Praying The Scriptures

CHAPTER ONE<>

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PRAYER

WHAT IS PRAYER?

I suppose a good place to begin is to answer the question, “What is Prayer? Prayer can be defined as the divinely prescribed means for making our requests, petitions and appreciations known to God. Also, prayer has been defined as “A reverent petition made to God, or another object of worship.” According to cardinal Manning, Prayer is the breath of the soul, just as breathing is the sign of life; prayer is the sign of the life of the soul. As articulately presented by cardinal manning, prayer is a vital aspect of the life of every believer. In fact, prayer is so essential to the existence of every child of God, because it is through prayer we are birth into God’s kingdom, and through it we are sustained, inspired and strengthened to the will of God on earth. The great Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ, was a man of prayer. He and prayer were inseparable, in that he prayed ceaselessly and diverse way and different places; sometimes in the quiet of his heart, and at other times with vehement public cries such as was displayed when he resurrected Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44). There truly is tremendous power it is available to church ( Ephesians 1:19), and only through prayer that the bride of Christ can come to full maturity and fulfill her divine mandate by having the impact she has been predestined to have on earth ( Romans 8:19).

More often than not, prayers are offered in anticipation or expectation of an answer, intervention, deliverance or solution. King Hezekiah the letter from Sennacherib to the Lord’s temple and spread it before the Lord, while making supplication to him regarding the threat and harassment of the Assyrian King, and God answered Hezekiah’s prayer through a word from the prophet Isaiah ( 2 Kings 19:8-34). However, if it true that prayer is often offered in expectation or anticipation of an answer, we must understand we cannot expect answers for prayers not offered.

We have been able to establish that prayer is as vital to a believer’s well being, as air is to a person’s continuous existence, it is sad to note how few of us actually engage in this blessed privilege. The church is existing in a glorious time in history. We live in the dispensation of where the veil of the temple has been torn down and that veil is the flesh of Christ (Matthew 27:51A), we now have unhindered access to the father through the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19-20). Faith is ‘Now’ (Hebrews 11:1A), and now is the fulfillment of all things. The Gospel tell us that, ‘The Prophets and the Law prophesied until John the Baptist’ (Matthew 11:13), but now the kingdom of God is here and everyone is pressing into it (Luke 16:16).

In our quest, to understand prayer, we have attempted several definitions of the subject. Among other definitions of prayer, the Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines prayer as ‘A humble and sincere request, as to God; an utterance, as to God thanksgiving, confession etc.