name and to pray
this, or to attempt to pray at all, is to bring dishonor to a
Holy God.
59
R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale

House Publishers, 1998), 13.
60
R.A. Torrey, The Power of Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan,
1987), 6.
61
Charles H. Spurgeon, Effective Prayer (Chateau: Gospel Mission, 1981)
www.spurgeongems.org/chs_prayer.htm (accessed May 17, 2008).
69
71
Chapter Eight: The Second

Petition
Your Kingdom Come
HE SECOND petition in this prayer occurs when

Jesus says, Your kingdom come. This petition
implies, first, that God is a king. But he is more than just
any king. Psalm 47:7 states, For God is the King of all the
earth; sing praises with a psalm! The Lord is the King of
glory (Psa. 24:10) and a great king above all gods (Psa.
95:3).
What Type of Kingdom

What type of kingdom does God have? There was some
confusion about this concept during the days the Lord Jesus
walked the earth. To ask, Your kingdom come does not
refer to a political earthly kingdom, as the disciples thought
at one point. Remember in Acts 1:6, just before Jesus
ascended into heaven, they asked, Lord, will you at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel? In John 18:33, as
Pontius Pilate was interrogating Jesus he asked Him, Are
you the King of the Jews? In this conversation between an
earthly ruler and the Sovereign King of kings, Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).
This also cannot refer to the kingdom of Gods providential reign. This means that when we pray along these
lines, we are not asking for God to take control over the
events and circumstances of the universe, for He already has
control. The kingdom of His providence is already here
since God presently reigns over all things and is working all
73
things out for His glory (Rom. 8:28). As the Psalmist stated,
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and
his kingdom rules over all (Psa. 103.19).
The kingdom began in the person and ministry of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus first sermon began with the words,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 4:17).
He told the Pharisees in Luke 17:21, The kingdom of God
is in your midst. This statement suggests that it was not
some far away future event. If this was the case, then why
would Jesus, in describing the future judgment day say, Not
everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). Moreover, to make matters
a tad more confusing to some, if the kingdom had already
begun with Jesus, then why would Jesus tell his disciples that
we ought to pray Your kingdom come? This might seem to
be problematic until we recognize that there are two aspects
to this request regarding the kingdom.
The Kingdom of Grace

The Lord Jesus, when referring to the kingdom, is
speaking of the two-fold kingdom of grace and kingdom of
glory.62 The parables of Jesus in Matthew 13, also known as
the Kingdom Parables, give us some insight regarding the
different facets of the kingdom. A parable is an extended
simile that contains a spiritual truth for the believer. In both
62
Matthew, in his Gospel uses the phrase kingdom of heaven while

the rest of the authors of Scripture use the phrase kingdom of God.
He does this so his Jewish readers would not be offended at the use of
the word God in this way. The Jews were afraid of blaspheming the
sacred name of God so they would use synonyms and euphemisms
instead of writing it out or speaking it in public.
74
Chapter Eight: The Second Petition
the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the

Leaven, Jesus gives us insight into how the kingdom works.
He put another parable before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man
took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds,
but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden
plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air
come and make nests in its branches. He told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that
a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it
was all leavened. (Matt. 13:31-33)
The main point of Jesus seems to be that the kingdom of

God begins with the planting of His Word in the hearts and
minds of His people. So the kingdom is a present reality for
the believer. The Lord made mention of this when His
disciples asked Him to explain the Parable of the Weeds
(Matt. 13:24-30). Jesus answered, The one who sows the
good seed is the Son of Man (Matt. 13:37). This was also
implied in the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-9). When
the Word is sown into good soil, it produces fruit. Jesus said,
As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who
hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit
and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and
in another thirty (Matt. 13:23).
This is how we know the kingdom of grace has come
into our lives. When there is a change formed in the soul of
the person so that they become a new creation in Christ (2
Cor. 5:17), then the kingdom has come. This is the bornagain experience that Jesus discussed with Nicodemus (John
3:3). Light has come into the soul, and the person now has a
desire for Christ more than anything on the earth (Psa.
73:25).
75
The apostle John also elaborated on this in the opening

of his Gospel, writing, But to all who did receive him, who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).
God has given men the faith to receive His Word. This is
the amazing grace upon grace (John 1:16) that is displayed
to believers as God brings us into His kingdom of grace.
Because of this newness of life (Rom. 6:4), sin becomes
repulsive and the believer begins to hate every false way
(Psa. 119:104).
Therefore, the Lord Jesus, speaking to His disciples, is
essentially letting them know that they ought to pray that
His kingship would be fully established in the lives of His
people. This prayer is for Gods grace to rule our will and
bring us into complete subjection to Christ. William Hendriksen, the former professor of New Testament literature at
Calvin Theological Seminary stated:
The desire of the supplicant is, however, not only that the
kingdom may come extensively but also that it may more
and more be established intensively, that is, that he himself and all those already converted may increasingly acknowledge God in Christ as their sovereign Ruler. 63
Believers must desire that God rule and reign in all the
affairs of life. We must not only be praying that Gods
kingdom of grace would continue to extend into the hearts
of others but that it would extend even further into our own
hearts. We must decrease and call on the Sovereign Lord to
increase in our lives. This is what John the Baptist realized
63
William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew: New

Testament Commentary. (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Book House, 1973),
330-331.
76
when he said concerning Jesus, He must increase, but I

must decrease (John 3:30).
The Lord must have His way in my life and yours. This
grace of God ought to reign over every aspect of my life as
a teacher, student, husband, and pastor. This grace must
rule in your everyday life as well. This is, quite possibly, why
there is such a thing as a Sunday Christian. Those given
this title are either clearly hypocrites or have not had the
grace of God reigning over every facet of their lives. There is
a great need for those of us in the church today to have the
kingdom of Gods grace increase in our lives, and therefore
we must be praying that this grace would increase daily.
Your kingdom come, Oh Lord! Since only God can grant
this request, this petition also speaks of our absolute dependence upon Him.
The Kingdom of Glory

The kingdom speaks of the reign of God in the hearts of
men, starting out as a very small influence and then slowly
growing until it reaches the entire world, penetrating and
transforming society. The kingdom of glory, on the other
hand, cannot be separated from the kingdom of grace
because it flows from it. One cannot desire the kingdom of
glory to come if they have not experienced the kingdom of
grace. Thomas Watson spoke of the twofold kingdom
stating:
The kingdom of grace is nothing but the beginning of the
kingdom of glory. The kingdom of grace is glory in the
seed, and the kingdom of glory is grace in the flower. The
kingdom of grace is glory in the daybreak, and the kingdom of glory is grace in the full meridian. The kingdom
77
of grace is glory militant, and the kingdom of glory is

grace triumphant. There is such an inseparable connection between these two kingdoms, grace and glory, that
there is no passing into the one but by the other.64
How true this is! How needed this petition is in the lives
of believers. This aspect of the kingdom looks ahead to the
time when God will establish His physical kingdom of glory
upon the earth. This is what we look forward to at the
Second Coming of Christ when the Lord will come back in
power and glory.
Scripture clearly teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ will
come again. The Second Coming of Christ will be personal,
visible, and glorious. This event is also called the parousia
which can mean the presence of His coming. Jesus promised His disciples that He would come again (Matt. 24:30,
37, 39, 42, 44; John 14:3). In Acts 1:11, after Jesus ascended
to Heaven, the two angels asked the disciples, Men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This Jesus,
who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the
same way as you saw him go into heaven. How did Jesus go
up into heaven? He ascended personally, visibly, and with
clouds of divine glory.
The Gospel writers clearly described the Second Coming
of Christ as glorious. He will come on the clouds with great
power and great glory (Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke
21:27). This is how He will come back to establish the
kingdom of glory. The apostle Paul encouraged believers to
look for our blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of
our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). It is at
this appearing that He will judge all the nations as He sits on
64
Thomas Watson, The Lords Prayer, 77.

78
His throne of glory (Matt. 25:21-46; John 5:22, 27; 2 Tim.

4:1).
The disciples and the early church kept this promise as
the basis of their hope. It was always before their minds, as
a motive to patience, constancy, joy, and holy living.65 This
coming is described as an unexpected coming in which no
person can know the day or the hour (Matt. 24:44, 50;
25:13; Mark 13:35). Peter and Paul echoed the words of
Jesus (Matt. 24:43) when they said, the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night (2 Pet. 3:10; 1 Thes. 5:2).
This kingdom of glory will be exceedingly majestic and
extraordinary. When the kingdom of glory comes to full
fruition those who have the kingdom of grace set up in their
hearts will have immediate communion with God as we will
enter instantly into the presence of Christ where we shall
see him as he is (1 John 3:2). We will have full understanding, and perfect knowledge, no longer seeing as in a mirror
dimly (1 Cor. 13:9-12). This kingdom will reign forever
since it is the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ (2 Pet. 1:11).
What a blessed time it will be when the kingdom of
grace blossoms into the kingdom of glory. It will be a time of
joy beyond our understanding, for we will never have to
experience any more sin or evil. The Lord Himself will wipe
away every tear, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the
former things have passed away (Rev. 21:4). It will be an
awesome experience of the riches of Gods glory, for we will
65
Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (New York, Charles Scribner &

Sons, 1872; reprint Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Publishing, Volumes
1-3, 1940), 4.3.3,
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology3.iv.iii.iii.html (accessed
August 6, 2007).
79
even have our lowly bodies transformed to be like his

glorious body (Phil. 3:21).
Even if we are not privileged to see the Second Coming
of Christ in our lifetime, as the adopted children of God
who have His sovereign grace implanted into our very souls,
we will experience the kingdom of glory upon death. As the
apostle Paul knew, once the believer dies, he or she immediately goes to be with Christ in glory. He wrote to the Philippians, My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is
far better (Phil. 1:23) than remaining in the body. Paul
stated something very similar to the Corinthians when he
wrote, we would rather be away from the body and at home
with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).
In both cases, as with the rest of the Scripture, Paul
knew that upon death the kingdom of glory would begin to
be experienced, and believers would have absolute unhindered fellowship with the Lord in glory. This glory in the
kingdom will be fully completed at the resurrection when
the bodies and souls of the children of grace are reunited
(Matt. 25:31-32; John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:4-6, 12-13).
The God of all grace (1 Pet. 5:10) has set up His
kingdom in our hearts and a time is coming soon when the
consummation of this kingdom will be set up on the earth.
Until then, or until our Christian journey comes to an end
and we enter into His rest, let us by patience in well-doing
seek for glory and honor and immortality (Rom. 2:7) as a
response to God making us partakers of His grace. A person
who has a soul truly devoted to the Lord Jesus gladly joins in
this petition, calling out to our God, Your kingdom come.
In the words of Thomas Watson:
We must pray earnestly that the kingdom of glory may
come, that we may see God face to face, and have an
uninterrupted and eternal communion with him in the
80
empyrean heaven. Moses desired but a glimpse of Gods

glory. Exod 33: 18. How then should we pray to see him
in all his embroidered robes of glory, when he shall shine
ten thousand times brighter than the sun in its meridian
splendour! Here, in this life, we rather desire God than
enjoy him; how earnestly therefore should we pray, Thy
kingdom of glory come! The beholding and enjoying
God will be the diamond in the ring, the very quintessence of glory. And must we pray, Thy kingdom come?
How then are they ever like to come to heaven who never
pray for it? Though God gives some profane persons
daily bread who never pray for it, yet he will not give
them a kingdom who never pray for it. God may feed
them, but he will never crown them.66
66
Watson, The Lords Prayer, 124-125.

81
Chapter Nine: The Third

Petition
N THE Gospel according to Matthew, another

version of the prayer is recorded (Matt. 6:9-13). This
version is nearly identical to the one found in Luke. However, it must be noted that the prayer in Matthews Gospel
was given at a different time and in a different location than
the one written by Luke. Matthew records the words of Jesus
as He preached the famous Sermon on the Mount discourse.
Besides the location and timing being different, the other
variation is that Luke does not record this third petition:
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.67
The Will of God

Your will be done. What does Jesus mean here by the
term will? The term will qe,lhma (thelema) in this context
has the idea of the wish or purpose of God that has been
determined. Scholars typically speak of two types or parts of
the will of God in Scripture. There is Gods will of decree
and His will of desire.
67
Matthew 6:9-13: Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our
debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Some manuscripts add For
yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
83
The Will of His Desire

These distinctions within the will of God help us make
sense out of the passages in the Bible that speak of God
desiring certain things to happen which do not come to
pass. For example, we read that God desires all people to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim.
2:3-4). The Lord Jesus Himself gave a command which all of
Israel had been brought up knowing, You must be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48; c.f. Lev.
19:2).
We can certainly state that all have not repented of their
sins, and nobody has obeyed the command to be perfect as
our heavenly Father is perfect. So then, if God is allpowerful, a fact which the Bible leaves no room for disagreement, why do these desires not come to pass? This
tension is solved when we realize the difference between the
two wills of God.68
The verses above refer to Gods will of desire or His
revealed will. This will of God specifically speaks about what
God has revealed to us by the Scripture.69 Therefore, passages that maintain that God desires all people to be saved
(1 Tim. 2:3-4) and that He is unwilling that any should
perish (2 Pet. 3:8-9) refer to a state of affairs that God sees
as desirable and pleasing. The apostle John made it clear
that God desires all men to come to the faith as well. He
68
For an in-depth treatment in this subject see John Frame, The Doctrine
of God: A Theology of Lordship, chapter 23 Gods Power and John Pipers
article Are There Two Wills in God? in Still Sovereign: Contemporary
Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, edited by Thomas
Schreiner and Bruce Ware (Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Books, 2000), 107132.
69
Since this refers to Gods desires that have been revealed by His Word
it has been termed by some as His preceptive will.
84
Chapter Nine: The Third Petition
wrote, And this is his commandment, that we believe in the

name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as
he has commanded us (1 John 3:23). The revealed will of
God defines our moral responsibility and duty as human
beings. This speaks of what we ought to do if we want to
please Him. Therefore, this will is never perfectly or fully
accomplished and is, as we will see, essentially different from
Gods will of decree.
The Will of His Decree

The will of Gods decree is also sometimes called His
secret will.70 This is His plan which was decreed from all
eternity. No person or creature can oppose this will because
it is Gods eternal plan and must certainly take place.
For example, God had decreed that Joseph would be
sold by his brothers into slavery. As his brothers stood
before him with their consciences full of guilt over their sins,
Joseph as the Prime Minister of Egypt stated, As for you,
you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to
bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they
are today (Gen. 50:20).
And no doubt the worst evil to ever occur in the history
of mankind was the crucifixion of the sinless Son of God.
This did not come by chance, as Peter so boldly declared on
Pentecost, this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite
plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by
the hands of lawless men (Acts 2:23). These events, and
those which led up to them, were clearly based upon the
eternal decree of God.
70
The phrase secret will does not grasp the concept completely since
this aspect of Gods will is sometimes made known.
85
Furthermore, we see the will of decree in Romans 9:1819, where Paul stated, So then he has mercy on whomever
he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to
me then, Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his
will? This will that cannot be resisted is Gods will of
decree. This is what Paul was talking about in Ephesians
when he wrote, In him we have obtained an inheritance,
having been predestined according to the purpose of him
who works all things according to the counsel of his will
(Eph. 1:11).
The fact that there are two types of Gods will is completely biblical, and these two wills do not contradict each
other in any way.71 They could only contradict each other if
God required and forbid the same thing or if he decreed
that the same thing should and should not exist in the same
manner. Arthur Pink, in his classic work The Sovereignty of
God, gives an example of a loving parent who has to discipline his child. The parent does not desire to punish the
child but knows it is his duty. Though he tells his child that
he does not desire to punish him, he knows that it is for the
best, and so he is content with it. Now the child knows his
father is being consistent in what he says and does. In the
same way God, by His will of decree, may bring things to
pass that He hates and choose things not to occur that He
loves. He commanded Pharaoh to let His people go because
that was morally right to do. However, He secretly declared
that Pharaoh should not let them go because it would be
better for Gods greater purpose. 72
Again, Gods will of decree is not His will in the same
way as His will of desire. We know that God, by His sover71
All theologians recognize that there are multiple wills in God.

Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books,
1930), 245.
72
86
eign authority, in His revealed will (His will of desire)

commands all people to obey Him and His law. This desirous state of affairs simply does not take place. Why does He
not bring about this will of desire? The fact is that certain
things simply do not come to pass because God values His
sovereign eternal purposes over and above desirable states of
affairs. God hates sin with all His being (Psa. 5:4), yet He
permits it to occur for His own glory. It is for His own glory
that His sovereign eternal unchanging purpose concerning
all things transcends His desires.
Moses, in Deuteronomy 29:29, captured both Gods will
of decree and His will of desire when he stated, The secret
things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we
may do all the words of this law. Praise the Lord that
though men choose to disobey Gods revealed will (or will of
desire), God is nonetheless sovereign in fulfilling His
purpose.
What Will Are We to Pray For?

Now that we have identified the two parts of Gods will
we must answer the question, for which of Gods wills do
we pray? Since the secret will of God (will of decree) is
unknown to man, Jesus could not have been telling His
disciples to pray for this will to be done. Therefore, we must
pray for Gods revealed will to be done in our lives. This will
is clearly set down for us in His Word. Since this prayer is
for disciples, it assumes that disciples would be reading the
Word of God and would then know what His will is. We
cannot do His will unless we know the Scripture.
Thomas Watson stated that in this petition, believers are
praying for two things. First, we are praying for active
87
obedience; that we may do Gods will actively in what he

commands. Second, we are praying for passive obedience;
that we may submit to Gods will patiently.73 These two
aspects of obedience could also be called active submission
and passive submission.
Active Obedience
When we pray this prayer, we are asking the Lord to
enable us to do what is pleasing to Him. We are asking God
to give us the grace that we might actively do what is revealed in His Word. We must pray, Your will be done
because if we are left to our own abilities, we cannot do His
will at all. We have no power on our own to do Gods will.
If we did, why would the Lord Jesus give this petition for us
to pray to the Father? Watson noticed this, and stated, We
have no innate power to do Gods will. What need to pray,
Thy will be done, if we have power of ourselves to do it? I
wonder freewillers pray this petition.74 This great Puritan
rightly observes that those who believe we can freely please
God apart from Gods grace stand in contradistinction to
this petition.
Watson uses the phrase active obedience to underscore the point that we must do the will of God. Why
should we actively seek to do Gods will? First, when we are
seeking to do Gods will as found in the Scripture we are
demonstrating that we love Him. In John chapter fourteen
Jesus was comforting His disciples with the promise of the
Holy Spirit. He emphasized to them that the practice of
obedience to the Word of God is evidence that a person
loves the Lord. He said, If you love me, you will keep my
73
74
Watson. The Lords Prayer, 191.

Watson, The Lords Prayer, 206.
88
commandments (John 14:15). This is so important that

Jesus restated this in the same conversation:
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it
is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to
him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, Lord, how is it
that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the
world? Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will
keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our home with him. Whoever
does not love me does not keep my words. And the word
that you hear is not mine but the Fathers who sent me.
(John 14:21-24)
Jesus made it clear that one who loves Him will keep His
commandments. His commandments consisted of everything He taught, everything He said, and everything that the
Father had revealed (John 3:31-32; 12:47-49; 17:6). Jesus
then rephrased this in the negative when He said that people
who do not love Him would not keep His words (John
14:24). At the end of the chapter, Jesus declared His active
obedience to the Father when He said, But I do as the
Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that
I love the Father (John 14:31). He actively fulfilled all the
Law of God and this demonstrated to the world that Jesus
loved the Father.
The apostle John, in his first epistle, echoed his Lord:
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if
we keep his commandments. Whoever says I know him
but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the
truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him
truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know
that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought
89
to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:36)
There were believers in Johns church who needed

assurance of their salvation. They were asking the question,
How do we know if we have come to know God? Does
John answer them, You know you have come to know God
if you walked down an aisle and prayed a sinners prayer?
No, John does not answer in such a way. Even a child knows
that just repeating some words does not change a persons
heart. Praying a prayer of repentance means nothing unless
repentance is demonstrated in ones life.
John, as a good pastor, stated that the proof of knowing
God is if we keep His commandments (1 John 2:3). The
way the original Greek language is written suggests that it
read, And by this we know that we have come to know
Him, if we are presently and continuously keeping his
commandments. He made it clear that true Christians
prove their faith by their continuous obedience. This is how
repentance is demonstrated. Obedience to Gods commandments is a natural result of true repentance and is
always found in someone who loves the Lord.
Somebody could raise an objection here and say, Wait a
second; I thought we are saved by grace? Are John and Jesus
saying obedience is what saves us? No, they are not saying
that at all. The biblical writers are clear that it is by grace
that we are saved through faith. Paul said in Ephesians 1:7,
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of His
grace. Salvation is a gift of God (Eph. 2:5-8), and is not
according to our good works but the riches of His grace.
What John and the Lord Jesus meant was, Here is how you
know that you know God: it is in the way that you live. It is
marked by your obedience and obedience always follows
90
Gods saving grace. James, the Lords half brother, also

made this point in his epistle (James 2:14-26).
To not be actively obedient in doing Gods will is sin. It
is even worse to know Gods will and not to do it. In the
Parable of the Faithful Steward, Jesus stated that the servant
who knew his masters will but did not get ready or act
according to his will, will receive a severe beating (Luke
12:47). The more knowledge we have, the more accountable
to God we are.
The Privilege and Honor to do His Will

For the believer, we ought to consider it a privilege and
honor to be able to do Gods will. Is this not a great and
high calling we have been given, to serve and obey the voice
of the Lord? He said, Obey my voice, and I will be your
God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way
that I command you, that it may be well with you (Jer.
7:23). What an amazing promise!
When King Hezekiah was sick and near death he
turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, and
said, Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before
you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done
what is good in your sight (Isa. 38:2-3). The Lord heard his
prayer and extended Hezekiahs life fifteen more years. The
fact that Hezekiah was a man who was faithful to the Lord
and actively sought to do the will of God brought him
comfort and peace. It is most definitely in our best interest
and benefit to daily call on God, Your will be done.
When you and I do Gods will we show a genuine desire
to please Him. In the longest and one of the most poetic of
the Psalms, Psalm 119, the writer constantly expresses his
deep desire to be obedient to the commandments of God.
91
In verse five he exclaimed, Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! In verse ten he cried out,
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from
your commandments! The author of this Psalm longed to
obey Gods Word. We, as well, should have a sincere desire
to do Gods will. Likewise, in Psalm 143:10, King David
appealed to the Lord, Teach me to do your will, for you are
my God! As stated above, this desire only comes from one
who has had his or her heart changed by grace.
In Matthew chapter six, the Lord Jesus declared that
although the Pharisees did charitable deeds, prayed, and
fasted, they did these things for the approval of man and not
for the glory of God. Those people were insincere in their
attempts to obey the commandments of God. There are
modern day Pharisees who act godly and appear to be
obeying the commandments of God. However, the Lord
knows whether or not they are sincere in their attempt to do
His will. Cain and Abel, though they pre-date the Pharisees,
are a great illustration of this. In Genesis chapter four we
read:
In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of
the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And
the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for
Cain and his offering he had no regard. (Gen. 4:3-5)
Cain brought his offering to the Lord with no regard.

This means that he brought something because God commanded him to bring it. This act of worship by Cain was just
a task for him. He performed the task reluctantly, which is
why it was not true worship. Abel, on the other hand, also
brought an offering out of a loving zeal to please the Lord.
His act was one of worship and did please the Lord.
92
Passive Obedience
True prayer involves submission to the purpose and will
of God. Believers, often say that we depend upon God and
trust in Him, but we do not submit to Him like we should.
In The Sovereignty of God, Arthur Pink stated:
Because prayer is an attitude of dependency, the one who
really prays is submissive, submissive to the divine will; and
submission to the divine will means, that we are content
for the Lord to supply our need according to the dictates
of his own sovereign pleasure.75
According to Thomas Watson, the second thing involved in this petition is to pray that we would patiently
submit to the will of God. He refers to this as passive
obedience.76 This has the idea of being content with whatever circumstances are presently in our lives. In 1 Samuel
chapter three, Eli begged Samuel to tell him about the vision
Samuel had. Samuel did not want to tell Eli because it had
to do with judgment coming upon Elis house (1 Sam. 3:1014). After Samuel told Eli what the Lord had shown him, Eli
said, It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him
(1 Sam. 3:18).
There are times when the Lord brings about affliction
and severe trials in the lives of His children. This is Gods
ordinary pattern for His adopted children. Scripture declares
that you should not only believe in him but also suffer for
his sake (Phil. 1:29). God brings affliction into the lives of
His people in many ways. Some are afflicted by sickness. The
noblemans son in Capernaum was sick to the point of
75
76
Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 176.

93
death (John 4:46-53). The man who sat by the pool near the
Sheep Gate was paralyzed for more than thirty-eight years
(John 5:1-9).
Some are afflicted by the loss of loved ones. The Lord
told Ezekiel, Behold, I take away from you the desire of
your eyes with one stroke (Ezek. 24:16). Ezekiels precious
wife was taken from him, and he was not allowed to mourn
for her since this was to be a sign to Israel. Some are afflicted
through poverty. When the widow in 2 Kings chapter four
faced the death of her husband, the creditor came and took
her two children to be his slaves because she was so poor (2
Kings 4:1-7).
We all know the story of Job. He was afflicted with
sickness, he was criticized by his friends, the loss of all his
flocks reduced him to poverty, and all of his children died.
Yet, in all this, Job recognized that affliction does not come
from the dust but from the hand of God (Job. 5:6; 1:21). In
whatever way God might bring affliction into our lives and
we Christians ought to expect it at one time or another
(Phil. 1:29; 2 Tim. 3:12) we must remain obedient to him
in willing submission.
Afflictions bring us closer to God. Only when the
prodigal son had nothing and had to share the food of pigs
did he decide to come back to his father (Luke 15:11-32).
The nobleman, with his son at the point of death, begged
Jesus to heal him, and upon finding out that his son was
healed, he and his whole household believed in Jesus (John
4:53). We have seen this play out time and time again in our
own lives. Thomas Watson eloquently put it:
Is it not better to go through affliction to glory, than
through pleasure to misery? Not that afflictions merit
glory, but they prepare us for it. No cross ever merited but
that which Christ endured. Think, O Christian, what affliction leads to! It leads to paradise, where are rivers of
94
pleasure always running. Should not this make us cheerfully submit to Gods will, and say, Lord, if there be so
much kindness in affliction, if all thou does is to make us
happy, Thy will be done.77
If I pray, Lord, may Your will be done in my life, and I

get angry and depressed at God for not getting a job, am I
surrendering to Him? No, I am not. If people who contribute generously to the ministry end up leaving the church am
I depending on His grace if I were to worry about where we
are going to get the rent money? I do not believe I would be.
When we are upset or unhappy about our circumstances we
surely are not sitting before His feet in obedience to Him.
My friends, that is not submitting to God. This surrendering
or dependence upon Gods grace is very much tied to the
concept of obedience.
In Psalm 73, the psalmist spends the first half of his
psalm expressing his depression over the prosperity of the
wicked. Then his attitude begins to change as he looks to the
sovereign God upon whom he can depend upon. In verse 25
and 26 we see this reliance upon God clearly as he stated,
Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon
earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(italics mine)
Wow! This is an amazing declaration that underscores
what submission truly is. No matter what our circumstances
we can rest assured that God is our strength. It reminds me
of the time Jesus finished preaching the Bread of Life
sermon in John 6. John writes:
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer
walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you
77
Ibid., 227.
95
want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered him,

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know,
that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:66-69)
The Lord alone has the words of eternal life. In knowing

this truth, we ought to have no other desire above knowing
Him. May this become our prayer in times of affliction and
difficulty.
Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in

Heaven
We looked at how believers who truly bring this petition
before the Lord are asking God to enable them to actively be
obey His commandments and to passively submit before
God regardless of the circumstances. This, as Matthew
points out ought to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The way it is in heaven is the pattern for doing Gods will on
earth. This is why Jesus emphasizes the word heaven in this
verse. Therefore, this is really a request to God that calls for
His Word and Law to be obeyed on earth in the same way it
is obeyed in heaven. In what way is Gods Word obeyed in
heaven? One word sums it up perfectly. Gods Word is
obeyed perfectly in heaven.
There is no rebellion in heaven amongst the angels and
saints. But there sure is on earth. How can so many people
pray this prayer repeatedly day after day and yet not even
attempt to do the will of God in obeying His Word? The
simple fact is that people may go through the formalities of
religion without wanting to submit and be obey to the
revealed will of God. Heaven is a place of rest and joy.
Therefore, this must be part of our prayer. We must pray
that the will of God may be actively and passively obeyed by
96
men on earth as perfectly, willingly, and continuously as they

are being obeyed by angels and saints in heaven. This prayer
should be for believers and nonbelievers. We ought to pray
that nonbelievers would be granted the gift of repentance
and faith and begin to obey the Word of God. As J.C. Ryle
stated, Our truest happiness is perfect submission to Gods
will, and it is the highest charity to pray that all mankind
may know it, obey it, and submit to it.78
78
Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, 52.

97
Chapter Ten: The Fourth

Petition
A Request Made for Man
N THE first three requests of this remarkable prayer,

Jesus models for us how we ought to ask for His name
to be hallowed, for His kingdom to come, and for His will to
be done. There has not yet been anything pertaining to the
me in the prayer. This is an excellent thing. It is only after
these first three petitions concerning the person and will of
God that a request is actually made for man. How often
have we approached the throne of grace to ask God for
things without having an attitude of utter submission to
Him, recognizing that He is holy and we are sinners?
I know that there were many times early in my Christian
life where I prayed in such a way. Sometimes I even find
myself doing it now, and I have to slap myself. The things I
requested were not inherently selfish. I might have been
praying that God would save everyone in the world or that
He would even give me wisdom and understanding about
something. Yet, I prayed as if I had marched straight into the
King of the Universes throne room unannounced, said a
quick hello, and then started naming what I wanted from
Him. Can you imagine doing such a thing to your employer?
Or to the governor? Or even to the President? Of course not!
To do such a thing could be grounds for termination and
possibly imprisonment.
There are a ton of people who do not care about the
President of the United States at all, yet they still have
enough decency and respect for him that they would never
do such a thing. How about Christians? Jesus of Nazareth,
our resurrected Savior, is infinitely more important than any
99
ruler on earth. He has made a way for us to come into His

presence and lift up our prayers to Him. We should shower
Him with praises and adore Him, giving Him the honor due
to His name. This is exactly what takes place in heaven
according to the apostle John (Rev. 5:8-10). Only after such
honor to our God should we humbly ask Him for those
needs we have or believe we have.
In seeing how the Lord ordered these petitions we can
recognize even in this that He upheld the glory of God
above all else. Jesus made it clear that He sought to glorify
His Father. That was His goal. To the Jews who sought to
kill Him, he said, I do not seek my own glory (John 8:50).
Worldly people seek their own glory, for they belong to the
earth (John 3:31). As believers, on the other hand, we must
prefer Gods glory above all things in our lives and therefore
begin that way in prayer before we come to the subject of
ourselves.
Give Us Each Day Our Daily Bread

The Lord states that we should pray, Give us each day
our daily bread (Luke 11:3). This wording is very similar to
the prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:11
Jesus tells the believers to pray, Give us this day our daily
bread. In either case the request is stated in such a way that
the believers are to ask God to give us the bread that is
necessary for today. This is what William Hendriksen
prefers. He stated that the meaning would be, Give us
today the portion that is needed for any one day.79 What we
are actually praying to receive is the bread that we need for
our daily survival. King Agur, who was possibly a student of
the great King Solomon, basically prayed the same thing
79
Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, 333.

100
Chapter Ten: The Fourth Petition
hundreds of years before when he wrote, Remove far from

me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me (Prov. 30:8).
God as the Great Giver

This petition looks at God as our great giver and provider. It is He who gives gifts to people and pours out
blessings as He pleases. He is the source of all goodness and
excellence. James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus mentioned this when he wrote about the contrast between the
temptations we face and the goodness of God. He stated,
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of lights with whom there is no
variation or shadow due to change (James 1: 17).
Every good thing we receive comes to us because of Gods
goodness, kindness, and grace. Job recognized this truth (Job
1:21; 2:10). Let us truly think about this. Everything that is
wonderful in your life everything you hold dear is a gift
of grace from the Lord. You might be a great musician, a
great athlete, or have a great memory, and these too are gifts
from God. We display our own ignorance when we boast in
ourselves for doing things well or accomplishing great deeds.
Gifts and talents are given to us not because of who we are
but in spite of who we are. A person cannot receive even
one thing unless it is given him from heaven (John 3:27).
All we have is from His hand of grace, including, and most
importantly, our salvation. For even the faith we have in
Him has come as a gift (Rom. 12:3; 1 Cor. 12:9; Eph. 2:8).
Gods goodness does not stop with His children. He also
gives gifts to His enemies and to those who hate Him. This
is seen throughout the Old Testament Scriptures as God
blessed pagan nations through men like Abraham and
101
Joseph. Theologians sometimes refer to this as common

grace. Common grace speaks of the general blessings that
God gives to all people out of His goodness and kindness.
Every human being receives these benefits from God.
King David said in Psalm 145, The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made (Psa. 145:9). He
also stated, The eyes of all look to you and you give them
their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy
the desire of every living thing (Psa. 145:15-16). These
blessings flow indirectly from the redemptive work of Jesus
to all mankind. Every breath we take comes from the
common grace of the Holy Spirit. For he makes his sun rise
on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and
on the unjust (Matt. 5:44).
Bread is the simplest of all of needs and refers to all
that our bodies require to live. The term bread can refer to
whatever is necessary to sustain human life. In asking God
for this bread, we are asking Him to meet our daily needs.
This petition, Give us each day our daily bread, is also a
prayer of moderation as opposed to overindulgence. This is
why the petition is for today and no more. God wants us
to learn to live every day for Him, trusting in Him.
If the Lord feeds the birds of the air every day, He will
feed us who are considered much more precious than all of
Gods creation (Matt. 6:25-33).80 Our heavenly Father knows
our needs and makes us feel those needs at times. Therefore,
to ask God to give us the bread that we need each day is to
80
This passage should not be misunderstood. It does not encourage

laziness. The original listeners would have all known that the adult birds
of the air do not sit back and wait for food to be dropped to them, but
they work hard for it by preparing their nests, gathering insects, and
caring for their young.
102
Chapter Ten: The Fourth Petition
confess our utter helplessness as creatures and to depend

upon Him for our needs, both physical and spiritual.
If we have been given bread today, than we can most
certainly trust God to provide for us tomorrow. There are
times when we begin to worry about our daily bread.
When we have anxiety and worry about the future we are
acting as if there is no heavenly Father who gives to His
children. It is as if we are turning a deaf ear to the Lord
when we worry about our future. This is what Jesus was
referring to in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25,
He said, Do not be anxious about your life, what you will
eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you
will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more
than clothing? Jesus argued from the greater, which is life,
to the least, which is food, drink, and clothes. The point is
that if God has already given us life, will He not also give us
our daily needs as well? The provision and care of God is
something that comes when one seeks the kingdom (Matt.
6:33).
In the story of Abraham and Isaac, we see a great picture
of how we ought to trust in God as our provider. As Abraham took his beloved son Isaac up that hill in obedience to
the Word of God, Isaac asked, Behold, the fire and the
wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering (Gen.
22.7)? His father Abraham, pushing his emotions to the
side, prophetically responded, God will provide for himself
the lamb for a burnt offering, my son (Gen. 22:8). When
this heart-wrenching trial was over and God did provide,
Abraham gave that place a name that spoke nothing of the
trial but about Gods provision. So Abraham called the
name of that place, The LORD will provide ha,_r>yI hw"hy yuhweh yir-eh (Gen. 22:14).
>
103
The Lord will provide for His people. He is a good God!

Yet He wants us to be a people content with what He gives.
It is true that most people will pray with King Agur give me
not poverty. But they will not finish the verse and pray
give me not riches. It is extremely rare and yet tremendously admirable to find someone who is content with little.
This is especially true in our day and age when the media
constantly parades the riches of the world in front of us.
However, the attitude of every follower of Christ must be
one of contentment. Though riches seem very alluring and
tempting to us we must never forget the words of the apostle
Paul to Timothy: But those who desire to be rich fall into
temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful
desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction (1
Tim. 6:9).
104
Chapter Eleven: The Fifth

Petition
Taking Care of Our Souls
HE NEXT petition in the Lords Prayer is an

extremely important component in effective prayer.
It is confession. The Lord directs the disciples to pray
forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is
indebted to us (Luke 11:4). This is essentially what is being
said in the earlier account in Matthew: and forgive us our
debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matt. 6:12).
Notice that this request comes immediately after the
petition Give us each day our daily bread? Why is this so?
There is no direct evidence to tell us why Jesus joined these
two petitions in such a way. It could be possible that the
Lord wanted us to recognize that there is something more
important than having a satisfied appetite, and that is a
satisfied soul. You could bring me a steak dinner if I were in
prison, and I still could not be satisfied the way I would be if
I were set free.
Scripture teaches that man is made up of body and
soul.81 The body was created by God first (Gen. 2:7) and was
81
There are two main positions about the nature of man. There is the
trichotomist view, which uses passages such as Hebrew 4:12, and 1
Thessalonians 5:23 to teach that man is made up of three parts: body,
soul, and spirit. The other position is the dichotomist view which
teaches that man is made of two parts: body and soul/spirit. This
position sees many passages indicating that the soul and spirit are used
interchangeably (John 12:27 and John 13:21; Gen. 35:28 and Acts
15:26; Psalm 31:5 and Luke 23:46; Matt. 10:28 and 1 Cor. 5:5). The
other passages that refer to soul and spirit separately are known as a
105
very good (Gen. 1:31). The soul or the spirit is the immaterial part of humanity that expresses itself through the
body. While both the body and the soul will be raised up at
the last day, for the believer, it is the soul that goes immediately to the presence of God upon death. Thus, our souls are
more important than our bodies. Jesus stated in Matthew
16:26, For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole
world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in
return for his soul? On the day of judgment if a persons
soul is lost there is nothing he or she can do about it.
We must take care of our souls. Gods saving grace is
more important than our daily bread. If our soul is kept safe
by the grace of God, then our bodies will be also. Thomas
Watson put it, Daily bread may make us live comfortably,
but forgiveness of sins will make us die comfortably.82
Forgive us Our Sins

It is no secret that the confession of our sin is a necessary
component in the prayers of Gods people. It is the proper
response to sin in the life of the Christian. Forgive us is
the cry of one who can legitimately call God his or her
Father. First, it must be noted that only God can forgive sins
(Mark 2:7). In Isaiah 43:25, Yahweh, the Covenant God of
Israel, stated, I, I am he who blots out your transgressions
for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Jesus
Himself, in showing that He is the Son of God on numerous
occasions also forgave sins (Matt 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24;
7:49).
literary device called Hebrew parallelism. This position has more biblical
evidence.
82
106
Chapter Eleven: The Fifth Petition
There are many words in the Bible that give us a greater

understanding of what forgiveness means. God is said to
blot out our sins (Psa. 51:9; Isa. 43:25). He takes away our
iniquity (Job. 21:7). The Psalms teach that the Lord covers
over our sin (Psalm 32:1; 85:2). He pardons our sin (Exo.
34:9; Num. 14:20). Each of these conveys a particular idea of
how God deals with the sin of the believer. One of the main
words in the New Testament for forgive comes from the
Greek word avfi,hmi (aphiemi). This word means to let go,
dismiss, or send away something; in this case, the sins of a
person.
We might think that the sending away of our sins comes
at confession. But in reality it happens at regeneration.
Regeneration is an act of God where He awakens spiritual
life within us. This is where God gives new life to the
believer and makes him or her holy. Regeneration is completely a work of God, specifically of the Father and the
Holy Spirit (John 1:13; 3:8; Jam. 1:17-18). God immediately
changes sinners, implanting new spiritual life in us (2 Cor.
5:17; Eph. 2:1). Praise God for His grace!
When God does this gracious work on our souls then we
are able to respond to the Gospel with repentance and faith
(Acts 16:14). It is also at this point that God freely justifies
us, which means He pardons all of our sins and accepts us as
righteous in His sight. Some think that to be justified is to
be viewed just as if I had never sinned. But this is not what
the Bible teaches. As Martin Luther said, we are simil iustus et
peccator at the same time righteous and a sinner.83
All of the believers sins have been forgiven past, present, and future yet, we still need to seek Gods forgiveness
83
Martin Luther vol. 35, Luther's Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I,
ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c1960).
107
and confess our sins to Him daily (Psa. 103:12; Isa. 44:22;
Rom. 8:1). We have been justified by God, meaning that He
has declared us righteous because of Jesus death on the
cross (Rom. 3:23-24; 1 John 1:7).
However, because we still sin we can grieve and offend
our Father in heaven. This is why we need His daily forgiveness to grow in grace. The Westminster Confession of Faith,
one of the great confessions of history states:
God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are
justified; and, although they can never fall from their state
of justification, yet they may, by their sins, fall under
Gods fatherly displeasure, and not have the light of his
countenance restored unto them, until they humbles
themselves, confess their sins, beg pardon, and renew
their faith and repentance.84
God forgives, not because we are worthy or He owes us

anything, but because He is full of grace and mercy. As He
proclaimed to Moses, The LORD, the LORD, a God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness (Exo. 34:6). What a gracious
and merciful God we serve! It is truly His kindness that leads
to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
What is Confession?
What does it mean to confess? The apostle John helped
us understand what this means when he instructed the
Christians at Ephesus that it is by our confession that we
receive cleansing from God. He wrote, If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
84
The Westminster Confession of Faith. XI. V

108
cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The verb

John uses to confess o`mologw/men (homologomen) is from
o`mologe,w, (homologeo) meaning to speak the same thing.
The repentant Christian confesses his or her sins. This
means that we look at and judge sin from Gods perspective.
We do not justify our sins any longer, but we say the same
thing about them that God does.
What does God say about lying? Should we then continue to rationalize that it is acceptable to tell people we are
going to do something and not do it? How about movies and
television shows loaded with immorality and wickedness?
Would our Holy Father laugh at the jokes on some of those
shows? Would He say that those shows are entertaining? I
think that every person who is born of God knows that the
Lord would never look upon such filth with an attitude of,
There is nothing wrong with watching. It is not like I am
participating in the sin being portrayed.
B.M. Palmer, in discussing the fact that confession
begins with a clear perception of the nature of sin, stated:
God looks at sin it its intrinsic vileness. We make a true
confession only when the eye has been opened to take the
same view; not, of course, as broad or as deep as that of
Jehovah, not marked with the same terrible abhorrence;
but a view nevertheless which is true, because it discovers
the real deformity of sin as opposed to all that is beautiful
and holy and excellent in the character of God.85
In light of this, there is a godly sorrow that comes with

true confession of our sins. We have broken Gods commandments and have committed high treason against the
Lord. There is no one to blame for our sin but ourselves. Let
85
Palmer, Theology of Prayer, 43.

109
us not be like Adam who blamed Eve: The woman whom

you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I
ate (Gen. 3:12).
David did not blame Bathsheba but took full responsibility for his sin. As David cried, Against you, you only,
have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight (Psa.
51:4). David did not simply admit that he sinned, but he
came to God with a broken and contrite heart (Psa.
51:17). Psalm 51 is the model psalm for confession.
We need to remember the ominous fact that we have
sinned against an infinite God and there is nothing we can
do on our own merit to be forgiven. We must look to Him,
against whom we have sinned, and speak the same thing
about our sin as He does falling down before Him in
sorrow and repentance.
King David, as every Christian has, felt the displeasure of
God at a time in his life because of unconfessed sin. In
Psalm 32:3-4 David describes how distressed and uncomfortable he was while in his unrepentant state. He wrote,
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my
groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was
heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of
summer. Selah.
This is the language of depression and sorrow. Could it
be that the cause of our own sadness and depression at times
is simply unconfessed sin? The great Lutheran theologian
and Professor of Theology, Franz Delitzsch commented
about David, writing, For, as his own experience has taught
the poet, he who does not in confession pour out all his
110
corruption before God, only tortures himself until he

unburdens himself of his secret curse.86
This is exactly what takes place in the mind of the
believer who will not confess his or her sin before the Lord.
It is tortuous to try to ignore the fact that there is sin in our
lives. We might think, No, I do not need to call that
brother and apologize. He did not take it that way, when all
the while we know that we completely offended him with
our coarse joking. Yet, the heaviness and sorrow that settles
in us, which was also in Davids life because of sin, changes
to gladness and rejoicing when we acknowledgement that sin
before God. Thankfully, Psalm 32 continues as David gives
us the remedy for unconfessed sin. David wrote, I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said,
I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you
forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
The verb I will confess hd<Aa o-deh comes from the
word hdy ya-dah87 which means to throw or cast and is
used to indicate a confessing of ones sins.88 Interestingly
enough this relates to the word dy yad which means hand.
"
"
One can tell that dy yad and hdy ya-dah are very similar. What
is even more fascinating is what B.M. Palmer indicated in
his book on Prayer. Palmer pointed out that the Hebrew
expression for confessing ones sins was to point out
86
C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Psalms, Biblical Commentary on the Old

Testament. Translated by Francis Bolton. Volume 5. (Peabody, Ma.:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1860), 253.
87
This word is a first person hiphil common singular imperfect.
88
This word was translated in the Greek Septuagint as evxagoreu,sw, a
first person singular future active indicative meaning to tell out, make
known or declare.
111
with the finger.89 So when David confessed and acknowledged his sin he was pointing it out and making it known
before God.
The result of pointing out his sin was that the hand of
God was no longer against him for he was forgiven. Praise
the Lord! David knew that the ground of his happiness and
blessed state was the fact that his iniquities were forgiven.
This is why he began Psalm 32 with these words, Blessed is
the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit (Psa. 32:1-2).
Confession not only brings forgiveness, cleansing, and
peace; it brings glory to God. Joshua told Achan to confess
his sin before the Lord, and in doing so, it would bring glory
to Him. My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and
make confession to him (Josh. 7:19). Confession of sin is a
key component of our prayers. This is necessary for God to
forgive us and restore us (1 John 1:9). As we know, confession is not simply a one time thing.
Confession is Ongoing
There is a need for continual cleansing because we
continue to sin throughout our lives. We all know this by
experience and because of the great love which God has
shown for us, we do not want to grieve Him and fall under
His displeasure. When John wrote, If we confess our sins,
he emphasizes the word confess o`mologw/men (homologomen). This word is written in such a way that it could
be translated if we continue to confess or acknowledge our
89

112
sins.90 Here, my friends, is the heart of the Christian

ongoing continual confession.
The request before the Father is forgive us our sins
(Luke 11:4). The word sins is in the plural, ta.j a`marti,aj
(tas hamartias), as it was when John stated, If we confess our
sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9, italics
mine). So rather than speaking of the idea of sin in general,
it most likely speaks of the magnitude of our sins in particular. This means that we will be cleansed by God as we
confess our sins. With continual confession, which includes
turning away from the sin itself, there is assurance that we
can be cleansed and pardoned from our sins.
He is faithful and just pisto,j evstin kai. di,kaioj (1
John 1:9). John placed the word faithful pisto,j (pistos) at
the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. When the
believer is engaged in confession he or she brings into focus
these glorious qualities of God. Our God is faithful! He is
just! He is righteous! The faithfulness of God is frequently
connected with His covenant promises. When Gods people
would break His covenant relationship and confess their sin
before Him, He forgives them because of His faithful nature.
This is why this passage has been called the Christian bar of
soap. True confession of sin brings about cleansing from
our faithful God.
But again we must emphasize that it is not the confession that earns Gods forgiveness of sins. If this were the
case, not only would we have a works based salvation, but we
would also constantly be worried that we might not have
confessed every single sin we have committed. This is
actually a common error in American Evangelicalism.
90
The word is in the present active subjunctive case.

113
I recently ran into a person who was under the impression that one could be saved and live a godly Christian life,
but nevertheless still go to hell if they sinned on the day of
their death and forgot to confess it. This is simply untrue
and destructive to the Gospel of grace. One could never live
a life of assurance in Christ if this were true. William
Hendriksen explains:
The forgiveness of our debts is based not on our merits
how could we have any? but on Christs, applied to us.
Consequently, from our point of view, forgiveness is
based on Gods unmerited (not merited by us) favor, that
is, on divine grace (Eph. 1:7), compassion (Matt. 18:27),
and mercy (Luke 18:13). Nevertheless, our forgiving disposition is very important. In fact, without it we ourselves
cannot be forgiven.91
This is also evident in the language of the apostle John.

God, John writes, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9b).
Therefore, because of this astonishing truth that God is
faithful and just, if we confess our sins, the result92 is forgiveness of sins and a cleansing or purifying from all unrighteousness. Praise the Lord!
Forgiving Others
The second part of this petition relates to forgiving those
who sin against us. This is extremely important and often
times overlooked. We must never forget the magnitude of
our sins that God has forgiven. King David recognized this
91
William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, 334335.

92
This wording contains a subjunctive hina clause indicating purpose.
114
in Psalm 40 when he wrote, my iniquities have overtaken

me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my
head; my heart fails me (Psa. 40:12). Jesus implied that
those who have been forgiven are full of love for God and
demonstrate it by their lives (Luke 7:47). This is revealed
when we forgive others who sin against us.
In Matthew 6:12 Jesus states, forgive us our debts, as we
also have forgiven our debtors. We obviously cannot forgive
in the same exact way as God does since He is God. Although this can be a very difficult thing to do, we can and
must imitate God. Immediately after the Lords Prayer
Jesus elaborated on this in the Sermon on the Mount. He
said, 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 (Matt. 6:14-15).
In order to restore a right relationship with the Father,
we must have a right relationship with others. This is what is
meant in Luke 11:4b for we ourselves forgive everyone who
is indebted to us. Believers who harbor unforgiveness in
their hearts distance themselves from God and hinder their
own fruitfulness and ministry. Forgiveness must be extended
to those who have sinned against us if we, who have sinned
against God, are to have His forgiveness extended to us.
This is the character of the new man. The Christian has
been united with Christ and is a new person, The old has
passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). One
aspect of the person who has been changed by Gods saving
grace is that they forgive people who have sinned against
them. Remember, when Peter asked the Lord Jesus, How
often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As
many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you
seven times, but seventy times seven (Matt. 18:21-22). No
115
matter how often someone sins against us, we ought to

forgive.
The Lord Jesus was the perfect example of demonstrating forgiveness to others. Even while being crucified, Jesus
said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do
(Luke 23:34). Not only did Jesus teach these important
truths of forgiving others and loving ones enemies, but He
lived them as well. We see this same attitude in the waning
moments of the life of Stephen. As he was being stoned to
death, Scripture declares he cried out with a loud voice,
Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had
said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:60).
The apostle Paul gave a list of attitudes that the Christian demonstrates because of the work of Christ on the
cross. He wrote:
Put on then, as Gods chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience, bearing with one another
and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving
each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also
must forgive. (Col. 3:12-13)
These words written by Paul echo the Lord Jesus in the
Lords Prayer. We are to bear with one another and forgive
each other as the Lord has forgiven us. The Lord is so
merciful and forgiving. David pointed this out in Psalm 86.
He wrote, For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you (Psa.
86:5). The New King James Version translates this stating,
For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive. The Lord is
ready to forgive the sinner by an act of His free grace.
Because the Lord is ready to forgive ours sins, so should we
be ready to forgive others who sin against us. It was said by
116
somebody that no person can wrong us in our entire life as

much as we have wronged God in a single day. What an
amazing God we serve, that He would be willing to pardon
us of all our sins!
117
Chapter Twelve: The Sixth

Petition
And Lead Us Not into Temptation
HE SIXTH and final petition in the Lords Prayer

is the asking of the Father to deliver His people
from temptation and evil. Jesus said we should pray, And
lead us not into temptation (Luke 11:4). Again, we see the
element of dependence upon the Father, this time for
protection. The petition here is that temptations, which are
common to all men, would not thwart or overwhelm us.
God will not and cannot lead people into sin because
that is contrary to His Law and His nature. James, the half
brother of the Lord Jesus, told us this explicitly when he
wrote, Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted
by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He
Himself tempt anyone (Jam. 1:13). God may test people but
that is much different than tempting them. God also may
permit sin, but He does not promote it.
Where Do Temptations Come From?

The words temptation and testing come from the
same root word in Greek peira,zw (peirazo). But there is a
big difference between the two words. Trials come from
outside of us and can lead to spiritual maturity. Temptations
come from the inside of us and can lead to a maturity of sin.
This is what James told us in his letter. But each person is
tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin
when it is fully grown brings forth death (Jam. 1:14-15).
119
James was saying that the origin of temptations is within

the nature of man. All of our actions come from our
thoughts. Our thought life is where the battle with sin really
takes place. This is where sin starts. It starts on the inside of
us and works its way out. Saint Augustine prayed, Lord,
deliver me from myself. He recognized the evil that is inside
of man, whether saved or unsaved. Thomas Watson stated,
The heart of a man is the Trojan horse, out of which comes
a whole army of lusts.93
This is what happens when we continue to stew over
sinful, tempting thoughts. As James wrote, the mind is
where we are lured and enticed. The Greek words for
lured and enticed are hunting terms that form the image of
a hunter using bait to lure its prey. The bait that is used to
lure and entice us can be anything from pornography and
pride to money and materialism. Whatever temptation it
may be, it is bait to lure us into sin and to generate lust
inside of us.
Though the origin of temptation is within the nature of
man, this does not mean that there are no outside forces.
Satan and his demons are the outside forces who attempt to
drag believers out of fellowship with God (Eph. 6:12). Peter,
who was no stranger to the attacks of the enemy, warned
believers about the devil. He said, Be sober-minded; be
watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in
your faith (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
Of all the disciples, Peter knew this best because he
remembered Jesus words to him the night before the
crucifixion. Jesus told Peter, Satan demanded to have you,
that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you
that your faith may not fail (Luke 22:31-32). Peter was
93

120
Chapter Twelve: The Sixth Petition
warned, yet he still failed to watch and pray, and he ended

up denying Christ three times (Matt. 26:41). The devil and
his demons patiently wait to ambush Gods people with
temptation. This is why we must be praying for God to
deliver us from the enemy and to help us escape his temptations.
Deliver Us from the Evil One

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus rendered this
petition in a slightly different manner. He said, And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matt. 6:13).
In this last clause, but deliver us from evil there have been
some theological issues that tie into prayer, but most of the
issues are settled once the proper translation deliver us
from the evil one is accepted.94
This makes more sense considering that the Lord does
not always keep us from evil and trials. The evils that we
encounter often draw us even closer to God and build up
our faith. It seems more likely that rather than asking God
to deliver us from evil, the petition is aimed at asking God
to deliver us from the evil one, the devil himself.
The devil is called the tempter (Matt. 4:3) and the
evil one (Matt. 13:19). According to Jesus, the devil is the
evil one because he was a murderer from the beginning
and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is also referred to as
Satan. The word satan !j'f means adversary or ac-
'
94
The text reads but deliver us from evil avlla. r`u/sai h`ma/j avpo. tou/
ponhrou/ (alla rusai hemas apo tou ponerou). Most scholars agree that the
article tou (tou) is modifying the adjective ponhrou/ (ponerou) and that this
word stands in place of a noun. Therefore, the proper translation should
be deliver us from the evil one.
121
cuser. Scripture emphatically declares that he is the archenemy of God and Gods people.
It is interesting that when the Lord gave Zechariah a
vision of Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of
the LORD, in Zechariah 3:1 Satan, stood at Joshuas right
hand to accuse him of his sins. According to Revelation
12:10, Satan is restless and accuses the brethren day and
night. We can be assured that Satan will always be reminding God, as well as us, of our sins. But thanks be to God,
that as the Lord rebuked Satan for accusing Joshua, He does
the same for all His people. The Lord has plucked us out of
the fire, removing our filthy garments, taking away our
iniquity, and clothing us with clean garments (Zech. 3:2-5).
How To Be Better Prepared for

Temptation?
We are all familiar with the story of Job. Satan not only
accused Job before God but enticed him with many types of
temptations. Temptations are common to each one of us
and sometimes come as flaming darts (Eph. 6:16). The
question is not whether we get tempted, but whether we will
succumb to the temptation. Most of the time temptations
come from inside our hearts. We are told that Satan stood
against Israel and incited David to number Israel (1 Chron.
21:1).95 This was a very alluring temptation to which David
fell and sinned against the Lord. We too, like David, often
fall to temptations because of the pride within us.
There are times when temptations appear to come out of
nowhere as a flaming dart shot by the enemy. You could be
95
The parallel story located in 2 Samuel 24:1 states that it was God who
incited David to do such a thing. This is reconciled by the fact that God
permitted Satan to tempt King David.
122
totally fixated on cooking or something completely innocent, and then BAM, a wicked thought flies into your mind.
You think to yourself, Where did that thought come from?
Other times, we can spot temptation coming a mile away.
Nevertheless, we must be prepared. But how can we prepare
for temptations?
I am immediately reminded of the words of Peter. He
declared that we must be sober-minded; be watchful (1
Pet. 5:8). This could be translated, be self-controlled and
alert. Peter is commanding each and every believer, You
all must be self-controlled. This is so important! We must
look at reality from a sober, self-controlled viewpoint. This
means that we need to have a clear mind. The sober-minded
Christian is one who is not intoxicated by alcohol, drugs, or
any of the attractions of the world. When we are rejecting
the influences of the world and are focusing on the grace of
our God we will be much better suited to defeat the internal
temptations that come from within our own hearts.
There are also the outside temptations that come from
our enemy. We can defeat these temptations when we are
ready and on guard. Peter definitely spoke from experience
about how important it is to be watchful and ready to
respond to outside forces and temptations. It is in this way
we can resist the devil and stand firm in our faith (1 Pet.
5:9; c.f. James 4:7). This word has the idea of setting oneself
against, opposing, or withstanding something.
The apostle Paul used the same word when he encouraged believers to put on the whole armor of God that you
may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done
everything, to stand firm (Eph. 6:13 NASB). The whole
armor of God that Paul described in Ephesians 6:10-20 is of
monumental importance for us who desire to oppose the
inside and outside temptations that we face daily.
123
Our ability to resist temptation and stand firm against

the enemy comes solely by the act of remaining firm in our
faith. It has nothing to do with special internet prayers or
verbal declarations against demonic activity. It is all about
standing firm in our faith. Paul referred to faith as a shield
with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the
evil one (Eph. 6:16). Whenever we lack faith, we can gain
more simply by calling out to the Lord, reading His Word,
and in being in close fellowship with other believers, like the
early church members, who met with each other constantly
(Acts 2:42).
Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the
word of Christ (Rom. 10:17). The path to growing your
faith is by spending time with the Lord and learning more
about Him. If you are low on faith, you are probably not
reading Gods Word. He has preserved His Word, and we
can discover the majesty and integrity of His Word if we
study it. Faith is, of course, more than belief alone. It
involves trust and reliance. As believers use the shield of
faith, the fiery darts of unbelief, lust, greed, vanity, envy and
doubt are kept away they are repelled. By filling our minds
with Gods Word, we can shift our thoughts to Him! This is
what the Psalmist meant when he said, I have stored up
your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you
(Psalm 119:11).
This means that when the enemy attacks us, we can rely
upon the Word of God that is in our hands or stored in our
minds. Oh, how comforting it is to run into the arms of our
heavenly Father. As a young child would run and call for his
father in time of trouble so we as believers can go to our
heavenly Father. The Lord declared that He would never
leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). It is also said that, God
is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your
124
ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way
of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor. 10:13).
It would be foolish for us to think that resisting the
enemy and standing firm in the faith would not include
prayer. Prayer is such an effective way that we can avoid
falling into temptation.96 We are encouraged to pray
without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17). In times of temptation,
regular and persistent prayer can help us foil the plans of the
enemy and keep us firm in the faith. Paul pleaded with the
Lord when he was being harassed by a messenger of Satan
and received grace to endure (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
The church is known as the Body of Christ, which
implies that we are partners with each other and with the
Lord. We are members of one another (Rom. 12:5) and
need each other for encouragement (Rom. 12:10; 13:8;
1Thes. 4:9). This fellowship that takes place among believers
is essential for spiritual growth (Acts 2:42). Standing firm in
the faith against temptation also suggests being able to call
upon our spiritual family for prayer. Even the apostle Paul
recognized this and asked for prayers on numerous occasions
(Rom. 15:30; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:3; 1 Thes. 5:25; 2 Thes. 3:1).
As we are seeing throughout this book, prayer is depending on and trusting in the Lord. When we are constantly in
a state of dependence and humility before God we will be
better prepared to resist temptations. When we trust in
Him, we are going to be ready and watchful, resisting the
enemy and standing firm in the faith. We will spend time in
His Word, and in prayer, and in fellowship to grow in His
grace that we might be better prepared for temptations. The
Lord generously gives His children wisdom and grace when
we ask of Him (Jam. 1:5). God gives grace to the humble
96
There are actually numerous spiritual disciplines that strengthen the

believer in his or her fight against temptations.
125
(Jam. 4:6). It is His grace that protects us and helps us

through temptations. He is faithful, and he will not let you
be tempted beyond your ability (1 Cor. 10:13).
The Proud and the Idle: Two Targets for

Temptation
There are two types of people who are major targets for
temptation: the proud and the idle. When believers are
prideful and or idle we are sitting ducks for the enemy. It
might be better to state that pride and idleness cause the
believer to drop his or her guard and make them more
susceptible to temptation. When it comes to pride, there is
really no need to elaborate. We are very familiar with pride.
However, Satan seems to have more power over those who
are being prideful. I have had to deal with many believers
over the years that became extremely prideful. This eventually leads to discipline from the Lord, and thankfully, to the
restoration of most of these individuals. Nevertheless, the
person who is proud is in the greatest danger of falling into
temptation. Both James and Peter warn their readers that
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble
(James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). It was pride in Davids heart that
opened the door for Satan to tempt him to disobey God and
number the people (2 Sam. 24:2).
The idle or inactive believer also sets himself up for a
fall. American Christianity is plagued with idle believers
who have deceived themselves into thinking that by just
showing up to Sunday service they are living holy lives. Paul
warned the believers in Rome not to be idle in zeal but to be
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11). Idleness is
forbidden in Scripture because it allows evil to thrive. King
126
David gave us another good example of what can happen to

a person who ceases being active for God for even a short
time. While the army of Israel was in battle against the
Ammonites, David decided to stay home (2 Sam. 11:1).
This, by itself, was unusual and viewed as strange. It
happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his
couch and was walking on the roof of the kings house, that
he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was
very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the
woman (2 Sam. 11:2-3). Davids idleness would end up in
horrible sin deception, adultery, and murder, which would
plague his own house with violence, rebellion, and death.
Why God Allows Us To be Tempted

Why would God allow us to be tempted and even fall to
temptation? There are numerous reasons, many of which are
only known by God Himself. He is holy and full of wisdom
(Rom. 11:33), and, no doubt, has a purpose for everything
He takes us through (Rom. 8:28). We know that temptation
shows how sincere and honest we are. Take Job for an
example. Job was tempted by his own wife. She told him to
curse God and die (Job 2:9). His integrity as a believer
held up under this most difficult fire and he showed his love
for God. When you and I endure temptations and trials, we
also show our sincerity and love for the Lord. This can be a
bright and shining light to unbelievers in our lives and
testify to them about the saving power and grace of God.
We are also allowed to be tempted for the purpose of
ministering to other people. Paul referred to God as the
God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction, so
that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are com127
forted by God (2 Cor. 1:4). The trials and difficulties we

experience in life allow us to comfort others who go through
the same things. This is an amazing concept. God comforts
and protects us through the fires we experience for the
purpose that He might use us to comfort others. What a
gracious God we serve!
Another reason why God allows us to be tempted is to
keep us from being prideful. The apostle Paul experienced
this and wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 7:7. He said, So to
keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing
greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from
becoming conceited. Pride is the sin that brought down
Lucifer (Isa. 14:12-20) and has been separating men from
God ever since. Even the apostle Paul dealt with pride. Yet
he knew that this thorn actually helped him stay humble.
The Lord would rather allow His precious children to be
tempted and humbled than for them to become prideful
and wicked.
Finally, Scripture indicates that temptations and trials
should never disturb our joy because they produce fruit.
James wrote, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever
you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance (Jam. 1:2-3).
Peter also began his letter with this same sentiment due to
the trials that his audience was undergoing. He wrote,
These have come so that your faithof greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by firemay be
proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor
when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Pet. 1:7). Here, both
biblical authors encourage believers that God allows us to go
through temptations and trials because they will in fact
prove our faith genuine as they are the means by which God
128
grows us in holiness. Let us consider these reasons the next

time we are tempted.
In his commentary on James, John Calvin commented
on this topic and on the attitude which we should have
regarding this. He wrote,
We certainly dread diseases, and want, and exile, and
prison, and reproach, and death, because we regard them
as evils; but when we understand that they are turned
through Gods kindness unto helps and aids to our salvation, it is ingratitude to murmur, and not willingly to
submit to be thus paternally dealt with. 97
The Consequences of Falling

Every follower of Christ can remember times when they
were not watchful and ready for temptations and it led to
sin. Make no mistake, there are always consequences for our
sin because the Lord disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:910).
One consequence of sin in a believers life is the staining
of our witness to the unbelieving world. This is why when
the people of God fall into sin it is even more damaging
than when the unbeliever sins. Depending upon the nature
of the sin, it could take months or even years for people to
rebuild their witness. Many people supposedly do not come
to church because there are so many hypocrites. Though
this excuse will never hold water with God, the fact is that
our sins still fuel their unbelief. Unbelievers love to hear
97
John Calvin, Calvins Commentaries, Vol. 22. Commentary on James

(Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 2009), 280.
129
stories of fallen saints so that they may feel justified in not

going to church.
Secondly, when we sin it is also against our sonship, i.e.
our adoption. Remember that adoption is an act of Gods
free grace whereby He makes us members of His family.98
This happens at the same time as conversion and is a legal
action where God changes our status and declares us to be
His children. Therefore, when a Christian commits sin, it is
much different than from when an unbeliever does. The
unbeliever is not abusing the gracious privilege of being in
the family of God as we do when we sin.
As adopted children of God, it is a terrible thing when
we sin against our Lord for we are essentially trampling on
the immeasurable mercies that He has shown us in changing
us from slaves to sons (Gal. 4:7). We are commanded by
Paul not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you
were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). But this
is what we do every time we choose to break His most holy
commands.
Even for us, privileged believers, our sin should cause us
to recognize how wretched we really are. We need to face the
ominous truth that though we are saved by grace and
adopted into the family of God, we are still sinners. May we
cry out with heartache as the apostle Paul did, Wretched
man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of
death (Rom. 7:24)? This cry reflects brokenness over sin,
which is a consequence of falling. Christians in America,
generally speaking, are not particularly broken over their sin.
Apathy is not befitting of a Christian. Paul said that Jesus
died on the cross to redeem us from all lawlessness and to
purify for himself a people for his own possession who are
zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Christians ought to
98
We touched on the subject of adoption briefly in chapter 6.

130
have zeal to please God. When we sin there will be brokenness.

Not only is our witness stained when we sin, but we also
grieve the Holy Spirit and must endure the discipline of
God. The author of Hebrews discussed the discipline of God
toward the sinning Christian. We are told, Do not regard
lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives (Heb. 12:5-6).
God will take us to the woodshed and give us a spiritual
spanking when we deserve it. We are guaranteed to have
consequences for our sins because we are His children.
The book of Hebrews goes on to state, For the moment
all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have
been trained by it (Heb. 12:11). It is encouraging to know
that fruit can come from our lives when we are trained by
the Lords discipline. Let each one of us learn from our past
failures and be ever so thankful that we serve a merciful and
gracious God, who will use every temptation and sin to
accomplish our good and bring glory to His name (Rom.
8:28). This is His promise.
Thankfully, when a Christian does fall into sin, though
our relationship with God is shaken, it is not destroyed, for
there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Rom.
8:1). Praise the Lord that because Jesus Christ paid the
penalty for our sin, our legal standing before God does not
change (Rom. 5:1).
Conclusion
These last three petitions, give us each day our daily
bread, and forgive us our sins, and lead us not into
131
temptation all use plural pronouns us, and our. Why

did the Lord choose these words when teaching the disciples
how to pray? One whose heart has been changed by grace
will not pray solely for himself or herself, but will constantly
include other believers in prayer. Furthermore, being
delivered from evil is not enough unless we are also pursue
righteousness. As David said, turn away from evil and do
good (Psa. 34:14).
132
Chapter Thirteen: Additional

Components of Prayer
Thanksgiving
HERE ARE also other components of prayer that

were not explicitly referred to in the Lords Prayer.
Thanksgiving is one of them. Though the Lord Jesus did not
use thanksgiving in the Lords Prayer, He nevertheless
displayed a heart of thanksgiving throughout His ministry
and life.
He gave thanks to the Father when He multiplied the
five barley loaves and the two fish to feed more than five
thousand people (John 6:11). Jesus also gave thanks when
the Father revealed the truth about Him to some of His
followers (Matt. 11:25). He gave thanks to the Father prior
to the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41). There
is no doubt that thanksgiving was always a part of His prayer
life.
In Psalm 50, Asaph wrote, Offer to God a sacrifice of
thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High
(Psa. 50:14). One could even translate this make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God. The people in this Psalmists day
were becoming more ritualistic in their prayers and offerings
rather than being genuine. Therefore, under divine inspiration the Psalmist commanded the people to give thanks to
God.99
The Hebrew word for thanksgiving is hd'AT to-daw and is
also used later in this Psalm. In verse 23, Asaph, quotes
99
zaw-bakh is written in the qal imperative mood. Therefore, this is a

command.
133
God Himself speaking to the people and saying, The one

who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one
who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!
Here we see that an attitude of thanksgiving cures the
complacent heart and brings glory to God! Oh, that we
would be more of a thankful people for all God has done for
us.
Asaph was not the only one God used to command His
people to give thanks. The apostle Paul, in writing to the
Thessalonians, stated, give thanks in all circumstances; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes.
5:18). This was definitely connected to praying since Paul
issued this command immediately after he commanded
them to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17). Moreover,
Paul places the word all first in the sentence to emphasize
it. In all things we ought to give thanks! This is the will of
God in Christ for His church.
Believers are commanded to give thanks in all things evn
panti. euvcaristei/te (en panti eucharisteite) 100 Whether it is
easy times or difficult times, times of peace and serenity or
times of affliction and trouble give thanks to the Lord.
Someone once said, Thanksgiving is the wings that take our
prayers before the Father.
Thanksgiving is a component of prayer that is very
closely related to petition. A petition is when we call upon
God for something that is needed. Thanksgiving is when we
express our gratitude and appreciation for Gods mercies.
We see how petition and thanksgiving go hand in hand in
Psalm 30.
100
This verb is a 2nd person plural present active imperative from

euvcariste,w (eucharisteo) commanding all of us to be giving thanks.
134
Chapter Thirteen: Additional Components of Prayer
I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and

have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I
cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD,
you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored
me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing
praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to
his holy name. (Psa. 30:1-4)
David, speaking to God, remembers how he petitioned

Him, crying out for help (30:2). God heard Davids petition
and healed him from a near-death experience. What was
Davids immediate response? David said, Sing praises to the
LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name
(30:4). David was full of joy and gave thanks to the Lord for
His kindness in answering his request.
Thanksgiving should always be a part of our prayers.
Whenever we go before the Lord in prayer, we ought to give
thanks to Him for all His blessings in the past, in the
present, and for those with which He will bless us with in
the future.
In Nehemiahs day the people of Israel were re-settling
Jerusalem after a long period of exile. Mattaniah, the
worship leader of Israel, led the people in prayer with
thanksgiving (Neh. 11:17). There can be no doubt that he
gave thanks to God for answering their prayers and bringing
them back into the Promised Land.
The apostle Paul knew there was a connection between
the two and encouraged the Philippians to not be anxious
about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God
(Phil. 4:6). He asserted that thanksgiving must be a part of
our prayer life. In his letters, he repeatedly, wrote about
thanksgiving (Rom. 1:21; 14:6; 2 Cor. 1:11; 4:15; Eph. 5:20;
Col 3:15; 4:2, etc.).
135
Simply put, thanksgiving is a necessary part of effective

prayer. It accompanies all true prayer and springs up from
our souls as we petition the Lord. Both petition and thanksgiving reveal the heart of dependence upon God that all
believers must have.
Adoration
In addition to thanksgiving there is a component of
worship in prayer that is called adoration. Though the term
adoration is not found in the Scripture, the concept surely
is. To adore simply means to love and to express a deep
respect and homage to someone. When we apply this to the
most important person in the universe we are saying that
adoration is the bowing down or paying homage to God in
light of His majesty and glory.
God is the only being worthy of receiving this type of
adoration. In ancient times people would bow down and
kiss the hands of one who was receiving homage to. God, in
reference to His Messiah, declared in Psalm 2 that mankind
should Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the
way (Psa. 2:12). This submission and worship to the Son,
namely the Messiah Jesus, is an example of the practice of
adoration.101
King David, in 1 Chronicles 29:10-19, after receiving an
extraordinary offering for the temple gives a perfect example
of adoration in his prayer to God.
101
This passage demonstrating that worship rightfully belongs to the Son

is one among many which support the biblical doctrine of the deity of
Christ (see also Matt. 14:33; 21: 14-16 c.f. Psa. 8:2; Matt. 28:17; John
9:35; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:12; 19:10).
136
Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all

the assembly. And David said: Blessed are you, O
LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the
glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the
heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom,
O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both
riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In
your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to
make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank
you, our God, and praise your glorious name. (1 Chron.
29:10-13)
David acknowledged the greatness of God and how all

things come from Him, even the generous giving from the
people. Many times we forget that God uses secondary
sources to bless us. I might have worked forty hours this
week at my job, yet if it were not for Gods provision of a job
for me I would not have money for groceries and bills. It is
amazing how often we overlook His provision for us. As
David recognized Gods provision, he extolled God and
showed profound admiration for Him.
Another example of adoration is found in Psalm 104:12. Here, the Psalmist sings in adoration of the Sovereign
Lord of the universe. He says, Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with
honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a
garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
The Psalmist considered the glory of God in creation.
He began his praise to God with deep reverence and holy
awe. He acknowledged the greatness and majesty of God in
these verses, even commanding himself to bless the Lord.
As we can see, there is a magnification of God in adoration. This means that we focus on Him and His glorious
nature, as opposed to ourselves. If a person is to adore a
137
beautiful painting or beauty of any kind, he or she must

focus upon that object. This implies that they must take
their eyes and thoughts off themselves. Thus, when we give
adoration to God, we intensely admire Him and contemplate His greatness, focusing completely on the God whom
we love and worship.
Though all of life is worship, adoration in prayer is quite
possibly the highest type of worship to God. It is the expression of the souls realization that one is in the presence of
the Lord Himself.
The components of adoration and praise are often seen
together, as they were in Psalm 104, 1 Chronicles 29, and
many other instances. This is why many discuss these parts
of prayer together. Regarding this, B.M. Palmer writes:
In adoration we view God in himself, as revealed to us in
the glorious proportions of his own nature and being; in
praise we view him in the operation of his will, displayed
piece by piece in what he does.102
Daniels prayer is another great example of adoration.

After God revealed to him the mystery of King Nebuchadnezzars dream, Daniel blessed the God of heaven and began
his prayer saying, Blessed be the name of God forever and
ever, to whom belong wisdom and might (Dan. 2:20).
This prayer begins with adoration to God for two of His
most important attributes: wisdom and might. Daniel
viewed God in Himself, as the controller of all things.
Towards the end of the prayer he said, To you, O God
of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given
me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me
what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the
102

138
kings matter (Dan. 2:23). Daniel gave thanks to God for

answering his prayer, and he also praised God for giving him
wisdom and might.
Praise
Many in evangelical circles seem to forget that praise is a
form of prayer. We separate it from prayer in our speech as
we say such things as, it is time for praise and prayer. But
praise is a type of prayer. When we praise God we are
praying to Him. Praise springs forth from the delight of
knowing and contemplating the Lord.
The Psalms are filled with expressions of praise (Psalm
69:31; 102:19; 104:35; 150:6). As a matter of fact, the 150
Psalms are referred to as the Book of Praises cepher tehillim
in the Hebrew text. The whole purpose of the Psalms is that
regardless of the difficulties in life, we are to live joyfully and
glorify God.
In Psalm 22:22, David cannot contain himself and
states, I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst
of the congregation I will praise you. The Hebrew term for
I will praise you &'l<)l.h;a haw-lal-ak contains the root llh hawlal, which is used most often in the Psalms concerning the
God of Israel. The Lord God is the only being worthy to be
praised (2 Sam. 22:4; Psalm 65:1; 147:1).
Regarding the significance of the frequency of the plural
occurrences of llh haw-lal, The Theological Word Book of the
Old Testament declares:
This shows us, as does the use of the psalms in the worship that praise of Jehovah was especially, though by no
means uniquely (Psa. 146:1), congregational. This praise
could involve choirs and musical instruments, too. It
139
could be expressed in speaking (Jer. 31:7), singing (Psa.

69:30 [H 31]), and with dancing (Psa. 149:3). Such praise
was an essential element of formal public worship. It is
important to note the strong relationship between praise
and intellectual content. The entire creation both terrestrial (Psa. 148:1ff) and heavenly (Psa. 148:2) are summoned to praise God.103
Psalms 146-150 each begin and close with Praise the

LORD Hy" Wll.h; haw-lal-u-yaw. Praise is due to God simply
because He is the Creator (Psa. 148:5-6). All creation owes
Him praise, even the beasts of the field and the creatures of
the sea (Psa. 148:7-10). Let everything that has breath praise
the LORD! Praise the LORD (Psa. 150:6)!
No one is excluded from this grand universal privilege.
No place is improper for praising God, either, from the
heavens (148:1) and from the earth (148:7). The Psalmist
gave the reason why everything must praise the Lord as he
finished the Psalm in verses 13-14:
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name
alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his
saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise
the LORD! (Psa. 148:13-14)
The fact that the name of the Lord alone is exalted is

enough to praise Him. Yet, we are told that we ought to
praise Him because his majesty is above earth and heaven.
This is similar to what is said in Psalm 96:6 that splendor
and majesty are before him (Psa. 96:6). Furthermore, we are
103
L.J.C. Praise in The Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, ed.
R.L. Harris, G.L. Archer, and B.K. Waltke (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press,
1980), Logos Library System.
140
told to praise God because He has raised up a horn for his

people, that is He brought strength and prosperity to His
chosen people.
In The Treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon states:
He hath made them strong, famous, and victorious. His
goodness to all his creatures does not prevent his having a
special favour to his chosen nation: he is good to all, but
he is God to his people. He lifts up the down trodden,
but he in a peculiar manner lifts up his people. When
they are brought low he raises up a horn for them by
sending them a deliverer; when they are in conflict he
gives them courage and strength, so that they lift up their
horn amid the fray; and when all is peaceful around
them, he fills their horn with plenty, and they lift it up
with delight.104
Daniel praised Him, as we saw, because He gave Daniel

wisdom to understand and interpret the dream which would
save Daniels life. When Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a
throne, he heard the seraphim praising God (Isa. 6:1-13). In
verse 3 he wrote the content of the seraphims praise. They
called out to one another and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the
LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! The
holiness of God is another reason why we ought to praise
Him.
Praise should be given to the Lord because of His daily
preservation (Psa. 71:6-8) and because He pardons our sin
(Psa. 103:1-3). There are countless other reasons why we
ought to praise Him. He is worthy to be praised (2 Sam.
22:4). When the believer praises God, they are honoring
104
Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalm 96

http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps096.htm (accessed June 17, 2008).
141
Him with the fruit of their lips (Heb. 13:15), which is the
outward manifestation of the inward attitude of worship.
Intercession
Intercession is another key component of prayer. To
intercede is to bring specific requests or petitions before
God on behalf of someone else. As the great George Whitefield said, it is the imploring the divine grace and mercy in
behalf of others.105 It comes from the word e;nteuxij
(enteuxis) which means, falling in with, or a coming
together to visit, converse or for any other cause.
I find it interesting that although no explicit intercession
takes place in the Lords Prayer, it is almost implied through
the last three petitions. Jesus modeled for us saying, give us
each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins and lead
us not into temptation (Luke 11:3-4). Jesus uses the plural
pronouns, us, and our to show how we ought to include
other believers in our prayers. The heart that has been
changed by grace cannot only pray for himself or herself but
always includes other people. If we are to love our neighbors
as ourselves, we will pray for them.
The apostle Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, urged
Timothy and his church in Ephesus to intercede for others.
He wrote that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for all people (1 Tim. 2:1). According to Paul, believers ought to have a genuine concern for
other people. He was specifically speaking of praying for the
lost, which the Ephesian church apparently stopped doing.
105
George Whitefield, Intercession every Christians Duty

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.lvi.html (accessed June 17,
2008).
142
When we approach the throne of grace, we ought to pray

for all the saints (Eph. 6:18), including our overseers and
pastors. It is our pastors who watch over us and labor in the
Word of God to edify us and build us up in the faith. Paul
asked for prayer for himself on numerous occasions (Rom.
15:30; Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:3; 1 Thes. 5:25).
He went on to tell them to pray for kings and all who
are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet
life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Tim. 2:2). Even
though the kings and people in high positions at that time
were enemies of the gospel, Paul urged believers to pray for
them, for their salvation, and for them to protect people
from wickedness and corruption. This is how we should pray
as well.
After all the bad advice and bad theology Jobs friends
gave Job, God would withhold His wrath against them
because of Jobs intercession. In Job 42:8 God told them:
Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to
my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your
folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my
servant Job has.
Intercessory prayer is demonstrated by many of the

prophets, from Abraham who interceded for Sodom and
Gomorrah (Gen. 18:23-32) to Nehemiah who interceded for
the people of Israel (Neh. 1:4-11). Moses was an excellent
example of an intercessor as he pleaded to the Lord for the
people of Israel on many occasions (Ex. 8:12; 32:14; 33:1216).
Samuel recognized the importance of interceding for
Gods people and even said, Moreover, as for me, far be it
143
from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to

pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the
right way (1 Sam. 12:23). He promised the people of Israel
that he would constantly being praying for them. To not
pray for Gods people would be a sin against the Lord,
Samuel says.
The Lord Jesus, our Great High Priest, is the perfect
example of an intercessor (Isa. 53:12). We saw in chapter
five how Jesus is our Mediator and great High Priest. He
interceded for the apostles and all believers that night before
He was crucified (John 17:9-24). The author of the Epistle to
the Hebrews wrote that Jesus:
is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to
God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25).
This is an amazing passage that speaks of the current

ministry of Jesus for us. He is our intercessor. The verb to
intercede is evntugca,nein (entugchanein). It is a present
active infinitive from evntugca,nw (entugchano) meaning to
approach, appeal, or plead. This gives us the picture of the
Lord Jesus pleading our case to the Father. He is presently
petitioning the Father on our behalf. This should bring us
tremendous confidence and encouragement.
The apostle Paul also declared that Jesus is at the right
hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us (Rom.
8:34).106 As mentioned before, we also see Jesus interceding
before His resurrection, when He prayed for Peter that his
faith may not fail (Luke 22:32).
106
The same word is used of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:27 stating that
the Spirit intercedes for the saints evntugca,nei u`pe.r a`gi,wn (entugchanei huper hagion).
144
The apostle Paul was a great man of prayer. In many of

his letters we read of him thanking God and praying for the
people in these churches (1 Cor. 1:4; Eph 1:15-16; Phil. 1:3;
Col. 1:3; 1 Thes. 1:2; 2 Thes. 1:3). In his letter to the
Colossians (people he had never even met) Paul prayed a
beautiful prayer of intercession for them. This, along with
John 17, is truly one of the great intercessory prayers of the
Scripture.
I think it is important to briefly glance at the content.
Many times we have prayed for others and have quite
possibly not prayed effectively or correctly for them. Paul
wrote in Colossians 1:9-14:
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to
pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the
knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be
strengthened with all power, according to his glorious
might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving
thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from
the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
Paul did not pray for the saints in Colossae to become

wealthy. He prayed that these believers would be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, i.e. that they would know God more fully. Paul
prayed for them to be intelligent believers who would apply
the Word of God into their lives for the purpose of walking
in a manner that was worthy of the Lord.
145
He also prayed that these believers lives would be

characterized by good works. He wrote that they would be
bearing fruit in every good work. Finally, Paul prayed that
they would be strengthened will all power against the
temptations of the enemy. What a great example of an
intercessory prayer we have here.107
In many of the cases of intercession in Scripture, we see
godly individuals praying specifically for those who have
wronged them (2 Tim. 4:16), those who persecute them
(Matt. 5:44), and even those who rebel against the Lord
(Num. 14:13-19). Yet, we are also encouraged to intercede
for the sick (Jam. 5:14), for our country (Rom. 10:1), and for
other believers (Eph. 1:16; Col. 1:9; Phil 1:4). The believer
who engages in true prayer will not neglect to pray for
others. This is the essence of intercession.
107
In his book, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, D.A. Carson investigates

the letters of Paul to see what Paul taught regarding prayer.
146
Part Three: Additional

Thoughts on Prayer
147
Chapter Fourteen: The

Importance of Prayer
The Command to Pray
S WE have seen thus far in our study, prayer is

vitally important. It is our sole way to communicate
and have communion with our heavenly Father. Yet, the
first reason why we ought to pray is simply because we are
commanded to do so (Col. 4:2; Phil. 4:6; Matt. 26:41; Eph.
6:18). It is part of the revealed will of God for us. As we saw
in the last chapter, the apostle Paul urged Timothy and his
church to pray for all types of people (1 Tim. 2:1).
Jesus gave a radical command in His famous Sermon on
the Mount discourse. He said, But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44).
Both the word love avgapa/te (agapate) and the word
pray proseu,cesqe (proseuchesthe) are in the imperative
mood, meaning that they are commands. We, as followers of
Christ are commanded not only to love our enemies but also
to pray for those who persecute us. Now, if we are commanded to pray for our enemies, how much more ought we
pray for each other and for ourselves?
In the book of Isaiah we read, Seek the LORD while he
may be found; call upon him while he is near (Isa. 55:6).
The word seek Wvr>D dih-rush-u comes from the verb vrd
daw-rash which is also in the imperative. So here a command
is given to everyone willing to come that they must seek and
pray to Yahweh. This passage also suggests that there will be
a time when people will not be able to pray because He will
not be near.
149
Furthermore, Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 7:7,

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you Ask Aivtei/te (aiteite),
seek zhtei/te (zeteite), and knock krou,ete (krouete) are
all second person plural present active imperatives. This
means that each verb is commanding the believer to pray.
But there is much more entailed in this command.
The believer is to perform this act of praying presently
and continuously. This is not just a one time prayer. Jesus is
instructing believers to keep asking and it will be given to
you; keep seeking and you will find; keep knocking and it
will be opened to you. This persistence in coming before
God in prayer is what Jesus is emphasizing. We must not
only pray, but be persistent in our prayers.
The apostle Paul exhorted the believers in Colossae to
continue steadfastly in prayer Th/| proseuch/| proskarterei/te (te proseuche proskartereite)108 (Col. 4:2). He emphasizes the word prayer here. One might be able to translate
this, Pray! Continue in it steadfastly! Of the ten times this
word continue steadfastly proskarterei/te (proskartereite)
is recorded in Scripture, five of them are used in the context
of prayer. It must be a continual act.
In Acts 1:14, before Pentecost, the disciples with one
accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
This would be the benchmark of the early church. Even as
they grew, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching
and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers
(Acts 2:42).
The apostles declared in Acts 6:4 we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. This was
108
This word is a 2nd person plural present active imperative form of

proskartere,w (proskartereo) again signifying a command.
150
Chapter Fourteen: The Importance of Prayer
essential for the proper growth of the church. Paul encouraged the Roman believers to rejoice in hope, be patient in
tribulation, be constant in prayer (Rom. 12:12). The apostle
Paul also encouraged the saints in his letter to the Ephesians
to pray with all perseverance. If you look closely at the
word perseverance proskarterh,sei (proskarteresei) you will
notice that it is similar to the word used in the previous
verses.
All of these passages clearly declare that Christians ought
to pray regularly and persistently. The Psalmist declared to
God, seven times a day I praise you for your righteous
rules (Psa. 119:164). Daniel set aside three times a day to
pray (Dan. 6:10). He was so committed to prayer that he
would not break his routine even upon the threat of death
in the lions den.
We already noted in chapter four that prayer marked the
devotional life of Jesus and His ministry. He immersed
Himself in prayer, having regular intimate fellowship with
the Father. If Jesus, as the incarnate Son of God, saw the
importance of prayer, how much more should we?
The Fellowship from Prayer

It is the Lords will that we spend time in prayer with
Him. It is stated, The prayer of the upright is acceptable to
him (Prov. 15:8). The word acceptable is !Acr' raw-tsone
and can also be translated delight, or pleasure. Our
prayers are a delight to the Lord. Isnt this wonderful? We
do not burden Him when we pray. He simply loves it when
we come before Him in prayer. It is a pleasure to the Sovereign Creator of the universe when we come into His presence for prayer.
151
There is fellowship taking place between us and God

when we pray. As a matter of fact, our relationship with God
began by a sovereign act of His grace and our first response
to it was prayer. Every saint who has ever lived and will ever
live begins their relationship with the Lord as they call out to
Him, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and asking for the
forgiveness of sins. A prayer of repentance and submission
to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior is the first act of fellowship
a believer takes. As a newborn baby opens his eyes or cries
out as he enters life, so a person born of God immediately
calls out to Him in repentance and faith. Each person must
speak to God and pray by himself.
This is why prayer is so necessary for the believer. It is
how our fellowship begins and how it continues. The
intensity and rate at which a person prays is sure to tell us
how close his or her relationship is to the Lord. As a believers prayer life deepens so does their personal spiritual
growth, for prayer brings us into closer fellowship with God.
This is true because, as D.G. Bloesch stated, It is the
sharing with God our needs and desires so that we might be
more fully conformed to his ultimate will and purpose.109
When we spend time in prayer we have fellowship with
God and this is a means He uses to conform us to the image
of His Son. Paul wrote in Romans, For those whom he
foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image
of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers (Rom. 8:29). Gods plan is that we would
become like Jesus. This is what He destined for us before
time began (Eph. 1:4-11). This is the goal that Paul was
talking about when he wrote, I press on toward the goal for
the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil.
109
D.G. Bloesch, Prayer in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A.

Elwell (Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker, 2001), 947.
152
3:14). Prayer is a time of fellowship with God. It is one of

the ways that God conforms us into the image of His Son.
A Deepening of Trust
What naturally follows from the quality of a persons
prayer life is a deeper trust in the God who answers prayer.
The apostle Paul, in writing to the Philippians, encouraged
believers in such a way, stating:
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. (Phil. 4:6-7)
As we can see from this passage prayer benefits us. First,

Paul stated negatively that we should not be anxious about
anything. Then he positively told us how to avoid anxiety
and worry by prayer. The results of prayer are the peace of
God and of Christ in our hearts. In other words, a sense of
serenity and calmness which comes from God will keep us in
a state of enjoying God no matter what our difficulty. This
peace He gives us, which guards our hearts and minds as a
soldier would stand guard, strengthens our trust in Him.
Isaiah mentioned how trusting in the Lord brings peace
to the person. He sang to the Lord, You keep him in
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts
in you (Isa. 26:3). Prayer is weakness going to infinite
strength for help. This naturally deepens our trust in God.
In Psalm 116:1-2, the Psalmist sang, I love the LORD,
because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on
him as long as I live.
153
We can trust in our God. He inclines His ear to us when

we call. He has promised to deliver us in times of trouble.
The Lord said, Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will
deliver you, and you shall glorify me (Psa. 50:15). Every
believer can share a wonderful time of how the Lord has
answered his or her prayer in a crucial time.
Just recently I think I was swindled by a mechanic. I
should have taken auto-shop in high school. When I told my
wife about how much money I spent on getting the truck
fixed, I knew it was a recipe for disaster. Due to the fact that
I do not work in the summer, since I am a school teacher,
money is tight. But I knew that God was in control and we
could trust Him because He has gotten us out of worse
situations.
Praise God, within a week, we received two long awaited
checks for close to the amount we spent at the shop. The
Lord is faithful and will deliver us when we call on Him. He
is glad to pour out His peace upon His children. Let us
depend on Him and trust Him more.
Gods Sovereignty and Prayer

The question naturally arises that if God is sovereign
and knows the end from the beginning, how can our prayers
make any difference? It is true that prayer is definitely not to
inform God, for He knows all things (Psa. 139:1-6; Acts
15:18; Heb. 4:13). So why should we pray if God knows all
things? How does our prayer line up with Gods sovereignty?
We have already seen that we are commanded to pray.
God has commanded us to pray without ceasing (1 Thes.
5:17). The apostle Paul wrote that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for
kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a
peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
154
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our

Savior (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Therefore, there is value and meaning
in prayer.
James told us this when he wrote, The prayer of a
righteous person has great power as it is working (James
5:16). John also describes a type of prayer that brings an
effect, this is the confidence that we have toward him, that
if we ask anything according to this will he hears us (1 John
5:14). Thus, we are commanded to pray and our prayers can
and do accomplish things. But do they change things?
We have often heard the phrase or saw the sign, Prayer
changes things. Is this true? To say, Prayer changes things
is to forget who is in control over all things. God is sovereign
and is in complete control of all things. This is clear and
irrefutable from the Scripture. His Word always comes to
pass. It is written in Numbers 23:19, God is not man, that
he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his
mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken,
and will he not fulfill it?
The popular idea that mans destiny is in his own hands
and prayer can change the plans and purposes of God is
simply not found in the Bible. At one point in her prayer,
Hannah warned those who are prideful saying, The LORD
kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises
up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low
and he exalts (1 Sam. 2:6-7).
We can definitely agree that everything that takes place
in life occurs by the will of God. This is explicitly declared in
John 1:13, where John states that the new birth is a result,
not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of
man, but of God. Daniel stated that God does according
to his will (Dan. 4:35). The Lord declared, I am God, and
there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done, saying My
155
counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose

(Isa. 46:9-10).
Therefore, prayer cannot be to change the purposes and
plans of God. We must conclude that our prayers are simply
a means that God has appointed, not to change His purposes, but to accomplish His purposes. It is the Lord who
changes things, not prayer. As we spend more and more
time in prayer, the Lord changes our wills to conform to His
unchangeable will.110
He is sovereign, unchangeable, and omniscient (Matt.
6:8). His will cannot be altered. The Lord specifically told
Jeremiah at one point that there was no use praying for
Israel because judgment was coming. In Jeremiah 15:1 he
documented this, Then the LORD said to me, Though
Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not
turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let
them go! There are many other examples where God
declared that prayer would not change anything (Deut. 3:26;
Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11; Ex. 32:10; Jer. 11:11-12; Hos. 5:6; 1
John 5:16).
In one way, we can say that prayer is really for our sake.
For example, God declared to Jeremiah that He had plans
for peace and not for evil, to give Israel a future and a hope
(Jer. 29:11). However, it was in the next few verses that God
told Jeremiah the means by which it would be accomplished:
110
There are some who believe that God does change His mind. This
baffles me to know that there are Christians out there who believe this
and actually try to prove it from the Bible. One instance they appeal to is
when Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:22-33).
Yet, this is simply not a valid example. Abraham might have negotiated
with God, but the judgment that was to come was inevitable. God still
destroyed those cities as He intended beforehand.
156
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,
and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when
you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,
declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and
gather you from all the nations and all the places where I
have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you
back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (Jer.
29:12-14)
Gods will is immutable, and nothing was going to

change His plans. The Lord accomplished His will and
brought about His purpose through the meaningful act of
His peoples prayers. In the same way God ordained the
preaching of the Gospel to be the means of converting
people (Rom. 10:14), He has also ordained prayer as one of
the means for bringing about His purposes.111 This gives us
hope and encouragement. When we present our requests
before God in the right manner He hears us.
In the Name of Jesus

There are many people in Christian circles who come to
God in prayer and basically demand from Him certain
things. Some people do this and even use the phrase, in the
name of Jesus to assert more authority. Why do they do
this? What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus or
in Jesus name? Many Christians tag in the name of
Jesus after every prayer and do not know what it means. It
111
Prayer is one of the means by which God accomplishes His will. We

must be careful to say that it is the only means, for this is untrue. God
does many things for unbelievers and believers regardless of their
prayers. He created the world and sustains it regardless of prayer. He
saves people regardless of prayer.
157
is simply a tradition for them. For many years that is all it

was for me as well.
First, to demand anything from God is far from being
humble and really brings dishonor to Him. When Jesus said,
Ask, and it will be given to you, He did not mean that if
we dictate to Him it will be given (Matt. 7:7). God is not our
servant. He is not our errand boy who sits around waiting
for us to call to Him to do something.
Yet, many believers have been taught that God has
promised us whatever we want and all we need to do is ask
or speak it. This unbiblical teaching that has damaged
believers and painted an incorrect view of God is known as
Positive Confession or Name it Claim it. These people
believe that Scripture gives warrant to claim health, wealth,
and salvation for anyone they choose, and it will be done.
They expect God to give them what they have asked.
They argue along these lines: The apostle John stated, If
we ask anything according to his will he hears us (1 John
5:14). James, the Lords half-brother, tells us to pray over the
sick, anointing them with oil, and the prayer of faith will
save the sick (Jam. 5:14-15). Jesus said, Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours (Mark 11:24). And again He said,
Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in
my name, he will give it to you (John 16:23).
They abuse the above passages by ripping them from the
rest of Scripture. There are plenty of passages, many of
which we have reviewed in this book that set conditions for
us when we pray. James also required us to have faith (James
1:6-8). He told us not be greedy in our prayers (James 4:3).
John told us that we must be obedient to the will of God (1
John 3:22), and we must ask according to His will and not
our own. Those people who hold to this aberrant view of
158
prayer clearly misunderstand the sovereignty of God and the

nature of true prayer.
James and John approached Jesus once with this type of
prideful attitude. They said to Him, Teacher, we want you
to do for us whatever we ask of you (Mark 10:35). They
wanted to sit at the Lords right and left hand in glory. Jesus
gently rebuked them and said, to sit at my right hand or at
my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it
has been prepared (Mark 10:40). Their prayer was very
selfish and upset the other disciples (Mark 10:41). Jesus
would not grant that prayer because it was greedy and did
not line up with the secret sovereign will of God.
In light of the biblical teaching on prayer, we know that
prayer is coming to God in submission and dependence. It is
a real communion and communication with the True God.
There is an attitude of worship and humility that is present
in every person engaged in true prayer. The Positive Confession teaching does not display an attitude of humility.
There are no passages in Scripture that teach that God has
given men the ability to dictate to Him as they please.
Moreover, in the name of Jesus is not a formula for
results.112 Many people who pray like this do not understand
that to pray in the name of Jesus is to pray in the authority
of and consistent with the person of Jesus Christ.113 To ask
in the name of Jesus is to set aside our own will and to
accept His will. Therefore, whatever we ask in His name
will be done if it is consistent with His person and will.
112
It is interesting that there are no prayers recorded in Scripture that

add in Jesus name or in the name of Jesus. However, it is not wrong
to pray this way.
113
We treated the idea of the name of God and the first century Hebrew
understanding of name in chapter seven.
159
True prayer is the exact opposite of dictating and

expecting God to act according to our will. Because of the
clear nature of dependence upon God in prayer, the believer
echoes his Lord in saying, not my will, but yours, be done
(Luke 22:42).114 Whenever the believer prays in faith with an
obedient heart, according to the will and purpose of God,
which is in Jesus name, it will be answered.
Unanswered Prayers
With regard to this topic of unanswered prayers Arthur
Pink wrote the following:
Prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need (or the
need of others), committing my way unto the Lord, and
then leaving Him to deal with the case as seemeth Him
best. This leaves God to answer the prayer in whatever
way He sees fit, and often, His answer may be the very
opposite of what would be most acceptable to the flesh;
yet, if we have really LEFT our need in his hands, it will
be his answer, nevertheless.115
According to Pink, God always answers His childrens

prayers when we come to Him in the proper manner. Some
people have said that God gives any one of three answers to
prayer: yes, no, and wait. Gods answer to our prayers can be
whatever He sees fit. This is where we really have issues. We
want things and we want them quickly. If we do not get what
114
Many Word of Faith teachers actually believe that to pray not my

will, but yours, be done is to have no faith. Benny Hinn wrote, Never,
ever, ever go the Lord and say, 'If it be thy will....' Don't allow such faithdestroying words to be spoken from your mouth (Rise and Be Healed!
1991, p.47-48).
115
Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 174.
160
we want, then we blame God. This is how many of us have

been taught to act. But we must remember that God does
not work according to our timetable. Many times, the Lord
delays the answer to our prayers for His own purposes.
Daniel was in mourning and prayed for three straight
weeks to gain understanding about the vision he was given
concerning Israel (Dan. 9:21-27). Then he had a vision in
which an angel told him From the first day that you set
your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your
God, your words have been heard (Dan. 10:12). God heard
Daniels prayer the first day he began to pray. But it took
twenty-one days for the answer to arrive. Why did it take so
long?
The angel explained the reason for the delay saying,
The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twentyone days (Dan. 10:13). There was spiritual warfare taking
place in the angelic realm. Whether the reason for the delay
was solely to illustrate the great truth of spiritual warfare or
to motivate Daniel to continue being persistent in his
prayers we do not know. Perhaps both possibilities are
correct.
The fact is that God will delay the answer to our prayers
many times because He has another purpose in mind, or He
is quite possibly working behind the scenes to bring about
the answer. Let us respond like Daniel in those times and
continue to earnestly seek the Lord in prayer regardless of
what is happening in our lives.
In Revelation 6, the saints at the throne of God cry out
pleading to God for justice, O Sovereign Lord, holy and
true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood
on those who dwell on the earth? (Rev. 6:10). The answer
that the Lord gives is to rest a little longer (Rev. 6:11). The
Lord calls for them to be patient. As we continue to present
our requests before God, we must also be patient.
161
Sometimes God will just flat out deny our prayers. Why
does He do this? Before we answer that question, I think we
ought to step back for a second and ask a more important
question. Why should God answer any of our prayers at all?
Oh saints, before we approach His throne of grace in prayer,
we need to remind ourselves who God is and who we are.
The fact that God would allow us to pray at all is a free gift
of His grace in which we ought to rejoice and be exceedingly
thankful.
We have already noted that unconfessed sin can be a
major barrier to our prayer lives and it may even be the
reason why God denies our prayer (Psalm 32:1-2; 66:18). In
addition, we must be reminded of what the Lord Jesus said
in Matthew 5:23-24, So if you are offering your gift at the
altar and there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer
your gift.
Jesus is clearly stating that if there is any type of issue
between a person and yourself, you must strive to be reconciled with that person. We have to make some legitimate,
worthy attempts to make things right with that person. At
one point in my life, I was having a major issue with another
brother. I thought to myself, I called him once, and he did
not call me back, so I have made an attempt to reconcile
with him. I tried to justify my reasons for not trying to work
out this issue. But I soon realized that I had not fully
attempted to work it out. Shortly after that, I made contact
with this brother, and everything ended up working out to
the glory of God.
If we neglect to strive for reconciliation with people,
then our offering is simply unacceptable to God. Therefore,
this means that when we are fighting with our spouses on
the way to church, we need to humble ourselves and make
162
things right before we offer our worship to God. Bitterness,

resentment, and unforgiveness toward anyone could be that
reason why God has denied our prayer.
Before we move on to the next point, we should look a
little closer at the words of our Lord. He did not say to go be
reconciled if you have something against your brother, but if
your brother has something against you (Matt. 5:23).
People of God, if there is someone in your fellowship who
has an issue with you, even if you are not at fault, humble
yourself and seek to show them the love of Christ. These
types of issues hinder our prayer lives.
There is a teaching that states that if we do not receive
what we ask of God, it is due to a lack of faith. This is closely
related to the dangerous and misleading Name it Claim
it doctrine already mentioned. This is a very disturbing
teaching. I have counseled people who thought that God
had forsaken them because they did not have enough money
to pay their water or electric bill. These people were not
walking in rebellion to God. Yet, because of this teaching,
and the insistence of a pastor, they were shamed and treated
wrongfully.
The Psalmist made a profound observation when he
wrote, For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD
bestows favor and honor; No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly (Psa. 84:11). This is a
wonderful passage that extols the Lord and gives us some
understanding of prayer.
According to the Psalmist, if God withholds anything
from us, it is because either it is not good for us at this
particular time or because we are not walking uprightly.
Again, we see the absolute trust and dependence upon our
Heavenly Father, to whom we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28 NKJV).
163
The apostle Paul, who was an extraordinary man of faith,

called out to the Lord three times for the thorn in his flesh
to be removed. The Lord did not remove it but said, My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul received not his will, but
Gods will, therefore this prayer was denied. Moreover, there
was something good that came out of it Gods grace to
tolerate the difficulty in Pauls life.
During those times when it appears that we are not
receiving the things we need we must first look at our
relationship with God and identify any sin in our lives. If
there is, we must confess that sin before the Lord (and
before any other person, if needed). Then we must submit to
the Lord, trust in Him, be patient, and know that He is
sovereign and in full control of everything. If He chooses to
grant that request, it is only in His good grace and not due
to anything in us. If He does not grant the request, then we
must thank Him and praise Him for being our loving
Heavenly Father and always having our good interest in
mind.
King David provides a tremendous example of how we
ought to respond when God declines to grant our requests.
He was known as a man after Gods own heart (1 Sam.
13:14). Yet, he fell into horrible sin when he committed
adultery and murder. The prophet Nathan had told David
that because of his sin, the child who is born to you shall
die (2 Sam. 12:14). David responded by seeking God on
behalf of the child, fasting and weeping for an entire week.
He thought, Who knows whether the LORD will be
gracious to me, that the child may live (2 Sam. 12:22).
When he found out the child was dead he did something amazing. The text says, Then David arose from the
earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his
clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and
164
worshiped (2 Sam. 12:20). The Lord answered Davids

prayer with No. David humbled himself and earnestly
prayed for an entire week, but his child still died. David
responded with worship. This is a remarkable passage that
should speak to each one of us today. How do we respond
when God says, No to our requests? Oh, let us be like
David and have a heart of worship toward our God regardless of our circumstances.
165
167
Chapter Fifteen: The Manner

of Prayer
Lifting up the Hands and Eyes
NE OF the most common forms of prayer in our

culture has been to close our eyes and fold our
hands. This is not an incorrect way to pray. Nevertheless, it
should be noted that this posture is not found in the Bible.
How did people pray in biblical times?
In the Psalms, we see David make known that the lifting
of the hands is an acceptable way to show the attitude of the
heart in prayer (Exo. 9:33; Psa. 28:2; 134:2). He sang to the
Lord in Psalm 63:4: So I will bless you as long as I live; in
your name I will lift up my hands. Moreover, we also see the
lifting up of the eyes in prayer. In the face of destruction
and judgment, Jeremiah said to the people in Jerusalem,
Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children
(Lam. 2:19). He called for them to repent and said, let us
lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven (Lam. 3:41).
In Psalm 121:1, the Psalmist says, I lift up my eyes to
the hills. From where does my help come? Again in Psalm
123:1 we read, To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are
enthroned in the heavens! The Lord Jesus in His High
Priestly prayer also lifted up his eyes to heaven (John 17:1).
When we lift up our hands and eyes to the heavens and
pray, we are focusing our attention to God who has His
throne in heaven.
169
Standing
Besides lifting up our hands or bowing down in prayer
the Bible also records people standing in prayer (1 Sam.
1:26; Matt. 6:5). When Jesus taught the disciples a lesson
from the fig tree, He said, And whenever you stand praying,
forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your
Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. So Jesus pointed out that standing was a regular and
acceptable posture for praying.
Lukes Gospel contrasts the tax collector was contrasted
with the Pharisee who was standing by himself and praying
(Luke 18:11). At the dedication of the Temple, King Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of
all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward
heaven (1 Kings 8:22).
Kneeling
There is also the posture of kneeling during prayer. This
was practiced in Old Testament times to demonstrate
humility before the Lord (Ezra 9:5; Dan. 6:10). In 1 Kings
8:54, it is written that after praying, King Solomon arose
from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with
hands outstretched toward heaven. This practice continued
in the New Testament. In Acts 9:40, the apostle Peter knelt
down and prayed for Tabitha, who had just died. God used
this prayer as a means to restore Tabitha to life. Paul also
knelt down and prayed on many occasions (Acts 20:36;
21:5).
170
Chapter Fifteen: The Manner of Prayer
Bowing of the Head

Another acceptable posture for prayer was demonstrated
by the tax collector who bowed his head in reverence before
God. In telling the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax
Collector, Jesus stated, the tax collector, standing far off,
would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (Luke 18.13).
Bowing Facedown
Finally, there is the posture of bowing facedown to the
ground (Neh. 8:6). Joshua was one who prostrated himself
before the Lord. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to
the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the
evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on
their heads (Josh. 7:6).
When he went up to Mount Carmel, Elijah also bowed
himself down on the earth and put his face between his
knees (1 Kings 18:42). We also read in Psalm 95:6, Oh
come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the
LORD, our Maker.
Public Prayer
Public prayer is also known as corporate prayer. An
example of public prayer is found in Acts 4:24. When Peter
and John were released from prison, They lifted their voices
together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the
heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them
Did Peter, John, and the other disciples say this prayer at the
same time together? No. Only one of the disciples actually
171
prayed out loud. Yet, since the other disciples were in

agreement with him, this prayer emanated from them all.
Moreover, the person praying did not use singular pronouns
since it was a public prayer (Acts 4:29).116
It is important to recognize that when one prays publicly
he or she ought to use plural pronouns such as we and
our, since that person is leading others into prayer. In
addition, one should not pray personal prayer and private
devotions during public corporate prayer. Jesus pointed out
that the hypocritical Pharisees did this in the synagogues
(Matt. 6:5). Whether one is doing it with the same motive as
the Pharisees or not, it is definitely in bad taste.
In light of this, we ought to discuss certain abnormal
practices in prayer. John Calvin said, If we desire to imitate
Christ, we must take care that our outward gestures do not
express more than is in our mind, but that inward feeling
shall direct the eyes, the hands, the tongue, and everything
about us.117 Some people raise their voices during prayer.
They could have learned this from television or from
another person. Yet, they raise their voices as if that was the
power in praying.
There are people who change their voice from twentyfirst century American street slang to sixteenth century King
James English when they pray. I have been in prayer circles
where somebody prayed like this and I was caught off guard.
Whenever I hear voice switching I immediately wonder if
their piety is sincere.
Other people who pray in public might use a certain
word or expression throughout their prayer. Whether they
realize it or not, they are using the word way too much and
it is not even needed. Many times we are not aware that we
116
117
He says, Your servants plural proving this was a corporate prayer.

Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John 10:31 21:25, 172.
172
are doing such things until someone tells us. At a church I

used to attend, there was a sister who said, Father God
after every couple of words. Even after addressing the Lord
Jesus she would say, Father God.
Then, one day, I asked her very gently if she believed
that Jesus is the Father. She replied, No! Why would you
ask me that? She knew that to believe Jesus is the Father is
to deny the biblical teaching of the Trinity. I told her that
when I heard her pray she would use Father God after
speaking to Jesus. She was unaware that she did this and
from that moment she became much more aware of this
fact. Again, it is very important to be loving and sensitive
when letting someone know that they do such a thing.
On the other hand, there are people who are way too
informal in their prayers. Praying is conversation. However,
Jesus is not our homeboy or co-pilot. He is our Creator
and King, to whom we must submit and for whom we must
have reverence. We need to consider every word we say
before we say it.
Some people do not do this. They just ramble. Rambling
is definitely inappropriate for public prayer. It is easy for
people to get distracted and lose their focus when people
ramble. I have been mentally distracted numerous times due
to this. This can also happen when people repeat other
peoples prayers that were already offered up to the Lord.
These issues often cease with instruction on prayer. As noted
above, when another person prays for something if we are in
agreement with them, we are praying for that very thing.
Furthermore, it can be very difficult to focus on the Lord
when people preach sermons during prayer. Prayer is not the
place to preach a sermon; we are approaching the Lord and
speaking to Him. The length of our public prayers ought to
be taken into consideration as well. We should always keep
in mind that Jesus public prayers were much shorter than
173
His private prayers. In public Jesus never enlarged His

prayers without cause. In private, He often prayed all night.
D. L. Moody, the great American evangelist of the
nineteenth century, discussed this issue as well. He wrote,
My experience is that those who pray most in their closets
generally make short prayers in public. Long prayers are too
often not prayers at all, and they weary the people.118 It is
said that at one of Moodys crusades, a man led in prayer
and prayed on and on. Finally, Moody got up and, somewhat irritated, said, While our brother finishes his prayer,
lets have a song!119
It is not that lengthy public prayers are sinful. The length
of the prayer is not what God takes notice of, but the
intensity and significance. Regarding long public prayers,
John Newton, the great hymn writer of the eighteenth
century, wrote, There are, doubtless, seasons when the Lord
is pleased to favour those who pray with a peculiar liberty:
they speak because they feel; they have a wrestling spirit and
hardly know how to leave off.120
Nevertheless, in summary, it should be said that anything that brings the focus upon ourselves or takes away the
focus from God is sure hypocrisy. We must do all we can to
avoid such things.
Now there were regular times of corporate prayer in the
New Testament, as was accustomed in the synagogues and at
118
D.L. Moody, Prevailing Prayer: What Hinders it? (Chicago, IL.: F.H.
Revell, 148 and 150 Madison St., 1884), 13.
119
This story is documented in Harold Salas Touching God: 52 Guidelines
for Personal Prayer (Camp Hill, PA.: Christian Publications, Inc. 2000),
63.
120
John Newton, On Public Prayer
http://www.puritansermons.com/newton/newton4.htm (accessed May
12, 2008).
174
the temple (Luke 1:10; Acts 3:1).121 The Gospel writers

record that Jesus attended times of corporate prayer as well
(Matt. 12:9; Luke 4:16). Luke wrote that the event which led
to Paul and Silas imprisonment in Philippi was as we were
going to the place of prayer (Acts 16:16). This was referencing a regular time of corporate prayer.
It is evident that public prayer was intricately linked with
public worship, and believer participation was considered
essential. The author of Hebrews expresses this concept
when he wrote, And let us consider how to stir up one
another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near
(Heb. 10:24-25). The Psalmist, in Psalm 95:6, also called the
people to public prayer, Oh come, let us worship and bow
down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus made some
interesting statements regarding prayer and the manner
thereof. He said:
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. (Matt. 6:5-8)
121
According to Psalm 55:17 there were three daily times for prayer:
9:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm.
175
Jesus, while warning His disciples, condemned the

scribes and Pharisees who were known for seeking praise
from people with their grandiose prayers (Matt. 6:5). Their
intention was not to pour their hearts out to God in intimate prayer, but to be seen by others and honored by
others.
Additionally, Jesus pointed to the wordy prayers of the
pagan Gentiles (Matt. 6:7).122 Pagans were known for loud
repetitive prayers which got longer and louder as they went
on. Jesus used the verb battalogh,shte (battalogesete)123
which means to stammer or to repeat the same things
over and over. Youngs Literal Translation translates this word
as vain repetitions.
Immediately this brings to mind the vain repetitions of
the Roman Catholic Church in praying the Rosary.124 The
great commentator Matthew Henry also had this in his mind
when he wrote:
But the superstitious rehearsing of a tale of words, without regard to the sense of them, as the papists saying by
their beads so many Ave-Marys and Paternosters; or the
barren and dry going over of the same things again and
again, merely to drill out the prayer to such a length, and
to make a show of affection when really there is none;
these are the vain repetitions here condemned. When we
122
Though not here, but in Mark 12:40 Jesus condemns the scribes who
for a pretense make long prayers.
123
This word is a second person plural aorist active subjunctive from the
word battaloge,w (battalogeo)
124
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Rosary is a certain form of
prayer wherein we say fifteen decades or tens of Hail Marys with an Our
Father between each ten, while at each of these fifteen decades we recall
successively in pious meditation one of the mysteries of our Redemption. www.newadvent.org/cathen/13184b.htm. (Accessed May, 16,
2008).
176
would fain say much, but cannot say much to the purpose; this is displeasing to God and all wise men.
But it is not just the repetitious prayers pagans and Roman Catholics who are guilty of this. The American
Christian who says the same mealtime prayer every day is
also guilty of this.125 Any prayer, including the Lords Prayer,
which is prayed in a mindless manner (publically or privately), is simply not a godly prayer. We must not forget, as
Dr. Sproul reminds us, that even The praying of the Lords
Prayer can become as mindless and as vain a repetition as
the magical incantations and mantras that pagans use.126
Private Prayer
There is an old rabbinic saying, He who prays within
his house surrounds it with a wall that is stronger than
iron. Sadly, the amount of quality private prayer in the
homes of Christians today must barely be building picket
fences. J.C. Ryle commented on the vast neglect of private
prayer in his day writing, Words said without heart are as
utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of savages
before their idols. Where there is no heart, there may be lipwork and tongue-work, but there is no prayer.127
125
This could really be any prayer being repeated over and over again
including any form of the childhood classic, God is great, God is good,
let us thank Him for this food. Amen.
126
R.C. Sproul, The Prayer of the Lord (Orlando, FL.: Reformation Trust
Publishing, 2009), 11. This book on prayer is an excellent resource for
all who desire closer communion to God in prayer.
127
J.C. Ryle. A Call to Prayer.
http://www.gracegems.org/SERMONS/call_to_prayer.htm
(accessed
May 16, 2008).
177
As noted before, Jesus was one who was in constant

private prayer (Matt. 14:23; 26:36-39; Luke 9:18, 29). His
directive here is worth noting. Rather than having the
intention of being seen and honored by others, Jesus stated,
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 (Matt. 6:6). Even the
Lord Jesus sought out a place of privacy away from the view
of others. One sign of sincerity in coming into the presence
of the Lord for prayer is to do so privately, and without the
need for public attention. The attitude of the persons heart
is truly the emphasis in the passage.
There are many people today who use beads, cloths,
wheels,128 and candles to assist them in their prayers. Scripture is clear when it forbids praying to or using idols while
praying. Any image or representation that is bowed down to,
honored, served by sacrifice or incense, or used in worship is
expressly forbidden by the second commandment (Exo 20:46). This has always been the practices of the pagans and
there is absolutely no biblical warrant for doing such a thing.
Just recently, I was flipping through the channels on
television and I came across a televangelist who was selling a
prayer bracelet. His pitch was that these bracelets had been
prayed over and that just by wearing it you will receive a
blessing. He even had testimonials of previously satisfied
customers. One guy made six million dollars simply because
he wore one of these prayer bracelets. This unbiblical and
false view of the nature of prayer should be rejected wherever found. Wearing a bracelet that reminds you to pray is
128
Buddhists spin a prayer wheel which is a hollow metal cylinder with

prayers attached to it. For many it represents the Wheel of the Law
which was set in motion by Buddha himself.
178
one thing, but to believe this bracelet is the means by which

you get things from God is ridiculous.
Let us remind ourselves of the second commandment
given at Mount Sinai. The Lord God of Israel said, You
shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Exo. 20:4).
Any image or likeness, physical or visual, which attempts to
represent God or take away from His glory is abomination to
Him. Sadly, even with a good heart motive, these bracelets,
beads, and cloths, take away from the glory of God.
Though Jesus condemned the scribes and those who use
many words in their prayers it is not long prayers that are
forbidden. Again, it is the attitude of the persons heart.
Jesus Himself spent long amounts of time in private prayer.
Luke records the following, In these days he went out to
the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer
to God (Luke 6:12).
The wise King Solomon cautioned those who use many
words, when he stated, Be not rash with your mouth, nor
let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God
is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words
be few (Ecc. 5:2). Therefore, whether private prayer or
public, when one is praying to the Sovereign Lord one must
consider the words that are uttered.
Many people confuse merely thinking about God with
private prayer. They fail to make communication with God,
thinking that simple abstract thoughts and mere sentiments
toward Him qualify as authentic prayer. But as weve seen,
communication with reverent, careful, rational words is
essential to prayer. Prayer is not a state of trance; it is communication with God. There was a time in my life when this was
pretty much the only prayer I was engaged in.
179
Now it is a fact that one does not have to speak aloud for
it to be true prayer, but there are many people whose prayer
lives only remain in their thought lives. Sadly, they think
that these thoughts toward God are actual prayers. Yet, we
all know that it is one thing to think about someone and
another to talk and communicate to someone. That is the
danger that we can fall into when we do not pray out loud.
This is one of the reasons why it is said that the Puritans
prayed out loud. Praying out loud can help us stay focused
on the Lord and bring about a better quality of intimate
communion with our Lord.
Saints, we must seriously stop relying on the quick
prayers while driving or the multi-tasking prayer life so many
of us have. To constantly be thinking about the Lord and
His Word and always being in a conversation with God is
not a bad thing. However, we need to put aside everything
and get away from the distractions of life, as Jesus did, and
meet with God in prayer. For those of us who have been
believers for years and still have not prayed in such a fashion
we ought to be ashamed of ourselves and turn to God in
repentance. Christians must make prayer an active part of
their lives.
Being Specific in Prayer

In the Lords Prayer, Jesus modeled for us how to pray
and how we ought to be specific rather than general in our
prayers. It is important that we pray for things specifically,
either when we are praying for ourselves or interceding for
others. For example, if you desire that your brother Bobby
be saved, do not just say, Lord, I pray for Bobby. Rather
than this vague general prayer, pray with specificity as Jesus
has modeled and taught. Pray instead, Lord, grant Bobby
180
the gift of repentance and faith. Notice the two differences

here. The latter prayer is more specific.
The specificity of prayer can be seen in Ephesians 6:1820 (specifically for the saved), 1 Timothy 2:2 (specifically for
those in high places), and Matthew 15:22 (specifically for
children). When the Lord struck Moses sister Miriam with
leprosy for her sin against Moses, what did Moses do? Moses
prayed specifically for Miriam, O God, please heal her
please (Num. 12:13).
Luke told of an instance that pertains to being specific in
prayer. In Luke 18:35-38 we read, As he drew near to
Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
They told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. And he
cried out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!
This blind man called out to the Lord and requested
mercy. He actually continued to cry out for mercy until Jesus
commanded that he be brought to Him. There is nothing
wrong with asking for mercy, and it is actually a very appropriate prayer. Jesus responded to the man, and said, What
do you want me to do for you? He said, Lord, let me
recover my sight. And Jesus said to him, Recover your
sight; your faith has made you well. And immediately he
recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And
all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God (Luke
18:41-43).
The Lord encouraged this man to be more specific in his
prayer, and when he did he immediately recovered his sight.
Being specific in our prayers is not a formula for results, but
it certainly is what is taught in Scripture. On the foolishness
of non-specific prayers, Charles Spurgeon in his sermon A
Definite Challenge for Definite Prayer said:
181
What use would it be to keep going in and out of a door

at the bank all day if you have no business to transact,
and nothing to get? But it is quite different when you go
to the teller with your withdrawal request and receive in
return the cash. It would be very uninteresting to have an
audience with a king every morning and evening, only to
state, Your Majestys most loyal subject, if you never
asked for anything. Yet how much prayer of that kind is
addressed to heaven; a bright flash of diffused light - not
the distinct lightening bolt that does the work.129
We would do well in imitating King David, when he

wrote, Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my
God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the
morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to
You, And I will look up (Psalm 5:2-3). David was fervent in
his prayer life. He started his day with prayer and was
specific with the Lord as he directed it to Him as a marksman. As a marksman looks at the target, draws his specific
arrow, and with a stable mind shoots it at the target, so the
believer should address the Lord with specific prayers for
others and himself.
Prayer Meetings and Revival

Oh, how important it is for the church to pray together.
Sadly, rather than many churches being houses of prayer
(Matt. 21:13) they have become houses of activities. For
many, prayer meetings are simply boring and unimportant.
Some people mistakenly think that prayer meetings are only
for those who have a gift of prayer. This is simply not true.
129
Charles Spurgeon, A Definite Challenge for Definite Prayer.

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/3537.htm (accessed May 14,
2008).
182
I have heard it profoundly observed, You can tell how

popular the Church is by the Sunday morning attendance.
You can tell how popular the preacher is by the Sunday
evening attendance. You can tell how popular Jesus is by the
prayer meeting attendance. Ouch! What would America
look like if the Church of Jesus Christ valued prayer?
The history of true revival demonstrates that prayer has
always been the precursor.130 The first revival to ever take
place in New Testament times began on the day of Pentecost
when the people of God were gathered together at a prayer
meeting (Acts 2). Prayer was foundational to those first
century Christians.
Whenever there was a difficulty or major trial, the
church met together to pray. After James, the brother of
John, was killed and Peter was arrested, the church called a
prayer meeting and prayed earnestly for him (Acts 12:5).
God heard His peoples prayers and that night Peter was
miraculously released from prison by an angel of the Lord.
As a matter of fact, they were not even done praying when
Peter was released.
The people of God need to meet together more often to
pray. This is simply the truth. There is something about the
gathering of saints together to pray as one Body. No problem
or situation is too challenging for the people of God to take
to their Lord in prayer.
In the days of the Reformation, there cannot be any
doubt that all through Europe there were thousands who
cried out to God for a moving of the Holy Spirit. Martin
Luther was known for praying hours each day. It was told
130
For an excellent resource on the difference between true revival and

what we commonly see on television revivalism read, Iain H. Murray,
Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism
1750-1858 (Carlisle, Pa: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1994).
183
that Luther said he had so much to do one day that he

needed to start his day with four hours of prayer. Whether
or not that was true, Luther was serious about spending time
with the Lord. What was one of the results of Luthers
prayer life? Not only was he significantly changed by spending time before God, but his prayer life (as well as the other
Reformers prayer lives) was instrumental in bringing forth a
mighty Reformation that still has effects to this day.
John Knox, one of those sixteenth century Reformers,
was also known as a man of prayer. It is said that Mary, the
Queen of Scotland, declared, I fear John Knoxs prayers
more than an army of ten thousand men. That is some
powerful praying.
In the 1730s, men of God such as George Whitefield,
John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Davies, and others
prayed heavily for the unconverted. The Holy Spirit moved
powerfully. What began as a series of local awakenings up
and down the Eastern seaboard turned into what we call
today, The Great Awakening. This major outpouring of
the Spirit affected the entire English speaking world. Its
effects have been felt even to this day.
The New York Revival of 1858,131 perhaps the last great
revival on American soil, started when Mr. Jeremiah Calvin
Lamphier decided to have an hour of prayer for business
people on September 23, 1857. At the first prayer meeting,
in New York, there were only six people in attendance, but
thousands were brought from worldly sorrow to the possession of lasting riches132 as revival spread to the other side of
the Atlantic.
131
To read the journal entries of Mr. Jeremiah Calvin Lamphier and

other eye-witnesses to this wonderful work of God read, Samuel Primes
The Power of Prayer: The New York Revival of 1858 (Carlisle, Pa: The
Banner of Truth Trust, 1859).
132
Samuel Prime, The Power of Prayer, Back Cover.
184
Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers in

the latter half of the 1800s. He was actually known as the
Prince of Preachers. Though preaching is what many
commend him for, his love and value of prayer should
equally be commended.
It has been said that whenever visitors came to his
church he would take them to the basement. It was there
that they would see what Spurgeon called, the powerhouse
of his church. In that basement was a prayer room where
people were often on their knees interceding. Spurgeon
believed that the prayer meeting was the spiritual thermometer of a church.
Today, there is a major movement of prayer taking place
among Christians that is resulting in massive conversions
and spiritual growth. However, it is not in America. It is
taking place in South Korea. Dr. Billy Kim described this
movement of Gods Spirit which has grown the churches in
Korea from 4,000 churches with one million Christians in
1955 to 32,000 churches with ten million Christians in
1985. He said:
I have pondered the possible reasons for this present-day
revival among the people of my country. You will find
more prayer meetings in the Korean church than (pardon
my expression) a dog has fleas! We start at 4:30 every
morning not only in my church, but in all the churches.
At 4:30 every morning there is a prayer meeting, winter or
summer, rain or shine. I don't know who started it, but I
would like to meet him. Sometimes I have wondered why
God called me back to Korea to be a pastor. It's hard to
get up at four o'clock in the morning! But I wish you
could see some of those early Morning Prayer meetings
they pray for hours! They pound on the floor, crying out
185
to God. No wonder God is blessing the Korean church

today!133
Praise the Lord! American Christians must follow suit

with our Korean brethren. Many believers in America are
calling out for revival yet we are not willing to do what it
takes for a revival. Only when we begin to pray and value the
prayer meetings in our churches will we begin to see a
powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May God spark
every person who reads this book to renew their prayer lives
and encourage others about the need to earnestly commune
with God in prayer.
Prayer and the Family

Prayer, by nature, is unnatural. It is simply not a natural
thing for people to implement in their lives. Prayer is
difficult, which is why it is referred to as a spiritual discipline. It requires discipline and consistency for it to become
part of our daily lives. Surveys done at the Family Life
Marriage Conferences indicate that probably less than eight
percent of all Christian couples pray together.134
My wife and I have had streaks where we were awesome
with praying daily. Yet, all it would take is one day or night
of being lazy or selfish and we had to start all over. Sometimes it would take weeks, even months to get back into that
rhythm. Praying with our spouse and our family should be
one of our top priorities. Family is the primary ministry to
133
See Sherwood Eliot Wirts, Billy: A Personal Look at Billy Graham, the
World's Best-loved Evangelist. (Wheaton, Il.: Crossway Books, 1997), 228229.
134
Dennis Rainey, Prayer: The Secret to a Lasting Marriage.
http://www.familylife.com/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=dnJHKLNnFo
G&b=3584679&ct=4640027 (accessed May, 18, 2008).
186
which we must be committed. If we are failing in this area

we should not expect to be succeeding in any other area.
Years ago, I learned this lesson. I was so caught up in
ministry at the church that I neglected my ministry at home.
My wife and I lost our connection. Somewhere along the
line I stopped washing her with the water of Gods Word
and did not even know. Our marriage almost became
another casualty in the church.
After realizing how much I had neglected my wife, I had
to step out of ministry and refocus on my marriage. I praise
the Lord that in His mercy He saved my marriage and in His
perfect timing put us back into ministry together. It was
during that time of reevaluating our priorities that prayer
began to become a bedrock for us. Men must stop being
stubborn and pray with their wives.
There are plenty of benefits that accompany praying with
your spouse and family. First, there is the benefit of knowing
that you are being obedient to the Word of God. Husbands
have a high level of responsibility in regards to our wives.
We are called to love them with the selfless sacrificial love of
Christ, and to wash them with the water of the word (Eph.
5:25-27).
What the apostle Paul had in mind here is that the
Christian husband must be doing all he can to protect his
wife from spiritual impurity. If this is the chief concern of
the husband for his wife, then consistent prayer will be
taking place. A solid prayer and devotional life in marriage
and with the family also seem to be what Paul is referring to
when he said that fathers are to bring up their children in
the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).
Another benefit that springs from praying together is
better communication. It is a fact that praying together and
for one another strengthens our communication. We are
able to share our weaknesses, and difficulties in prayer, and
187
even resolve conflicts much easier. Dr. Harold Sala elaborates on this point stating:
[Praying together] can open the door for effective communication, help you to address issues that could tear you
apart, help you find Gods power in our personal lives in
ways that you would never discover otherwise, give you
wisdom in knowing how to parent, how to cope with the
problems of work and how to stay on top of circumstances.135
Oh, how many marriages could have been saved if only

the husband led their families in prayer? Ultimately, when a
marriage is not marked by consistent prayer it is marked by a
lack of trust in God. True prayer can turn a marriage full of
problems into a marriage full of peace. By leading our
families in prayer we confess our complete dependence on
God.
135
Sala, Touching God, 134.

188
189
Chapter Sixteen: Issues in

Prayer
Our Legal Basis for Approaching the
Throne of Grace
HAT IS it that gives mankind the ability to go

before the throne of God petitioning Him and
praying to Him? It most certainly cannot be our good works.
As the prophet Isaiah said, All our righteous deeds are like
a polluted garment (Isa. 64:6). The apostle John answered
this question when he stated, But if we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John
1:7).
The verb kaqari,zei (katharizei)136 comes from a word
meaning to make clean, purify or cleanse. What
purifies Christians from sin and brings us to the throne of
grace where we may present our needs in prayer (Heb. 4:16)
is none other than the blood of Jesus His Son. The apostle
Paul expressed this very same truth throughout his writings
(Rom. 3:25, 5:9; Col. 1:20).
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote, In him we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Eph. 1:7).
To be redeemed is to be delivered as a result of the payment
of a ransom. The only thing which could accomplish this
redemption is the blood of the perfect redeemer. The blood
of Jesus purifies us from every sin (1 John 1:7), sets us free
136
This verb is a third person singular present active indicative from the
word kaqari,zw (katharizo).
191
from the power of sin (John 8:34-36; Gal. 3:13), and satisfies
the justice of God (Rom. 5:9).
God has met that need for us in the cross of Christ. In
Him we have redemption through His blood. The sacrifice
of Christ on the cross paid the price for every believer who
was a slave to sin. The apostle wrote later in his letter, But
now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been
brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13). The
author of Hebrews, after discussing the atoning sacrifice of
Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of his people, exhorts
us to draw near to God. He wrote:
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter
the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is,
through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over
the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water. (Heb. 10:19-22)
The sacrifice of Christ is what opened the curtain and

removed the veil for us. We either come by His blood or we
cannot come at all. By His blood Jesus gives us access to the
Father. We, wretched sinners, have been given the privilege
to come to His throne of grace and draw near to God in true
prayer and full assurance of faith.
Kings and rulers in ancient times, and even today,
cannot be approached by just anyone, they are often protected by armed guards and other officials who will not let
you get within visible distance to them. Yet, believers can
boldly draw near and come into the presence of the Most
High God.
192
Chapter Sixteen: Issues in Prayer
What a great God we serve! Let us never forget that it is

by His blood that we are able to draw near. In the words of
John Bunyan, Wherefore, I say, look when you approach
the throne of grace, that you give diligence to look for the
Lamb as it had been slain.137 This is our legal basis for
prayer. This is why we can now go to the throne of grace.
Whenever we need mercy or grace to help, we may draw
near to God in prayer. As helpless children of Adam, when
we are honest, we recognize that we need the mercy and
grace of God daily. Therefore, this invitation becomes even
more of a blessing knowing that we can continually come to
God and depend upon Him, and all because of something
He has done for us.
The Role of the Holy Spirit

For believers, because of the blood of Christ, our bodies
have been washed with pure water (Heb. 10:22). This
brings to mind what Ezekiel prophesied about when he
stated, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be
clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I
will cleanse you (Ezek. 36:25). Moreover, when the author
of Hebrews wrote, our bodies washed with pure water he
used the verb lelousme,noi (lelousmenoi) to wash.138
The verb is a perfect participle, indicating a completed
action with results continuing into the present time of the
speaker. This undoubtedly speaks of the regenerating and
sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit by the Word of God
from conversion onward. We have been washed at conversion and remain clean even up until now!
137
Bunyan, Prayer, 87.

This is a nominative masculine plural perfect middle/passive
participle from the word lou,w (louo).
138
193
In Ephesians 6:18, the apostle Paul instructs believers

that they should be praying at all times in the Spirit, with
all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all
perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. The
Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, has an essential
role in the believers prayer life. He is called the Spirit of
grace and supplication (Zech. 12:10) and the Spirit of
adoption (Rom. 8:15).
It is the Holy Spirit Himself who groans and intercedes
for believers helping us overcome our weaknesses (Rom.
8:26-27). As Christ intercedes in heaven (Rom. 8:34; Heb.
7:25), the Holy Spirit does so on earth within the believer
(John 14:16-17). William Hendriksen commented on this
beautifully, The Holy Spirit prays that the deeply hidden
needs of our hearts, needs which we ourselves sometimes do
not even recognize, may be met.139
This falls in line with the teaching and directing ministry
of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the New Testament we see
this aspect of Him. He directed Jesus out into the wilderness
to confront Satan (Mark 1:12). The Holy Spirit also led
Philip to speak with the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:29). He
spoke to and directed Peter to go with the three men to
Cornelius house (Acts 10:19). At Antioch, the Holy Spirit
spoke saying, Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them (Acts 13:2).
His teaching ministry extends to us as He illuminates us
through the Word, enabling us to understand spiritual
things. Now we have received not the spirit of the world,
but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand
the things freely given to us by God (1 Cor. 2:12). This
139
William Hendriksen, Exposition of Pauls Epistle to the Romans: New

Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Book House, 1981),
277.
194
unquestionably includes prayer. And as we have observed,

the Spirit is the one who teaches us how to pray (Rom. 8:15;
26-27). Dr. Morey points out:
In the final analysis, only the Holy Spirit Himself can
teach us what it is really to pray. We may read all the
books written on prayer and hear great sermons on prayer
and yet these things will never teach any believer the secrets of true prevailing prayer. The Holy Spirit and the
Holy Spirit alone can teach us what it is to pray truly.140
The great Reformer John Calvin understood this

concept and stated, God gives us the Spirit as our teacher
in prayer, to tell us what is right and to temper our emotions. We should seek such aid of the Spirit.141
Who Do We Pray To?

It goes without saying that only God alone is to whom
we should direct our prayers. In Psalm 62:1, David recognizes this and sang, For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation. Praying to God alone seems
to be evident from the first commandment given at Sinai,
You shall have no other gods before me (Exo. 20:3).
Yet, there are some who believe that it is biblically
correct to pray to Mary and the saints. This of course comes
from a misunderstanding of Scripture and a mistaken
elevation of Roman Catholic tradition. The Bible is clear
that there is one God, and there is one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). Mary is
not a mediator and cannot confer any grace to anyone. She
140
141

Calvin, Institutes, 3.20:5.
195
is, like every other human being, dependent upon God to

save her (Luke 1:47).142 There are no prayers in the Bible to
the patriarchs, to the prophets, to the apostles, to angels, or
to Mary.
Most prayers contained in Scripture are addressed to
God the Father (Matt. 6:9; John 16:23; Eph. 5:20). There
are also prayers addressed directly to Jesus (Luke 23:42; Acts
9:10-16; 1 Cor. 16:22; 2 Cor. 12:8). Stephen, as he was
being martyred cried out in prayer, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit (Acts 7:59).143
Prayer is also given to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, Pray
earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into
his harvest (Matt. 9:38). Since we know that the Holy Spirit
is the Person of the Godhead who applies the benefits of
salvation to the believer this passage indirectly refers to
Him.144 In Second Thessalonians 3:5, the apostle Paul
writes, May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the steadfastness of Christ. Though He is not
explicitly mentioned here, the Holy Spirit nevertheless is the
one who dwells in us and directs us. Concerning this passage
Spurgeon powerfully declared:
When we recognize the glory of the whole Godhead we
perceive the perfect suitability of such direction as will
come from the Three in One God. Albeit that the Holy
Spirit is not mentioned in this verse by name, He is mentioned by His operations, for it is the Spirit of God that
142
For more information see William Websters The Church of Rome at

the Bar of History (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995)
143
It must be noted, for the sake of apologetics, that no first century Jew
would ever pray to anyone who was not God by nature. They would
never have prayed to Jesus unless they believed He was God incarnate,
which they did.
144
J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, 93-94.
196
deals with the hearts of Believers. I take rare pleasure in

our text, because we have the blessed Trinity in unity in
these few words, The Lordthat is, the Holy Spirit who
dwells within Believersdirect your hearts into the love
of God (by whom I understand the Father) and into the
patient waiting for Christ.145
Since Scripture reveals that prayer can be directed to

each member of the Godhead it would not be wrong to pray
to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit unless it did violence to
the Godhead and provided unwarranted division of the
Triune God. Regarding the need for unity in praying to
individual members of the Godhead, B.M. Palmer noted:
[The three Persons being] divine in the supreme sense,
each Person may equally be the immediate object of address, though not to the exclusion of the others. They
may no more be separated in their worship than in their
being: the one of necessity involves the other.146
There are people who, though still learning, do not have

a proper understanding of the Persons of the Trinity and in
prayer exchange Persons at random. An example of this is
when people thank the Father for dying on the cross. It was
not the Father but the Son who died on the cross. I have
even heard titles given to God as Father Jesus. Both of
these teachings are biblically inaccurate and were early
Christian heresies. Those whom I have heard pray like this
were not heretics, but just did not consider their words
before God.
145
Charles H. Spurgeon, The Love of God and the Patience of Christ,

Sermon 2028 (Newington: Metropolitan Tabernacle, June 17, 1888)
146
Palmer, Theology of Prayer, 199-200.
197
However, the regular, normative, everyday biblical

model of prayer is to the Father, through the Son, and by
the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18; Phil. 1:3-11; 1 Tim. 2:5). We see
this clearly when Paul exhorted the believers at Ephesus to
be giving thanks always and for everything to God the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:20).
What Types of Prayers Can We Give?

There are numerous types of prayers found in Scripture.
Many of the components which we identified previously can
be entire prayers: Petition (Phil. 4:6; 1 John 5:15), Thanksgiving (Psa. 100; 105:1), Submission (Psa. 40:18), Confession (Psa. 25:18; 51), Adoration (Psa. 22:22; Rev. 5:9-10),
Praise (Psa. 30:12; Rom. 15:11), and Intercession (Num.
21:7; 1 Tim 2:1).
In addition, Scripture also records prayers of grief, also
known as laments (Psa. 10:1; 42:9; 74:1; 80:12). There are
national intercessions where there is a call to intercede for
the nation in a time of crisis. Nehemiah called out to God
for Israel and said, I now pray before you day and night for
the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the
people of Israel, which we have sinned against you (Neh.
1:6).
National prayer is also evidenced by Hezekiahs prayer
for Israel to be delivered from Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:1019). I believe that in our day we are in a national crisis, not
only economically but spiritually. The people of the United
States of America have sinned against the Lord. My prayer is
that believers everywhere join in prayer for America. We
need to pray that this country would turn from its wicked
ways and seek forgiveness from God.
In addition, there are doxological prayers in which the
person praying breaks out in spontaneous praise to God (1
198
Pet. 4:11). The apostle Paul, while reflecting upon the

sovereignty of God and the theme of justification by faith
alone, burst forth in an enthusiastic doxology:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge
of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the
Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given
a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and
through him and to him are all things. To him be glory
forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:33-36)
Giving Arguments in Prayer

There is one more aspect of prayer that is frequently
overlooked and needs to be discussed; the biblical practice of
arguing during prayer. At first glance it might seem contrary
to the purpose of prayer. However, this is simply not the
case. To give an argument during prayer is to merely make a
case as to why God should answer the prayer.
When taking a closer look at the prayers in Scripture
one sees how the mighty men of God filled their mouths
with arguments as they were in prayer before God. In his
brilliant exposition, Effective Prayer, Charles Spurgeon uses
Job to gain understanding as to the art and science of prayer,
specifically in the area of presenting effective arguments
before God. Job, in his most difficult trial cried out, Oh,
that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even
to his seat! I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth
with arguments (Job 23:3-4).
Though Job was in utter despair, as all true children of
God his instinct was to seek Gods presence and pray to
Him. Spurgeon expressed it in such a way:
199
As a petitioner coming into court does not come there

without thought to state his case on the spur of the moment, but enters into the audience chamber with his suit
well prepared, having also learned how he ought to behave himself in the presence of the great one to whom he
is appealing; so it is well to approach the seat of the King
of kings as much as possible with premeditation and
preparation, knowing what we are about, where we are
standing, and what it is which we desire to obtain. In
times of peril and distress we may fly to God just as we
are, as the dove enters the cleft of the rock, even though
her plumes are ruffled; but in ordinary times we should
not come with an unprepared spirit, even as a child does
not come to his father in the morning till he has washed
his face.
Giving arguments in prayer helps believers think

through whether or not we have biblical warrant for our
prayer requests. Dr. Robert Morey commented, Realizing
that we should have biblical warrant for our petitions should
cause us to be more careful and serious in making our
requests to God. It should cause us to prepare for prayer.147
This practice is seen throughout the Psalms as the
Psalmist would call out to God and appeal to Him according
to His Word. For example, in Psalm 119:149 the Psalmist
wrote, Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O
LORD, according to your justice give me life. And in verse
154, Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according
to your promise!
In Psalm 25, David, pleaded for deliverance in the midst
of his trials and sin, and presented his case before God. In
verses 6 and 7 David reminded the Lord of His gracious
covenant promises.
147

200
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of
my youth or my transgressions according to your steadfast
love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O
LORD!
In asking God for forgiveness David appeals to the

goodness of God (v. 7) and the greatness of His name
stating, For your names sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt,
for it is great (v. 11). Toward the end of the Psalm he calls
out for God to deliver him, Oh, guard my soul, and deliver
me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you (v.
20). David made his case for deliverance arguing on the
grounds of Gods covenant, which is where he took his
refuge.
Again, David called upon the Lord in Psalm 27:7-8,
Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and
answer me! What is the reason why God should hear David
and be gracious to him? David presented his case before
God and said, You have said, Seek my face. My heart says
to you, Your face, LORD, do I seek. David called upon
God to keep His word.
Furthermore, as Esau was on his way to meet Jacob, the
patriarch Jacob pleaded with God for deliverance for him
and his family. He cried, But you said, I will surely do you
good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which
cannot be numbered for multitude (Gen. 32:12). In his
first recorded prayer since meeting God at Bethel, Jacob set
forth his case reminding God of His covenant promises.
Giving arguments in prayer was simply a manner in
which the saints of old effectively prayed to the Lord. Moses
prayed in such a way (Deut. 9:26), so did David, Solomon (1
Kings 8:25), Elijah (1 Kings 18:26), and many others. In case
201
any readers were to misunderstand arguing in prayer, we

should always be mindful that, as Spurgeon said, The
successful argument is always founded upon grace.
Therefore, even with this cursory look at Scripture we
see the men of God engaging in true prayer presenting their
pleas before God as a skillful lawyer would present a plea
before a judge. They pleaded with God and presented
reasons why He should answer them, reminding God of His
great Name, His great Word, and His gracious Covenant,
providing believers today with the ground from which we
ought to plea as well.
Prayer and Fasting

Generally speaking, most people are aware that fasting
involves giving up food for at least a short period of time.
This is what both the Hebrew word ~Wc tsoom and the
Greek word nhsteu,w (nesteuo) mean, to abstain from food
or drink for a religious purpose.
The regular fast that we see in Scripture is what Jesus did
in the wilderness when He abstained solely from eating
(Luke. 4:2). There was also a total fast where the person did
not eat or drink. Moses and Elijah fasted in such a way
(Deut. 9:9; 1 Kin. 19:8). Finally, there was a partial fast
where a person abstained from certain foods and drinks.
Daniel fasted in this manner when he ate no delicacies, no
meat or wine for three weeks (Dan. 10:2-3).
In biblical times people fasted for different reasons.
Daniel, as mentioned above, fasted to gain understanding
from God (Dan. 10:12). Others fasted when they were
broken and saddened over their sins (1 Sam. 7:6; Judg.
20:26). People also fasted when they were grieved over an
202
awful tragedy. For example, King David fasted at the deaths

of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:12).
It is safe to say that whenever fasting is mentioned it is
coupled with prayer. David fasted and prayed for his child to
stay alive (2 Sam. 12:21). Jehoshaphat set his face to seek
the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah (2
Chron. 20:3-4). He declared a nationwide fast for guidance
and deliverance from the Lord.
In seeking protection from God, on their way back to
Jerusalem, Ezra proclaimed a time of fasting and prayer (Ezra
8:21). He stated, So we fasted and implored our God for
this, and he listened to our entreaty (Ezra 8:23). When
Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were broken
and their gates were burned he was troubled to the point of
mourning and grief. He wrote, As soon as I heard these
words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I
continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven
(Neh. 1:4).
It should be noted that Jesus expected His disciples to
fast. For example, when Jesus was discussing true and false
fasting He began by saying, And when you fast (Matt.
6:16). Moreover, He stated pretty clearly, concerning His
disciples, that when the bridegroom is taken away from
them then they will fast (Matt. 9:15). Though Jesus
expected His disciples to fast, and even stated they would,
He never commanded them to do so.148
Fasting for the sake of fasting or to be seen by men was
exactly what Jesus pointed out in some of the religious
leaders of His day. He said,
148
Fasting on the Day of Atonement was required by the Law (Lev.

16:29-34). Yet, now that the Day of Atonement is no longer significant,
fasting is no longer required.
203
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. But when you fast, anoint your head and
wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father
who sees in secret will reward you. (Matt. 6:16-18)
Jesus could have had Isaiah 58 in mind when He said

this. In Isaiah 58, the Lord would not recognize the peoples
fasting because it was only being done ritualistically. The
people were not remorseful over their sin and had no regard
for those who were in need, so the Lord regarded their fast
as unacceptable.
There are numerous spiritual benefits that come when
believers pray and fast. In Scripture we see that God withholds judgment when His people fast. The people of
Nineveh deserved to be wiped out because of their sin.
Jonah was actually hoping they would get destroyed. After
Jonah grudgingly went and preached the word of God to
them they believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on
sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them (Jonah 3:5).
The King of Nineveh proclaimed throughout the whole
land that they should fast and cry mightily to God turning
from their evil ways because God could possibly turn away
from His fierce anger (Jonah 3:8-9). This wicked pagan
nation repented of their sins, cried out to God in prayer and
fasting, and God withheld His judgment.
Oh, how needed this is for America. As our societys
morals and laws are going further away from the Word of
God we are moving closer to judgment. Let us turn to Him
with all our heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning (Joel
2:12). Maybe in His mercy He might withhold judgment
from us as well.
204
Prayer and fasting also bring about wonderful blessings

from God. When Jehoshaphat called for the nation to fast
and pray, God intervened. He spared them from utter
destruction and also brought a great blessing to them as well
(2 Chron. 20). They spent three days collecting jewelry and
valuables off the bodies of their enemies (2 Chron. 20:25).
When we are in the midst of major trials, how often do we
seek the Lord through prayer and fasting? We ought to
consider doing so more often.
True fasting, in its essence, is a way to humble oneself
before God and depend upon Him. This is another spiritual
benefit of fasting. It is a discipline that keeps our bodies in
check so that we may depend on the Lord. David said, I
humbled myself with fasting (Psa. 35:13 NKJV). This
humbling is essential for holiness, which we are called to be
(Lev. 20:26).
Peter said, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the
mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt
you (1 Pet. 5:6). God gives us grace when we are humble (1
Pet. 5:5) and works in us. He lifts us up at the right time.
The Lord does all this for His own glory. This is the
most important spiritual benefit of fasting, bringing glory to
God. When we fast we are essentially saying that the Lord is
the only person that can satisfy our hunger. Moreover, we
express that we are ready to put aside the basic needs of our
body and physical lives just to draw near to our God.
Many people can attest to the fact that when we fast and
pray there is an added power to our prayer life. It is as if
denying ourselves food to seek the Lord strengthens our
prayer and makes it more effective. The Psalmist said, O
LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will
strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear (Psa.
10:17). Thus, our humility is directly connected with God
inclining His ear to our prayers.
205
Furthermore, we can receive more clarity and focus

regarding important events and decisions. Luke wrote that it
was only after fasting and praying that the church at
Antioch laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent
them off for missionary work (Acts 13:2).
Fasting and prayer helps us become more attuned to the
voice of the Lord. It brings revelation by the Holy Spirit and
can result in personal renewal and revival. This is so because
we humble ourselves and set aside everything for the sake of
knowing God more. In this manner we can better understand His guidance.
The church also fasted and prayed regarding the ordination of elders. And when they had appointed elders for
them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed (Acts
14:23). It is said that the early Church fasted every Wednesday and Friday, and even before the Lords Supper on
Sundays. Physically and spiritually they were consumed with
the Lord.
What would happen if the church today would spend
more time fasting together, earnestly pursuing the will of
God and the leading of the Holy Spirit? Would we see the
mighty moving of the hand of God as the New Testament
church did? Could this be why the New Testament church
had such power in their witness? Could this be part of the
means as to why masses of people were converted?
It would be awesome to see the Body of Christ have such
a hunger for God that we would even skip meals to seek the
Lord and pray. It is better to be hungry for righteousness
than for physical food. Jesus said, Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matt. 5:6).
The Lord implied to those in Isaiahs day that if they
would have fasted with the right heart motive they would
206
have received light, healing,149 righteousness, answered

prayer, and guidance (Isa. 58:8-11). True fasting and prayer
can strengthen a believer, a family, a church and fill us with
the Holy Spirit in such a way that we can be powerful
witnesses of the Lord and more in tune with His will.
Laying on of Hands and Anointing with Oil

Scripture teaches that the laying on of hands was a
customary way to pronounce a blessing upon someone. This
went all the way back to the times of the Patriarchs (Gen.
48:14). Jesus also laid His hands on people to bless them. At
least at one point in His ministry many parents brought
their children to Jesus and he took them in his arms and
blessed them, laying his hands on them (Mark 10:13-16). It
was common for parents to bring their children to a great
Rabbi to receive a blessing.
Blessings were not the only reason why people laid
hands on others. The laying on of hands was done when
people were ordained for ministry. Moses laid his hands on
Joshua as he was being ordained as successor (Num. 27:1823). This is seen throughout the book of Acts as well.
Regarding the seven men chosen to serve, Luke wrote that
the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them (Acts
6:6).
When Ananias laid his hands upon Saul, he not only
received his sight again, but was filled with the Holy Spirit
and began his ministry (Acts 9:12, 17). Later, Barnabas and
Saul were sent off for missionary work with the laying on of
hands (Acts 13:3). Timothy received his gift from God
through the laying on of Pauls hands (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim.
149
Fasting can be beneficial for the body as well. It can be a natural

means for cleansing.
207
1:6). For ministry purposes, Paul instructed Timothy not to

lay hands on people too quickly, but to watch their life and
make sure they are qualified (1 Tim. 5:22).
Additionally, the laying on of hands was used to impart
spiritual gifts. When Peter and John laid their hands on the
believers in Samaria they received the Holy Spirit (Acts
8:17). Paul laid his hands on the disciples at Ephesus and
the Holy Spirit came upon them they began speaking in
tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:6).
Finally, we see that the laying on of hands was used to
bring healing as well. This was a major characteristic of the
ministry of the Lord (Matt. 8:3; Mark 1:41; 6:5; 8:23-25;
Luke 5:13; 13:13). Many people begged Jesus to lay His
hands upon them or their sick just to be healed (Matt. 9:18;
Mark 5:23; 8:22).150 The apostles also healed in such a way
(Acts 3:7; 28:8).
The practice of laying hands on people to pray for them
should not be abandoned today. Whether we lay our hands
on people to ask God to bless them, heal them or to send
them off for a particular ministry, this practice can have a
useful place in the lives of believers today. The symbolism is
rich and the practice is biblical.
What about anointing people with oil and praying for
them? James, the Lords brother, brought this subject to light
in the final chapter of his epistle. He was a man of prayer
and was known as Old Camel Knees because he prayed so
much. James saw how God used prayer to change things. He
witnessed the great outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of
Pentecost. He was there when the church was praying for
Peter to get out of prison and how an angel of God opened
150
Jesus did not solely heal by the laying on of hands. There were times,
such as with the Centurion (Matt. 8:8), where Jesus healed without
laying His hands on people.
208
up the prison gate and set him free. The results of earnest
prayer impacted him greatly.
He wrote, Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for
the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the
prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord
will raise him up (James 5:14-15). What we can learn from
this passage is that there are times when the urgency of our
prayers is so great that we are told to call the elders of the
church to join us.
Now oil was a common medicine back then (Luke
10:34) and was a physical symbol of the healing power of the
Holy Spirit. Whether or not James was referring to a medicinal use of oil or the symbolism of the power of the Holy
Spirit, the anointing with oil was associated with praying for
the sick.151 Even Jesus disciples practiced this when they
were sent out two by two. Mark wrote that they anointed
with oil many who were sick and healed them (Mark 6:713).
James specifies that the person who is sick is to call for
the elders (who were the most righteous in the church), so
they may pray over him, anointing him with oil. Notice he
says, it is the prayer of faith that brings healing and not
the oil. I recently saw a commercial in which a televangelist
was trying to sell oil that apparently had been prayed over
for twenty-one days. The sales pitch was that this oil
guaranteed healing. As James wrote, quite possibly in the
face of similar charlatans, no oil by itself brings healing.
It is the prayer of faith that God uses to bring healing
because, The prayer of a righteous person has great power
151
In the first century there was no medical care like today. Doctors were
rare and people usually received treatment at home, which is why oil was
commonly used for those who were sick.
209
as it is working (James 5:16). Those who are sick and those

who pray ought to have faith and trust in the Lords power
to heal. Moreover, if they have any sin in their lives they
need to confess it.
James does imply that though sickness is not always a
result of sin, sometimes it can be. This is why he encourages
people who are sick to confess their sins (James 5:16). Prayer
that is offered in faith by a forgiven believer is powerful and
effective but does not always bring healing. As we have
observed already, God does not always heal in every case.
His grace is always sufficient.
In conclusion, as with the laying on of hands, this
practice of anointing with oil also has a positive place in the
church today. Today, elders might also make sure that those
who are sick are not only prayed for, and anointed with oil,
but also receive the proper treatment they need.
Conclusion
In this book we have seen what Scripture says regarding
the true doctrine of prayer. We enter into the throne room
of our King with an attitude of worship, adoration, and
dependence upon Him and Him alone. With all reverence
and awe we confess our sins and intercede for others to the
Father, through the Son, and by the Holy Spirit.
We can now obey the command to pray and recognize
that God ordains prayer as the means to accomplish His
purposes, such as strengthening our fellowship and deepening our trust in Him. The Sovereign Lord alone has opened
up the way for us to approach Him. By the blood of Jesus
Christ in His atoning sacrifice on the cross, believers have
the privilege of intimately entering into the presence of the
High and Lofty One for communion. Praise the Lord for
His kindness.
210
In public and in private we were introduced to what

Scripture teaches regarding the manner in which we pray. In
all humility we give praise to God the Father who sent forth
His Holy Spirit, the Comforter who teaches us to pray
bringing to mind the Word of God by which we may set
forth our case before Him who calls us to draw near to the
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
211
213
Chapter Seventeen:
Robert Murray McCheyne: A Preacher
Marked by Prayer
HERE HAVE been numerous great preachers and

great sermons in the history of the Christian
church. They have always gone together hand in hand. In
the days of the Old Testament, before entering the Promised
Land, there was Moses the first great preacher and founder
of biblical preaching.
The times of the former prophets were marked by
powerful preachers such as Samuel and Elijah. Amos,
Jeremiah, and Isaiah were just a few of the amazing men
who preached in the times of the latter prophets. After
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit empowered such men as Peter,
Stephen, Paul and others to herald the good news of Christ
Jesus the Lord. Each one of these individuals were men who
prayed.
Though the canon of Scripture was closed, and men
would no longer be used in the same God-breathed
qeo,pneustoj (theopneustos)152 fashion, the Lord has not
stopped empowering individuals to preach the unadulterated Word of God. From the preaching of Ambrose of
Milan, whom the Holy Spirit used to convert Saint
Augustine, or the powerful preaching of Martin Luther and
John Calvin, who were used to bring Gods people back to
sola Scriptura, God has continued His preaching ministry and
152
The Greek word qeo,pneustoj (theopneustos) God-breathed is the

term used in 2 Timothy 3:16 to describe the nature of the written Word
of God.
215
has shown the church that this powerful preaching is always

tied to an effective prayer life.
There are countless numbers of men, who by Gods
grace, humbled themselves and sought after the smile of
God in prayer that they may be instruments of His majesty:
George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Richard Baxter,
Charles Spurgeon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and others.
There was nothing special in and of themselves that God
would call them to such a high calling. Yet, God called them
in His special grace and these men would be instrumental
for drawing people into the Kingdom. In this final chapter,
we are going to briefly gaze into the life of another great man
of God, the Scottish preacher Robert Murray McCheyne.153
The Life of Robert Murray McCheyne

On May 21st of the year 1813, Robert Murray McCheyne
was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Having two brothers and
one sister he was the youngest child of four. Amazingly, at
the young age of four, he taught himself to name and write
all the letters in the Greek alphabet. His intelligence and
memory was beyond many of his peers. In 1827, he entered
the University of Edinburgh and excelled in all his courses.
He graduated from the University in 1830 and came
under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas Chalmers at Divinity Hall.
This was around the time that Roberts older brother, a
brilliant classical scholar, died at the age of 26. Andrew
Bonar, McCheynes close friend, explained the impact
Davids death had upon Robert:
The death of this brother, with all its circumstances, was
used by the Holy Spirit to produce a deep impression on
153
Sometimes he is referred to as Robert Murray MCheyne.

216
Chapter Seventeen: Robert Murray McCheyne: A Preacher Marked by Prayer
Robert's soul His quiet hours seem to have often been

spent in thoughts of him who was now gone to glory.
From that day on his friends observed a change. His poetry was pervaded with serious thought, and all his pursuits began to be followed out in another spirit. He engaged in the labors of a Sabbath school, and began to seek
God to his soul, in the diligent reading of the Word, and
attendance on a faithful ministry.154
In the year of 1835 at the age of twenty-two, Robert

Murray McCheyne was licensed to preach by the Presbytery
of Annan. Upon this glorious call he stated:
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, be
stirred up to praise and magnify his holy name!' What I
have so long desired as the highest honor of man, Thou
at length givest me-me who dare scarcely use the words of
Paul: 'Unto me who am less than the least of all saints is
this grace given, that I should preach the unsearchable
riches of Christ.' Felt somewhat solemnized, though unable to feel my unworthiness as I ought. Be clothed with
humility.155
After preaching in rural places such as Dunipace and

Larbert, McCheyne was chosen to be the pastor of St. Peters
church in Dundee. All of the trials and sorrows McCheyne
experienced in life God had used to prepare him for the
work He had for him in Dundee, Scotland.
154
Robert Murray McCheyne, Life and Remains: Letters, Lectures and Poems
of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, Minister of St. Peter's Church, Dundee
(New York: Robert Carter and Bros, 1856), 10.
155
Andrew Bonar, Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray
M'Cheyne: Minister of St. Peter (Edinburgh: Stevenson and Company,
1846), 31.
217
A Man Moved to Pray

McCheyne was a man who immersed himself in the
calling to which God had sovereignly placed in his life.
Immediately after his licensing to preach, he began to study
some of the great Puritan preachers such as John Newton,
Jonathan Edwards, and Samuel Rutherford.156 These men of
God, and others, would no doubt have an impact on his
ministry, for McCheyne was a powerful preacher and a man
of great prayer.
Professor David Estrada, in his article Robert Murray
MCheyne: The Shining Light of Scotland, declared that from
McCheynes first sermon157 his ministry would be the
means of awakening souls He goes on to state, Right
from the start he undertook an active programme of ministerial activities. Notes were kept of all his pastoral visits
with dates, descriptions and a record of the passages of
Scripture read.158 Moreover, he put together a team to go
out and witness, organized deaconesses to do visitations,
instituted a Thursday night Bible study, and began a church
library to educate his people in the things of God.
But in all these things, humanly speaking, we could
point to his prayer life as the source of his ministerial
success. McCheyne was a man known for his deep piety and
prayer. Among all the different types of ministry he began,
the weekly prayer meeting he established was what he
156
McCheyne was very familiar with Martin Luther, Robert Bruce,

Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Edward Fisher, and Thomas Boston.
157
In the Memoirs it is recorded that McCheynes first sermon was on
Isaiah 61:1-3: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me To this McCheyne
wrote, May it be prophetic of the object of my coming here!
158
David Estrada, Robert Murray MCheyne: The Shining Light of
Scotland, Christianity and Society: The Biannual Journal of the Kuyper
Foundation Vol. 14, N. 4 (October 2004): 29.
218
believed was the seeds of all the fruit that would come from
his ministry.
McCheyne wanted to be like his Lord. In his words he
once said, It is not great talent God blesses so much as great
likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the
hand of God.159 How true this is. Dr. Estrada pointed out
that this concern to be like Jesus was the clue to
MCheynes successful ministry.160
Going before the Lord in prayer was crucial to his
ministry. It is said that he would spend two hours every
morning in private prayer, and another hour and a half in
family prayer. On Sundays, he was known to spend up to six
hours in prayer and devotions! Andrew Bonar and
McCheyne would make it a point to pray every Saturday
evening for a glorious Sabbath.
It was important for McCheyne to have close fellowship
with God before he went before the congregation. It was
said that, He needed to be bathed in the love God.161
McCheyne would never preach to his people without having
spent a considerable amount of time in prayer and meditation. He utterly depended upon God, loved to be in the
presence of the Lord, and always tried to enjoy God
throughout the day no matter where he was.
Prayer, the Precursor to Revival

McCheyne also had a heart for the Jewish people and
prayed an hour a day for them. After he returned from a
missionary trip to the Holy Land he began another weekly
prayer meeting with several pastors in the Dundee area. In
159
McCheyne, Life and Remains, 241.

Estrada, Robert Murray MCheyne, 28.
161
Estrada, Robert Murray MCheyne, 31.
160
219
chapter five of his book, Bonar describes this prayer meeting

and writes:
Mr. McCheyne was never absent from this prayer meeting
unless through absolute necessity, and the brethren
scarcely remember any occasion on which some important remark did not drop from his lips. He himself reaped
great profit from it. He notes, Dec. 8; This has been a
deeply interesting week. On Monday our ministerial
prayer meeting was set agoing in St. David's vestry. The
hearts of all seem really in earnest in it. The Lord answers
prayer; may it be a great blessing to our souls and to our
flocks.162
It was while McCheyne was away in Israel that a major

spiritual awakening took place in Scotland. What he had
been earnestly praying about for years had begun. A mighty
movement of God would take place and Robert Murray
McCheyne would see St. Peters Church in Dundee grow to
over one-thousand members.163 Moreover, he would be
graced by God to witness a spiritual awakening that spread
from Scotland to England.
There is no doubt that McCheynes preaching was
instrumental toward this outpouring of Gods Spirit. St.
Peters church would get so crowded that services had to be
held outside on many occasions. It is said that in Dundee
there were thirty-nine public and private prayer meetings
with five of them being started by children.164
162
Bonar, Memoir and Remains, 135-136.

It is said that there were more than three-thousand people attending
St. Peters Church in Dundee during McCheynes ministry.
164
J. Harrison, Hudson, The Impact of Robert Murray McCheyne, Life
and Work (Jan, 1987).
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/d.haslam/mccheyne/hudson/Impact_of_Mc
Cheyne (accessed Aug 2, 2007).
163
220
Prayer the Means for Effective Preaching

The time McCheyne spent before the Lord gave him a
better perspective of the high calling God had placed upon
him as a shepherd of Gods people. He was known for
saying, I have no desire but the salvation of my people, by
whatever instrument.165 Little did he know, McCheyne
would be an instrument God would use for centuries to
come. His time with God in prayer and meditation manifested itself in a passion for souls and effective preaching.
Dr. Estrada explained the depth of McCheynes personal
holiness in relation to bringing forth the Word of God to
his congregation:
His preaching and all other activities were preceded by
long periods of prayer. He kept by this rule: that he must
first see the face of God before he could undertake any
duty. I ought to spend the best hours of the day in
communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful
employment, and is not to be thrust into any corner.
Both in his preaching and teaching he was very much
concerned with feeding the congregation with the whole
counsel of God.166
McCheyne preached the Word of God with a certain

gravity and solemnity. He sought after the unction of the
Holy Spirit and spoke intently to his congregation. His
pulpit was said to have been wet with his tears as he urged
people to commit their lives to Christ.167 This seriousness to
165
McCheyne, Life and Remains, 106.

David Estrada, Robert Murray MCheyne, 31.
167
J. Harrison, Hudson, The Impact of Robert Murray McCheyne,
Life and Work (Jan, 1987).
166
221
the calling of God would bring forth much fruit for the
Kingdom.
Robert Murray McCheyne frequently battled ill health.
This kept him from his congregation and ministry at times.
While he was visiting the sick people among his congregation he caught typhoid fever and died in 1843. He ministered for less than seven years at the church of Dundee, and
died at the age of 29.
Little did he know that God would use him to accomplish such a glorious work. McCheynes life was one which
was marked by the presence of God. As his dear friend
Andrew Bonar wrote concerning McCheyne in Memoirs:
His eminently holy walk and conversation, combined
with the deep solemnity of his preaching, was specially
felt. Holiness in him was manifested, not by efforts to
perform duty, but in a way so natural, that you recognized
therein the easy outflowing of the indwelling Spirit. He
lived in the blessed consciousness that he was a child of
God, humble and meek . . . Many often felt that in prayer
the name Holy Father was breathed with peculiar tenderness and solemnity from his lips.168
Robert Murray McCheyne's life was a life unquestionably marked by the presence of God. Only this could account
for the impact he made on so many souls. He lived in a way
that exemplified the words he so often repeated: Live so as
to be missed. It has been more than one-hundred fifty years
and his saintliness still burns bright.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/d.haslam/mccheyne/hudson/Impact_of_Mc
Cheyne (accessed Aug 2, 2007).
168
Bonar, Memoir, 146.
222
223
225
Bibliography
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL.: Good News
Publishers, 2001.
The Holy Bible: New American Standard Version. Chicago, IL.:
Moody Press, 1978.
The Holy Bible: New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson, 1997.
Aland, B. and K. Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece. 27th ed.,
Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993.
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The Cambridge Declaration of
Confessing Evangelicals. 1996.
http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe
=http://www.reformed.org/documents/cambridge.html
Augustine. Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament, Vol 2.
Oxford.: James Parker and Co and Rivingtons, 1875.
http://books.google.com/books?id=hJiLwyOH6sC&pg=PA957&lpg=PA957&dq=saint+augustine+%22delive
r+me+from+myself%22&source=web&ots=cwvJ2ZVEgZ&sig
=gcnTvuuwob_0pWjKKcvoWV6F4aU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=bo
ok_result&resnum=1&ct=result
Azurdia, Arturo. Lecture on John 17, A Prayer for Reciprocal Glory
can be found on
www.spiritempoweredpreaching.com/sermons.htm (accessed
June, 2008).
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans,
reprint 1996.
226
Bonar, Andrew. Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray

M'Cheyne: Minister of St. Peter. Edinburgh: Stevenson and Company, 1846.
http://books.google.com/books?id=YTEDAAAAYAAJ&print
sec=frontcover&dq=robert+murray+mccheyne&ei=-RedSPTMYLwsQPK4JmeBQ, (accessed August 10, 2007).
Bruce, F.F. The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition and Notes.
Grand Rapids, MI.;
Eerdmans, 1993.
Bunyan, John. Prayer. Carlisle, PA.: The Banner of Truth, 1999.
Calvin, John. Calvins Commentaries, Vol. 14. Commentaries on the
Twelve Minor Prophets. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House,
2009.
________. Calvins Commentaries, Vol. 22. Commentaries on
Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, James, 2 Peter, Jude. Grand Rapids, MI.:
Baker Book House, 2009.
Thurston, Herbert, and Andrew Shipman. "The Rosary." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Co, 1912.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13184b.htm>. (accessed May
16, 2008).
Clark, Gordon H. Religion, Reason, and Revelation. Hobbs, NM.:
Trinity Foundation, 1961.
Elliger, K. and Rudolph, W. eds. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.
Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.
Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids,
MI.: Baker, 2001.
227
Estrada, David. Robert Murray MCheyne: The Shining Light of

Scotland, Christianity and Society: The Biannual Journal of the
Kuyper Foundation Vol. 14, N. 4 (October 2004): 28-37.
Fausset, A.R. Fausset's Bible Dictionary. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1998.
Frame, John. Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship. Philipsburg,
New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2002.
Gingrich, Wilbur. F. Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament
Second Edition Revised by Frederick W. Danker. University of
Chicago Press: Chicago and London, 1957.
Harris, R.L., Archer, G.L. and Waltke, B.K. Theological Word Book
of the Old Testament. Chicago, IL.: Moody Press, 1980.
Hendriksen, William. Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew:
New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book
House, 1973.
_____. Exposition of Pauls Epistle to the Romans: New Testament
Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 1981.
_____. Exposition of the Gospel According to John: New Testament
Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 1953.
_____. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon:
New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book
House, 1962.
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henrys Commentary on the Whole Bible.
Logos Library System. Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1997.
Hinn, Benny. Rise and Be Healed! Celebration Publishers, 1991,
p.47-48
228
Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. New York, Charles Scribner

& Co, 1872; reprint Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Publishing,
Volumes 1-3, 1940.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology3.iv.iii.iii.html
(accessed April 7, 2007).
Hudson, J. Harrison. "Impact of Robert Murray McCheyne." Life
and Work (Jan, 1987)
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/d.haslam/mccheyne/hudson/Im
pact_of_McCheyne.htm,
(accessed August 2, 2007).
International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. CD-ROM. Seattle:
Biblesoft, 1996.
Keil, C. F. and F. Delitzsch. Psalms, Biblical Commentary on the Old
Testament. Translated by Francis Bolton. Volume 5. Peabody,
MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1860.
Luther, Martin. Luthers Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament 1.
Edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut
T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999).
McCheyne, Robert Murray. Life and Remains: Letters, Lectures and
Poems of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, Minister of St. Peter's
Church, Dundee. New York: Robert Carter and Bros, 1856.
http://books.google.com/books?id=BqQlAAAAMAAJ&print
sec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0, (accessed
August 10, 2007).
McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft,
2000.
McGrath, Alistair, E. Intellectual Dont Need God and Other Modern
Myths. Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 1993
229
Moody, D.L. "Prayers of the Bible." Great Preaching on Prayer:

Volume 8. Ed. Hutson, Curtis. Murfreesboro, TN.: Sword of the
Lord Publishers, 2000.
______. Prevailing Prayer: What Hinders it? Chicago, IL.: F.H.
Revell, 148 and 150 Madison St., 1884.
Morey, Robert. A Theology of Prayer Syllabus (MIN 502). Irvine, CA:
California Biblical
University, 2007.
Murray, Iain H. Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of
American Evangelicalism 1750-1858. Carlisle, PA.: Banner of Truth
Trust, 1994.
Murray, John. The Finality & Sufficiency of Scripture. In the Collected
Writings of John Murray; Volume 1, The Claims of Truth. Carlisle, PA.:
Banner of Truth Trust, 1976.
Newton, John. On Public Prayer, Fire and Ice: Puritan and
Reformed Writings.
http://www.puritansermons.com/newton/newton4.htm
Owen, John. Commentary on Hebrews. Works I, Grand Rapids,
MI.: Baker Book House, reprinted 1980.
Palmer, B. M., Theology of Prayer. As Viewed in the Religion of Nature
and in the System of Grace. Richmond: Presbyterian Committee of
Publication, 1894.
Pink, Arthur. The Sovereignty of God. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker
Books, 1930.
Prime, Samuel. The Power of Prayer: The New York Revival of 1858.
Carlisle, PA.: The Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1991.
230
Reymond, Robert L. A New Systematic Theology of the Christian

Faith. Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson, 1998.
Rosean, Lexa. Cast a Spell. Cosmo Girl, April 2008.
Rudge, William Jr., Letter to the author. 12 Dec. 2008.
Ryle, J.C. Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Volume Four: John10:31
21:25. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, reprinted 2007.
_______. Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Volume Two: Luke.
Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, reprinted 2007.
_______. Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Volume One: Matthew,
Mark. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, reprinted 2007.
Sala, Harold J. Touching God. 52 Guidelines for Personal Prayer.
Camp Hill, PA.: Christian Publications, Inc. 2000.
Sargent, Tony. The Sacred Anointing: The Preaching of Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones. Wheaton, IL.: Crossway Books, 1994.
Spurgeon, Charles H. Effective Prayer. Chateau: GospelMission,
1981.
www.spurgeongems.org/chs_prayer.htm (accessed May 26,
2008).
_______. The Love of God and the Patience of Christ, Sermon 2028.
Newington: Metropolitan Tabernacle, June 17, 1888.
_______. A Definite Challenge for Definite Prayer.
http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/3537.htm (accessed
May 26, 2008).
_______. The Treasury of David: Psalm 96.
http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps096.htm (accessed May
26, 2008).
231
Sproul, R.C. The Holiness of God. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House
Publishers, 1998.
_______. The Prayer of the Lord. Orlando, FL.: Reformation Trust
Publishing. 2009.
Torrey, R.A. The Power of Prayer. Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1987.
Warfield, B.B. Prayer as a Means of Grace, Faith and Life.
Carlisle, PA.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1916.
Watson, Thomas. The Lords Prayer. First published as part of A
Body of Practical Divinity. 1692. Book For the Ages. AGES Software Albany, OR.: 1997.
http://www.lawtonprecepts.org/library/pdf/WAT_LDPR.PD
F (accessed June 21, 2008).
Webster. William. The Church of Rome at the Bar of History.
Carlisle, PA.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995.
The Westminster Standards: The Confession of Faith, The Larger
Catechism, The Shorter Catechism. Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publications, 1978.
Whitefield, George. Intercession every Christian's Duty
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.lvi.html,
(accessed May 31, 2008).
Wirt, Sherwood Eliot. Billy: A Personal Look at Billy Graham, the
World's Best-loved Evangelist. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1997.
Young, Robert. Youngs Literal Translation of the Holy Bible, Revised
Ed. Ann Arbor, MI.: Cushing-Malloy, 1898.
232
CONCORDANCE
biblical, xv, xvii, xviii, xx, xxv, 7, 9,
14, 16, 22, 25, 58, 62, 86, 90,
106, 128, 136, 159, 169, 173,
178, 198, 199, 200, 202, 208,
215
biblical
interpretation.
See
hermeneutics
Bloesch, D. G, 152
Bonar, Andrew, 216, 217, 219,
220, 222
Boston, Thomas, 218
Bruce, F. F., 45, 46
Bruce, Robert, 218
Buddha, 178
Buddhist, 178
Bunyan, John, xx, xxi, 23, 28, 56,
61, 193, 218
A
Abba, 55
Abraham, xv, xvi, 21, 62, 64, 68,
101, 103, 143, 156
active obedience, 88, 89
Adam, xiv, 13, 110, 193
adoption, 56, 58, 59, 130, 194
adoration, xxv, 136, 137, 138, 210
affliction, 93, 94, 96, 127, 134
American, xiv, 32, 113, 126, 172,
174, 177, 183, 184, 186
angel, 66, 122, 161, 183, 208
anxiety, 103, 153
anxious, 103, 135, 153
apologetics, 9, 196
arguing, 33, 199, 201, 202
argument, 61, 199, 202
arguments, 7, 199, 200, 201
attitude, 23, 36, 93, 95, 99, 104,
109, 116, 129, 134, 142, 159,
169, 178, 179, 210
Augustine, 120, 215
authentic, 179
awakenings, 184
Azurdia, Dr. Arturo, 42, 226
C
Calvin, John, 11, 54, 55, 65, 76,
129, 195, 215
Calvin, John, 172
Cambridge Declaration, 14
Chalmers, Dr. Thomas, 216
Christ, 4, 6, 22, 27, 28, 35, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 56, 58,
59, 67, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80,
85, 94, 104, 114, 115, 116,
121, 124, 125, 128, 129, 131,
134, 136, 149, 152, 153, 159,
163, 172, 183, 187, 192, 193,
194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 206,
210, 215, 217, 222
Christian, 2, 3, 7, 9, 14, 27, 31, 32,
42, 45, 53, 54, 55, 61, 63, 65,
77, 80, 94, 99, 106, 109, 110,
113, 114, 115, 116, 123, 130,
B
Baxter, Richard, 216, 218
Berkhof, Louis, 63, 64
Bible, xiv, xv, xvii, xxv, 4, 6, 7, 9,
13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22,
26, 28, 56, 63, 84, 107, 155,
156, 169, 170, 195, 218
233
131, 142, 157, 174, 177, 186,

187, 197, 215
Christianity, 17, 32, 126, 218
church, xx, xxi, xxv, 2, 4, 5, 9, 13,
27, 33, 61, 62, 77, 79, 90, 95,
124, 125, 129, 134, 142, 149,
150, 151, 162, 173, 182, 183,
185, 187, 206, 207, 208, 209,
210, 215, 216, 217, 218, 220,
222
Clark, Gordon H., xiv, 4, 8
common grace, 102
communication, xv, xvi, xxv, 21,
22, 24, 26, 28, 51, 159, 187,
188
communion, xxv, 26, 27, 28, 41,
79, 80, 149, 159, 177, 180,
210, 221
confession, 35, 59, 105, 106, 107,
108, 109, 110, 112, 113
Covenant, 12, 15, 21, 40, 55, 57,
63, 106, 113, 200, 201, 202
culture, 19, 169
doctrine, xvi, xvii, xviii, xxv, 7, 136,

163, 210
doxological, 198
Dundee, church of, 217, 220, 222
faith, xxv, 1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15,

16, 28, 39, 41, 46, 56, 76, 84,
90, 97, 101, 107, 108, 120,
121, 123, 124, 125, 128, 143,
144, 152, 158, 160, 163, 164,
181, 192, 199, 209, 210
faithful, 46, 57, 68, 91, 108, 113,
114, 124, 126, 154, 217
fasting, xxv, 164, 202, 203, 204,
205, 206, 207
Father, 7, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35,
36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46,
53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61,
62, 67, 68, 74, 83, 84, 88, 89,
100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107,
108, 109, 113, 115, 116, 119,
124, 133, 134, 144, 145, 149,
151, 158, 163, 164, 170, 173,
175, 176, 178, 192, 196, 197,
198, 204, 210, 211, 222
E
Edwards, Jonathan, 184, 216, 218
eisegesis, 17
encouragement, xxii, 125, 144, 157
Enlightenment, 6
essential, xiv, xxv, 125, 140, 151,
175, 179, 194, 205
Estrada, David, 218, 219, 221
evil, 11, 13, 41, 44, 79, 83, 85,
102, 110, 119, 120, 121, 123,
124, 126, 132, 156, 192, 204
exegesis, xvii
experience, xxi, xxv, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6,
11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 75, 79, 80,
110, 112, 123, 128, 135, 174
Daniel, 138, 139, 141, 151, 155,

161, 202
David. See King David
Davies, Samuel, 184
Delitzsch, Franz, 110, 111
deliver, 83, 119, 120, 121, 130,
154, 201
depend, 16, 93, 95, 103, 154, 193,
205
dependence, 52, 55, 77, 95, 119,
125, 136, 159, 160, 163, 188,
210
depression, 95, 110
devil, 11, 57, 58, 120, 121, 123
devotional life, 31, 32, 34, 151,
187
dichotomist: nature of man, 105
distractions, 180
234
feelings, xxv, 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 15,

16, 17, 102, 130, 174, 217
fellowship, xxii, xxv, 23, 27, 28, 80,
120, 124, 125, 150, 151, 152,
163, 191, 210, 219
forgiveness, 59, 90, 106, 107, 108,
112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 145,
152, 191, 192, 198, 201
formula, 159, 181
Frame, Dr. John, 15, 16, 84
193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198,

199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204,
205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210,
211, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219,
220, 221, 222; Word of, 4, 13,
15, 87
Gospel, xvii, 34, 45, 46, 69, 74, 76,
78, 83, 100, 107, 114, 157,
175; of Luke, 32; of Mark, 33
Gospels, 7, 44, 47, 52, 97, 172,
196
grace, xx, xxi, xxii, 12, 23, 26, 28,
46, 47, 54, 56, 58, 59, 68, 74,
75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 84, 88, 90,
92, 95, 99, 101, 106, 107, 108,
114, 115, 116, 123, 125, 126,
127, 130, 132, 142, 143, 152,
162, 164, 191, 192, 193, 194,
195, 202, 205, 210, 211, 216,
217
Greek, 22, 27, 62, 90, 107, 111,
119, 120, 202, 215, 216
G
Gentiles, 175, 176
Gethsemane, Garden of, 35, 39
glory, xviii, xxi, 3, 14, 15, 35, 42,
43, 46, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 73,
74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 87, 92,
94, 100, 112, 128, 131, 134,
136, 137, 141, 159, 162, 179,
196, 199, 205, 217
God, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xxi, xxii,
xxiv, xxv, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21,
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31,
32, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41, 42,
44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53, 54,
55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63,
64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 73, 74,
75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 84,
85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92,
93, 94, 95, 96, 99, 100, 101,
102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,
108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113,
114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120,
121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,
127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133,
134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139,
140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145,
149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154,
155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160,
161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 169,
170, 171, 173, 174, 176, 177,
179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184,
185, 186, 187, 188, 191, 192,
H
healing, xxiv, 207, 208, 209, 210
heart, 2, 13, 14, 16, 23, 25, 28, 41,
42, 45, 58, 62, 65, 68, 90, 91,
92, 95, 103, 110, 113, 115,
120, 124, 126, 132, 133, 134,
136, 142, 156, 157, 160, 161,
164, 165, 169, 177, 178, 179,
192, 201, 204, 205, 206, 219
hearts, 41, 55, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80,
115, 116, 122, 123, 153, 169,
176, 192, 194, 196, 197, 220
heaven, 32, 34, 46, 52, 53, 64, 66,
67, 68, 73, 74, 75, 78, 81, 83,
95, 96, 100, 101, 108, 138,
140, 169, 170, 171, 179, 182,
194, 203
Hebrew, 21, 22, 25, 62, 63, 64,
105, 111, 133, 139, 159, 202
Hendriksen, William, 41, 45, 76,
100, 114, 194
235
Henry, Matthew, 25, 26, 176
Hermeneutics, 16
High Priest, xxv, 39, 42, 43, 46,
144
High Priestly prayer, 39, 169
Hodge, Charles, 19, 79
Holy of Holies, 40, 41
Holy Spirit, xxi, 19, 28, 34, 42, 58,
88, 102, 107, 130, 131, 144,
183, 184, 186, 193, 194, 195,
196, 197, 198, 206, 207, 208,
209, 210, 211, 215, 216, 221
homage, 136
homeboy, 173
Hudson, Harrison J., 220, 222
humble, 125, 126, 128, 158, 162,
163, 205, 206, 222
humbled, 128, 161, 165, 205, 216
humility, 68, 116, 125, 159, 170,
205, 211, 217
Jefferson, Thomas, 6, 7
Jesus, xvi, xxv, 4, 6, 26, 27, 31, 32,
33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42,
43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53,
54, 55, 56, 57, 62, 67, 73, 74,
75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 84,
85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94,
95, 96, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103,
105, 106, 108, 115, 116, 119,
120, 121, 128, 130, 131, 133,
134, 136, 142, 144, 149, 150,
151, 152, 153, 157, 158, 159,
160, 162, 169, 170, 171, 172,
173, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180,
181, 183, 191, 192, 194, 195,
196, 197, 198, 202, 203, 204,
206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 215,
219
Jonah, xxv, 11, 12, 13, 204
intercede, 40, 41, 142, 144, 146,

198, 210
intercedes. See intercede, See
intercede, See intercede, See
intercede, See intercede, See
intercede
interceding, 143, 144, 180, 185
intercession, xxv, 39, 43, 44, 46,
47, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146,
198
invocation, 22
Isaiah, the Prophet, 15, 68, 106,
141, 149, 153, 191, 204, 206,
215, 218
Israel, xvi, 11, 13, 57, 63, 64, 66,
67, 73, 84, 94, 106, 112, 122,
127, 135, 137, 139, 140, 143,
144, 156, 161, 170, 171, 179,
198, 220
Keil, C. F., 111

Kim, Billy, 185
King David, 22, 25, 26, 32, 63, 66,
92, 102, 110, 114, 122, 127,
136, 164, 182, 203
King Solomon, 100, 170, 179
kingdom, 53, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77,
78, 79, 80, 83, 99, 103, 137,
145, 161, 216, 222
knowledge, xv, xviii, 3, 8, 9, 11, 13,
15, 16, 79, 84, 91, 145, 199
Knox, John, 184
Korea, 185
Korean, 185, 186
L
law, 13, 14, 21, 26, 87
Lloyd-Jones, Dr. Martyn, xx, xxi,
28, 216
logical, 3, 6
236
Lord, xx, xxii, xxiii, xxv, 5, 11, 12,

13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25,
31, 32, 35, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46,
47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57,
62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 73,
74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81,
84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93,
94, 95, 96, 100, 101, 102, 103,
104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109,
111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 119,
120, 121, 122, 124, 125, 126,
127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132,
133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138,
139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144,
145, 146, 149, 151, 152, 153,
154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159,
160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165,
169, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175,
177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182,
183, 184, 186, 187, 196, 197,
198, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204,
205, 206, 208, 209, 210, 215,
217, 218, 219, 220, 221
Lords Prayer, xxv, 41, 49, 51, 52,
53, 56, 62, 81, 88, 93, 105,
106, 115, 116, 119, 120, 133,
142, 177, 180
love, xxiii, 3, 7, 26, 40, 43, 45, 55,
56, 57, 59, 66, 85, 88, 89, 108,
112, 115, 116, 127, 129, 136,
138, 142, 149, 153, 163, 175,
185, 187, 196, 197, 200, 201,
219
Lucifer. See Satan
Luther, Martin, 107, 183, 184,
215, 218
mercy, 12, 40, 47, 64, 86, 102,

108, 114, 142, 153, 181, 187,
193, 201, 204, 211
Messiah, 33, 35, 136
mind, xvii, 4, 13, 14, 31, 45, 55,
65, 111, 120, 123, 153, 155,
156, 161, 164, 172, 173, 176,
182, 187, 193, 199, 204, 211
minds, 9, 31, 75, 79, 124, 153
Moody, D. L., 31, 32, 140, 174
Moody, D. L., 174
Morey, Dr. Robert, 15, 59, 195,
200
Mormonism, 9
Moses, xv, xvi, 35, 66, 81, 87, 108,
143, 156, 181, 201, 202, 207,
215
Murray, John, 13
Murray, Iain H., 183
mystics, 2
N
Name it Claim it. See Positive
Confession
Natural Theology, 15
Nebuchadnezzar, 66, 138
New Testament, xvi, 6, 27, 45, 76,
107, 170, 174, 183, 194, 206
New York Revival of 1858, 52, 184
Newton, John, 59, 174, 218
Newton, John, 174
O
oil, 158, 208, 209, 210
Old Testament, xvi, 5, 40, 63, 101,
111, 139, 140, 170, 215
ordained, 157, 207
Owen, John, 27
M
McCheyne, Robert Murray, xxv,
215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220,
221, 222
McGrath, Alister E., 4
Mediator, 26, 39, 41, 43, 144
meditation, 22, 27, 176, 219, 221
P
pagan, 12, 101, 176, 204
Pagans, 2, 176
237
Palmer, Benjamin, xx, 22, 23, 61,

109, 111, 112, 138, 197
parousia. See Second Coming
passive obedience, 88, 93
Passover, 40
Paul, the Apostle, xvi, 12, 13, 40,
47, 55, 56, 58, 78, 79, 80, 86,
90, 104, 116, 123, 124, 125,
126, 127, 128, 130, 134, 135,
142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 149,
150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 164,
170, 175, 187, 191, 194, 196,
198, 199, 207, 208, 215, 217
peace, 45, 91, 112, 134, 153, 154,
156, 188
peaceful, 131, 141, 143, 154
Pentecost, 85, 150, 183, 208, 215
Peter, the Apostle, 15, 35, 39, 44,
67, 79, 85, 96, 115, 120, 123,
126, 128, 144, 170, 171, 183,
194, 205, 208, 215, 217, 220
petition, 24, 61, 62, 65, 68, 73, 77,
78, 80, 83, 87, 88, 93, 96, 101,
102, 105, 114, 119, 121, 134,
135, 136
Pink, Arthur, 86, 93, 160
Piper, John, 84
pleas, 153, 202
Positive Confession, 158, 159
posture, 169, 170, 171
praise, xiv, xxi, xxii, xxv, 23, 25, 31,
46, 128, 137, 138, 139, 140,
141, 151, 164, 176, 181, 187,
198, 211, 217
pray: Americans, xxiv
prayer: definition of, xxv
prayer bracelet, 178
prayer bracelets, 178
presuppositions, 17
Prime, Samuel, 52, 85, 184
prosperity, 95, 141
Psalmist, 65, 67, 74, 124, 133, 137,
140, 151, 153, 163, 169, 175,
200, 205
Puritan, 25, 27, 28, 55, 59, 88,

180, 218
purpose, xiv, 15, 27, 42, 43, 45, 56,
83, 86, 87, 93, 114, 127, 139,
145, 152, 156, 157, 160, 161,
163, 177, 199, 202
R
Rainey, Dennis, 186
Rationalism, 6
reason, xxv, 1, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13,
15, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25, 53,
128, 140, 141, 149, 161, 162,
163, 201, 207
redemption, 39, 46, 90, 130, 145,
191, 192
Reformation, 146, 177, 183
regeneration, 59, 107
repentance, 25, 90, 97, 107, 108,
110, 152, 180, 181
resurrection, 6, 80, 144
revealed will: God's, 84, 85, 87, 96,
149
reverence, xvii, 65, 67, 68, 69, 137,
171, 173, 210
reverent, xvi, 179
Revival, 52, 182, 183, 184, 185,
186, 206, 219
Revivalism, 183
Roman Catholic, 6, 176, 195
Roman Catholics, 177
Rosary, 176
Rudge, William Jr., xxii, 53, 54
Ryle: J. C., 44, 46, 47, 52, 97, 177,
196
Ryle, J. C., 172, 177
S
Sala, Harold, 32, 174, 188
Sargent, Tony, 28
Satan, 44, 120, 121, 122, 125, 126,
128, 194, See devil
238
Scripture, xv, xvi, xvii, xxv, 4, 6, 7,

11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
19, 21, 22, 40, 46, 52, 54, 59,
61, 63, 66, 74, 78, 80, 83, 84,
87, 88, 93, 105, 116, 122, 126,
128, 136, 145, 150, 155, 158,
159, 178, 181, 195, 196, 197,
198, 199, 202, 204, 207, 210,
211, 215, 218
Second Coming, 46, 78, 80
Septuagint, 22, 111
Sermon on the Mount, xvi, 83,
100, 103, 115, 121, 149, 175
sinner, 3, 90, 107, 116, 171
Sola Scriptura, xvii, 14, 16, 215
Son, 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, 41, 42, 44,
45, 46, 53, 55, 57, 75, 85, 106,
136, 145, 151, 152, 181, 191,
197, 198, 210
spiritual warfare, 161
Sproul, R. C., 68, 69, 177
Spurgeon, Charles, xx, xxi, 69,
141, 181, 182, 185, 196, 197,
199, 202, 216
submission, 28, 88, 93, 94, 95, 97,
99, 136, 152, 159
submit, 13, 88, 93, 95, 96, 129,
164, 173
trials, 93, 119, 121, 127, 128, 200,

205, 217
trichotomist: nature of man, 105
Trinity, xiv, 4, 7, 45, 173, 194, 197
trust, xxv, 65, 66, 93, 103, 124,
125, 153, 154, 163, 164, 188,
210
truth, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15,
16, 19, 26, 43, 44, 45, 46, 57,
66, 74, 84, 89, 96, 101, 114,
130, 133, 161, 183, 191
U
unbiblical, 158, 178
unconfessed, 110, 111, 162
Unitarian, 7
W
Ware, Bruce, 84
Warfield, B. B., 26
Watson, Thomas, 56, 77, 78, 80,
81, 87, 88, 93, 94, 106, 120
Webster, William, 196
Wesley, John, 184
Westminster Confession of Faith,
14, 108
Westminster Shorter Catechism,
58
Whitefield, George, 142, 184, 216
Wiccans, 2
wicked, 12, 25, 44, 58, 95, 123,
128, 198, 204
will of decree: God's, 83, 85, 86, 87
will of desire: God's, 83, 84, 86, 87
Word, of God, xvii, 4, 11, 12, 13,
15, 16, 19, 20, 28, 31, 44, 66,
75, 76, 84, 87, 88, 92, 96, 97,
103, 107, 124, 125, 139, 140,
143, 145, 155, 160, 180, 187,
193, 194, 200, 202, 204, 211,
215, 217, 221
T
teaching, 132, 150, 158, 159, 163,
173, 194, 221
temptation, 53, 83, 104, 119, 120,
121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,
127, 131, 132, 142
temptations, 101, 119, 120, 121,
122, 123, 125, 127, 128, 129,
146
thankful, 42, 54, 131, 134, 162
Thanksgiving, 133, 134, 135, 136,
153, 198
thanksgivings, 142, 154
The Great Awakening, 184
Torrey, R. A., 69
239
worship, 11, 46, 92, 135, 136, 138,

139, 142, 159, 163, 165, 171,
175, 178, 197, 210
Y
Yahweh, 12, 15, 63, 106, 149!
240
SCRIPTURE INDEX
Genesis
1:31,
106
2:7,
105
3:12,
110
4:35,
92
4:26,
22
6:5,
7,13
9:26,
12:8,
63
32:12,
201
35:11,
64
35:28,
105
43:14,
64
48:14,
207
50:20,
85
Exodus
21,63
14:19,
64
3:14-15,
17:1-8,
64
8:30,
xvi
8:12,
143
17:5,
62
63
18:2233,
156
20:7,
62
18:2332,
143
32:10,
156
143
18:27,
68
32:14,
20:17,
xvi
33:1216,
21:33,
21
22:7,
103
22:8,
103
4:3,
40
22:14,
103
16,
40
24:9,
64
16:3,6,11,
40
25:21,
xvi
16:5,9,15,
40
28:3,
64
16:7,8,
40
16:14,
40
32:912,
143
Leviticus
xvi
241
16:20-22,
40
16:2934,
203
19:2,
84
20:26,
205
24:16,
63
Judges
20:26,
1 Samuel
Numbers
12:13,
1:26,
170
2:67,
155
3,
181
14:1319,
202
93
3:1014,
146
93
3:18,
93
202
14:20,
107
7:6,
21:7,
198
12:23,
144
23:19,
155
13:14,
164
25:25,
63
27:1823,
207
Deuteronomy
3:26,
2 Samuel
158
9:9, 202
1:12,
203
11:1,
127
9:26,
201
11:23,
127
29:29,
87
12:14,
164
31:6, 8,
57
12:20,
165
12:21,
203
12:22,
164
Joshua
1:5,
22:4,
57
7:6, 171
7:19,
112
242
139, 141
24:1,
122
24:2,
126
1 Kings
1:6,
198
8:22,
170
8:6,
171
8:25,
201
11:17,
8:54,
170
18:26,
201
18:42,
171
135
Job
1:21,
2 Kings
94,101
2:9,
127
2:10,
101
4:17,
94
5:6,
94
18:4,
66
21:7,
107
18:57,
66
19:1019,
198
23:34,
199
34:10,
68
42:8,
1 Chronicles
29,
143
Psalms
138
29:10-13,
137
2,
29:1019,
136
2:12,
136
4:1,
22
5,
Ezra
8:21,
203
8:23,
203
9:5,
170
Nehemiah
1:4,
1:411,
136
203
143
243
22
5:13,
22
5:23,
182
8:9,
66
10:1,
198
17:1,
22
19:79,
14
22:22,
139
24:10,
73
25,
25:6-7,
200
51:4,
110
200-201
51:9,
107
25:7,
201
51:17,
110
25:11,
201
55:17,
175
25:20,
201
61:1,
22
27:78, 193
62:1,
195
28:2,
169
30,
63,
134
30:1-4,
31
63:4,
135
169
63:5-7,
31
30:2,
135
64:1,
22
30:4,
135
65:1,
139
30:12,
198
66,
31:5,
105
66:1619,
32,
111,112
32:1,
107
32:12, 112
25
25
66:18,
162
69:30,
140
69:31,
139
32:34,
110
73,
33:21,
65
73:25,
75
74:1,
198
40,
115
95
40:12,
115
80:12,
198
42:9,
198
85:2,
107
47:7,
73
86,
50,
133
50:14,
133
50:15,
154
50:23,
51,
86:1,
22
95:3,
73
95:6,
133-134
96,
110
96:6,
244
116
171, 175
141
140
96:7-9,
100,
67
148:1, 140
198
102:1,
148:2,
148:5-6,
140
102:19, 139
148:7-10,
140
103:12,
148:13-14
140
104,
22
140
108
138
104:12,
137
104:35,
139
105:1,
198
110: 4,
40
116:12,
149:3,
150:6, 139,140
Proverbs
153
119,
91
119:5,
140
92
3:5,
16
15:8,
151
28:9,
26
30:8,
101
119:11, 124
119:149, 200
Isaiah
121:1, 169
6:113, 141
123:1, 169
134:2,
169
139:1-6, 154
143:1
143:10,
145,
102
145:15-16,
102
102
146:1
,139
146150,
140
147:1,
68
8:20,
15
14:1220,
22
92
145:9,
6:3,
14:14,
64
26:3,
153
38:23,
91
43:25,
106
44:22,
108
46:910,
139
245
128
156
53:12,
144
55:6,
149
55:11,
58,
58:811,
15
Daniel
204
2:20,
138
206-207
2:23,
139
4:30,
66
61:1-3,
64:6,
218
191
4:33,
66-67
4:35,
155
Jeremiah
6:10,
7:16,
156
9:2127,
161
7:23,
91
10:23,
202
11:1112,
156
11:14,
156
14:11,
156
15:1,
156
29:11,
156
29:1214,
31:7,
151, 161
10:12,
161, 202
10:13,
161
Hosea
5:6,
156
157
140
Joel
2:12,
Lamentations
2:19,
169
3:41,
169
Jonah
1:13,
Ezekiel
11
1:3,
12
204
94
3:5,
36:25,
193
3:89,
58
4:2,
246
11
1:2,
24:16,
36:2526,
204
204
11-12
6:9,
Habakkuk
196
6:913,
1:13, 68
53,83
6:11,
6:12,
Zechariah
3:1,
122
12:10,
194
6:16,
115
203
6:1618,
6:25,
204
103
6:2533,
55
6:33,
7:7,
Matthew
102
103
150,158
7:21,
74
4:3,
121
8:3,
208
4:17,
74
8:8,
208
5:6,
206
9:6,
106
5:16,
67
9:15,
203
5:23,
163
9:18,
208
9:38,
196
10:28,
105
11:25,
133
12:9,
175
5:2324,
5:44,
162
102,146,149
5:48,
6,
6:5,
121
6:1415,
Malachi
2:10,
105,115
6:13,
122
3:25,
100
84
92
170,172,175-176
6:58,
13,
175
74
13:19,
75
6:6,
178
13:19,
121
6:7,
176
13:23,
75
6:8,
156
13:2430,
247
75
13:3133,
2:10,
106
75
5:23,
208
33, 178
6:5,
208
14:33,
136
6:713,
15:22,
181
8:22,
16:26,
106
8:2325,
208
10:1316,
207
13:37,
14:23,
75
18:2122,
115
18:27,
114
208
10:35,
159
10:40,
159
v, 182
10:41,
159
37, 39, 42, 44, 78
11:24,
158
12:40,
176
13:26,
78
13:35,
79
14:26,
55
21: 1416,
21:13,
24:30,
209
24:43,
136
79
24:44, 50,
25:13,
79
79
25:2146,
79
25:3132,
80
26:3639,
178
26:41,
Luke
121,149
1:10,
175
196
27:51,
41
1:47,
28:17,
136
3:2122,
28:20,
46
4:16,
175
5:13,
208
5:16,
33
5:24,
106
Mark
34
1:12,
194
1:35,
33
1:41,
208
7:47,
115
2:7,
106
7:49,
106
6:12,
248
34, 179
9:18, 29,
32, 178
9:1820,
35
1:12,
9:2831,
35
1:1213,
10:34,
11:1,
209
1:13,
51, 57
11:24,
11:3,
53
100
11:34,
11:4,
John
142
53, 105, 113, 115, 119
58
76
107, 155
1:16,
76
2:4,
42
2:17,
3:3,
75
3:8,
107
12:47,
91
3:27,
101
13:13,
208
3:30,
77
3:31,
100
15:1132,
94
17:21,
74
3:3132,
89
18:11,
170
4:4653,
94
18:13,
114
4:53,
94
18:3538,
181
5:19,
94
18:4143,
181
5:22, 27,
79
21:27,
78
5:2829,
80
22:31,
44
6,
22:3132,
22:32,
120
6:11,
39, 144
22:3946,
95
133
6:6669,
35
7:30,
96
42
22:42,
160
7:538:1,
23:34,
116
8:20,
42
23:42,
196
8:29,
36
23:46,
105
8:3436,
192
8:4244,
57
249
33
8:44,
121
17:6,
8:50,
100
17:924,
8:58,
63
17:11,
43
9:35,
136
17:15,
44
10:31,
172,
17:20,
45
11:41,
133
17:2026,
12:27,
105
17:21,
45
12:28,
67
17:22,
59
12:31,
44
18:33,
73
18:36,
73
12:4749,
89
89
144
45
13:21,
105
13:35,
45
14:3,
77
1:6,
73
14:15,
89
1:11,
77
150
Acts
14:1617,
194
1:14,
14:2124,
89
2,
183
14:24,
89
14:26,
19
14:30,
44
3:1,
175
14:31,
89
3:7,
208
16:11,
44
4:24,
171
158, 196
4:29,
172
16:23,
16:32,
17,
17:1,
2:23,
2:42,
44
85
28, 124, 125, 150
4:32,
28
39, 41, 145,
6:4,
150
39, 42, 169
6:6,
207
17:126,
39
7:59,
196
17:2, 6,
43
7:60,
116
250
8:17,
208
3:2324,
108
8:29,
194
3:25,
191
9:1016,
196
5:1,
131
9:12, 17,
207
5:9,
191
9:40,
170
5:10,
58
10:19,
194
6:4,
76
12:5,
183
6:13,
58
12:23,
66
7:24,
130
13:2,
194, 206
13:3,
8:1,
207
108, 131
8:7,
8:15,
13
14:23,
206
15:18,
154
8:17,
59
15:26,
105
8:20,
16:14,
107
8:2627,
16:16,
175
8:27,
17:28,
55
19:6,
208
20:36,
170
21:5,
170
9:1819,
28:8,
208
10:1,
146
10:14,
157
10:17,
124
11:33,
127
8:28,
194
144
74, 127, 131, 163

8:29,
152
8:34, 1 44, 194
Romans
1:18, 25,
55, 56, 58, 194, 195
86
1:21,
135
11:3336,
2:4,
108
12:3,
101
2:7,
80
12:5,
125
12:10,
125
3:1011,
13
251
199
12:11,
126
7:7,
128
12:12,
151
8:9,
59
13:8,
125
12:79,
14:6,
135
12:8,
196
15:11,
198
12:9,
164
15:30,
125
125, 143
Galatians
1 Corinthians
3:13,
192
1:4,
145
3:26,
56
2:12,
194
4:6,
55
2:14,
19
4:7,
130
3:17,
4:6,
12
5:5,
105
10:13,
Ephesians
1:4,
125, 126
12:3,
58
12:9,
101
13:912,
15:6,
16:22,
1:411,
1:5,
1:7,
79
6
196
2 Corinthians
56
152
56
90, 114, 191

1:11,
86
1:16,
146
2:1,
107
2:5,
58
2:58,
90
1:4,
128
2:8,
101
1:11,
135
2:13,
192
4:15,
135
2:18,
198
5:8,
80
4:30,
130
5:2,
40
5:17,
75, 107, 115

252
5:20,
135, 196, 198
5:2527,
6:4,
187
5:25,
125, 143
123
2 Thessalonians
6:12,
120
1:3,
145
6:13,
123
3:1,
125
6:16,
122, 124
125, 143, 149, 194

6:1820,
6:19,
1 Timothy
181
2:1,
143
1:3,
145
1:9,
146
1:914,
1:20,
2:15,
3:1213,
2:2,
2:5,
191
155
143, 181
2:34,
145
84
41, 47, 195, 198

4:14,
207
5:22,
208
6:9,
104
5
116
4:2,
149, 150
4:3,
125, 143
2 Timothy
1:6,
1 Thessalonians
1:2,
145
4:9,
125
5:2,
79
207-208
3:12,
94
3:16,
207
4:1,
79
4:16,
146
Titus
125, 134, 154

5:18,
142, 149
2:13,
Colossians
5:17,
105
187
6:1020,
6:18,
5:23,
2:13,
134
253
78
2:14,
130
James
1: 17-18,
Hebrews
1:68,
158
1:6,
136
2:1426,
4:13,
154
4:3,
158
47, 191, 211
4:6,
126
4:7,
123
4:16,
5:610,
40
6:20,
40
5:1415,
7:3,
40
5:16,
7:11, 17,
7:25,
107
91
209
155, 210
40
39, 46, 47, 144, 194
1 Peter
9:24,
46
9:26,
40
4:11,
67, 199
10:4,
40
5:5,
126, 205
10:12,
41
10:1922,
10:20,
10:22,
192
205
5:8,
123
5:89,
5:9,
123
5:10,
80
175
8
12:2,
46
12:56,
131
12:910,
129
13:15,
5:6,
41, 193
11:1,
13:5,
128
41
10:2425,
12:11,
1:7,
120
2 Peter
131
57, 124
142
254
1:34,
15
1:11,
79
3:89,
84
3:10,
79
1 John
1:3,
1:7,
1:9,
Revelation
27
108, 191
4:11,
109, 112, 113, 114
5:810,
100
5:910,
198
2:3,
90
2:36,
90
67
5:12,
136
3:2,
79
6:10,
161
3:22,
158
6:11,
161
3:23,
85
12:10,
122
155, 158
19:10,
136
5:15,
198
20:46, 1213,
5:16,
156
21:4,
5:14,
255
79
80
256

Before God Mike Sarkissian 2-2010

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Before God Mike Sarkissian 2-2010

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Before God:

The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer

To my wife, my family, and my church God, by His free,

Endorsements for Before God

"This is more than just another Christian book on prayer. It is one of

As a pastor with thirty years of experience in three different countries, it

Before God is written with the intention of bringing intensely practical,

In driving out the moneychangers, the Lord Jesus reminded his

Mike Sarkissian does an exceptional job of presenting a biblical

Chapter 1: How Should We Measure Truth? ............................................... 1

Chapter 2: Scripture Alone .......................................................................... 11

Chapter 3: Communication and Communion .......................................... 21

Chapter 4: Jesus Prayer Life ........................................................................ 31

Chapter 5: Jesus Our Mediator and High Priest ........................................ 39

Chapter 6: The Foreword to the Lords Prayer .......................................... 51

Chapter 7: The First Petition ...................................................................... 61

Chapter 8: The Second Petition .................................................................. 73

What Type of Kingdom .................................................................. 73

Chapter 9: The Third Petition .................................................................... 83

Chapter 10: The Fourth Petition ................................................................ 99

Chapter 11: The Fifth Petition .................................................................. 105

Chapter 12: The Sixth Petition ................................................................. 119

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation ............................................. 119

Chapter 14: The Importance of Prayer ..................................................... 149

Chapter 15: The Manner of Prayer ............................................................ 169

Bowing Facedown ......................................................................... 171

Chapter 16: Issues in Prayer ...................................................................... 191

Chapter 17: Robert Murray McCheyne: A Preacher Marked by Prayer 215

Bibliography ............................................................................................... 226

HE BIBLE makes plain that humans bear the

Human language is adequate for theological knowledge and

The significance of the biblical theists philosophy of

Henry, C. F. H. (1999). God, Revelation, and Authority (3:389). Wheaton, Ill.:

am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of

In this book, Mike Sarkissian does an excellent job

him. It is my prayer that each reader of Before God gains a

URING THE past couple of years in Seminary I

Above all and this I regard as most important of all

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (London: Hodder and

LL GLORY to God from whom all blessings flow.

HERE ARE times in life when tragedy unexpectedly

Rasmussen Report. 2005.

biblical doctrine of prayer and examine its importance for

Part One: What is

Chapter One: How Are We To

HERE IS no shortage of confusion of what prayer

Lexa Rosean, Cast a Spell, Cosmo Girl, April 2008, 32.

Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer

It then proceeded to give detailed steps for spells that

Chapter One: How Are We To Measure Truth?

Since I am still a sinner (and will be until glory) there

Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer

driven by this tree stump hundreds of times I still continue

The location of a rainbow is really only determined by where the viewer

Chapter One: How Are We To Measure Truth?

authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over

Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer

Chapter One: How Are We To Measure Truth?

understand. Therefore, it is said that he took a pair of

Before God: The Biblical Doctrine of Prayer

Gordon Clark, in the chapter on Faith and Reason in his book

Chapter One: How Are We To Measure Truth?

how I was now studying apologetics (the defense of the

Chapter Two: Scripture Alone