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The lesson library / Lesson 38

Prayer

Explain prayer to the Father through the Son in the Spirit, including praise, confession, petition, intercession, and submission.

Holiness and the life of faith

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Matthew 6:1-18 · Luke 11:5-13 · Romans 8:18-39 · Luke 22:24-46

Prayer is sometimes approached as though the difficult part were finding the wording that makes God act. Jesus directs attention elsewhere. The Father already knows what is needed. Prayer is a real approach to Him, not a method of overcoming His reluctance. That allows both confidence and honesty, including honesty about requests for which the answer may not be what the petitioner wanted.

Read Matthew 6:5-18

5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.
8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him.
9 Pray like this: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Jesus criticizes prayer that is really addressed to an audience. That problem is not cured by making the language more impressive. The model prayer begins with God’s name and kingdom, then includes bread, forgiveness, and deliverance. Ordinary needs belong in prayer, but they do not become the center around which God must arrange His purposes. The Father knows, and the child asks. Those two facts are compatible; prayer is not an information service for a poorly informed deity.

In Luke 11:5–13, Jesus teaches persistent asking and compares human generosity with the Father’s goodness.

The comparison moves from imperfect human relationships to the goodness of the Father. It should not be flattened into the idea that enough annoyance eventually extracts a favor. Persistence expresses continued dependence. The passage ends with the gift of the Holy Spirit, which should correct a reading centered only on obtaining possessions. God’s generosity serves His purposes for His children. A request can be earnest and repeated without becoming a claim that the petitioner knows better than the Father.

There is a difference between asking in Jesus’ name and appending His name as a verbal guarantee. The request is made through His mediation and in allegiance to His character and will. The phrase does not authorize a petitioner to turn any desire into a divine promise. Likewise, confidence in prayer does not require certainty about an outcome God has not specified. A person can be confident that the Father hears and acts wisely while remaining unsure how the particular request will be answered. That is trust in a person, not certainty that a preferred sequence of events must occur.

Read Romans 8:18-30

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
19 For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.
23 Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.
24 For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees?
25 But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.
26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.
27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.
28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.

Sometimes the need is clear while the right request is not. Paul acknowledges that weakness. The Spirit’s intercession is not limited by the petitioner’s ability to produce an elegant sentence. This is not an excuse to avoid thoughtful prayer, but it is relief from the fear that poor expression makes prayer useless. The same passage describes Christ’s intercession and God’s preserving love. Access rests on divine mercy and mediation, not on winning a contest in religious fluency.

Read Luke 22:31-46

31 The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat,
32 but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
33 He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”
34 He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times.”
35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without purse, bag, and sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”
36 Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a bag. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.
37 For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me is being fulfilled.”
38 They said, “Lord, behold, here are two swords.” He said to them, “That is enough.”
39 He came out and went, as his custom was, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples also followed him.
40 When he was at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you don’t enter into temptation.”
41 He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
43 An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.
44 Being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
45 When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief,
46 and said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Jesus’ prayer is earnest, and His submission is real. Submission does not require pretending the suffering is pleasant. That helps explain why lament and trust can occur together. The disciples are also told to pray against entering temptation. Prayer therefore belongs before failure, not only afterward. The scene should make Christians cautious about judging the sincerity of prayer by whether the requested hardship is removed. The clearest example of faithful prayer includes obedience through a path of profound suffering.

Fasting belongs with prayer, but it needs protection from the same distortions that affect prayer. In Matthew 6, Jesus describes fasting that avoids a public performance of distress. The purpose is not to make other people admire the sacrifice. Nor is it to make God unable to refuse the request because sufficient discomfort has been accumulated.

Acts connects fasting and prayer with mission and the appointment of elders. Isaiah 58 exposes the contradiction of fasting while exploiting others. Abstinence does not compensate for injustice. A person cannot replace the duty to treat a worker fairly with the decision to miss a meal and expect the religious action to cancel the wrong.

Biblical fasting ordinarily involves abstaining from food for a purpose connected with seeking God. Limits on entertainment or other distractions can also be useful disciplines, but calling them useful does not require pretending every discipline is the same practice. Neither the duration of abstinence nor the intensity of discomfort measures a person’s standing in Christ. The body’s limitations do not make prayer less acceptable, and this lesson prescribes no demanding physical regimen.

Thanksgiving deserves similarly deliberate attention. A particular answer, deliverance, or provision can be marked with a special occasion of thanks. That helps prevent prayer from becoming a sequence of requests whose answers are forgotten as soon as the next difficulty appears. Gratitude should name what has been received without claiming that everyone who has not received the same outcome lacks faith.

Prayer in the household is another ordinary means of faithfulness. The confession speaks of daily family worship. A workable practice might involve a short passage, an understandable explanation, and prayer concerning real needs. A household with small children or complicated schedules need not imitate a lengthy public service in order to take Scripture seriously. The practice should help people hear and respond, not merely survive an imposed performance.

Regularity is valuable, but it is a servant of attention to God. If an established pattern becomes hurried and empty, the answer may be to make it clearer and more deliberate. Prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving should deepen dependence and obedience. They are not alternative ways of earning the Father’s willingness to hear His children.

Pray about something definite. Thank God, confess what needs confessing, ask plainly, and submit the outcome to His wisdom. Then do the duty already before you. Prayer is not improved by becoming vague, and trust is not demonstrated by pretending an answer has been promised when it has not.

Consider your perspective

Prayer is personal dependence on God, not a technique for controlling Him. Honest lament, persistent requests, thanksgiving, and submission can coexist because trust does not require pretending that pain or desire has disappeared.

Put it into practice

Pray plainly about one pressing need, including your fears and desired outcome. Ask for God's will to be done, and identify the responsibility you should carry out alongside that prayer.

Reflect and respond

  • What desire needs to be brought under God’s will?
  • Are you performing prayer or actually addressing the Father?
  • What responsibility should accompany your request?

Passages and further study

Scripture quotations are from the public-domain World English Bible (WEB). Historical confessions are study aids, subordinate to Scripture. This independent lesson is not an official denominational statement.