History of Prayer

In the Bible “prayer” is used in a simpler and a more complex way; a narrower and a wider signification. In the former case it is supplication for benefits either for one’s self (petition) or for others (intercession). In the latter it is an act of worship which covers all soul in its approach to God. Supplication is at the heart of it, for prayer always springs out of a sense of need and a belief that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). But adoration, confession and thanksgiving also find its place, so that the suppliant becomes a worshipper. It is unnecessary to distinguish all the various terms for prayer that are employed in the Old Testament and the New Testament. But the fact should be noticed that in the Hebrew and Greek aloe there are on the one hand words for prayer that denote a direct petition or short, sharp cry of the heart in its distress (Ps 30:2; 2 Cor 12:8), and on the other “prayers” like that of Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10), which is in reality a song of thanksgiving, or that of Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, in which intercession is mingled with doxology (Eph 3:14-21).

1. In the Old Testament: The history of prayer as it meets us here reflects various stages of experience and revelation. In the patriarchal period, when ‘men began to call upon the name of the Lord’ (Gen 4:26; compare 12:8; 21:33), prayer is naive, familiar and direct (15:2 ff; 17:18; 18:23 ff; 24:12). It is evidently associated with sacrifice (12:8; 13:4; 26:25), the underlying idea probably being that the gift or offering would help to elicit the desired response. Analogous to this is Jacob’s vow, itself a species of prayer, in which the granting of desired benefits becomes the condition of promised service and fidelity (28:20 ff). In the pre-exilic history of Israel prayer still retains many of the primitive features of the patriarchal type (Ex 3:4; Num 11:11-15; Judg 6:13 ff; 11:30 f; 1 Sam 1:11; 2 Sam 15:8; Ps 66:13 f).

The Law has remarkably little to say on the subject, differing here from the later Judaism (see Schurer, Schurer, History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, II, i, 290, index-vol, p. 93; and compare Matt 6:5 ff; 23:14; 3:1; 16:13); while it confirms the association of prayer with sacrifices, which now appear, however, not as gifts in anticipation of benefits to follow, but as expiations of guilt (Deut 21:1-9) or thank offerings for past mercies (26:1-11). Moreover, the free, frank access of the private individual to God is more and more giving place to the mediation of the priest (21:5; 26:3), the intercession of the prophet (Ex 32:11-13; 1 Sam 7:5-13; 12:23), the ordered approach of tabernacle and temple services (Ex 40; 1 Kings 8:1). The prophet, it is true, approaches God immediately and freely – Moses (Ex 34:34; Deut 34:10) and David (2 Sam 7:27) are to be numbered among the prophets-but he does so in virtue of his office, and on the ground especially of his possession of the Spirit and his intercessory function (compare Ezek 2:2; Jer 14:15).

A new epoch in the history of prayer in Israel was brought about by the experiences of the Exile. Chastisement drove the nation to seek God more earnestly than before, and as the way of approach through the external forms of the temple and its sacrifices was now closed, the spiritual path of prayer was frequented with a new assiduity. The devotional habits of Ezra (Ezra 7:27; 8:23), Nehemiah (Neh 2:4; 4:4,9, etc.) and Daniel (Dan 6:10) prove how large a place prayer came to hold in the individual life; while the utterances recorded in Ezra 9:6-15; Neh 1:5-11; 9:5-38; Dan 9:4-19; Isa 63:7-64:12 serve as illustrations of the language and spirit of the prayers of the Exile, and show especially the prominence now given to confession of sin. In any survey of the Old Testament teaching the Psalms occupy a place by themselves, both on account of the large period they cover in the history and because we are ignorant in most cases as to the particular circumstances of their origin. But speaking generally it may be said that here we see the loftiest flights attained by the spirit of prayer under the old dispensation-the in tensest craving for pardon, purity and other spiritual blessings (51, 130), the most heartfelt longing for a living communion with God Himself (Ps 42:2; 63:1; 84:2).

2. In the New Testament: Here it will be convenient to deal separately with the material furnished by the Gospel narratives of the life and teaching of Christ and that which is found in the remaining books. The distinctively Christian view of prayer comes to us from the Christ of the Gospels. We have to note His own habits in the matter (Luke 3:21; 6:12; 9:16,29; 22:32,39-46; 23:34-46; Matt 27:46; John 17:1), which for all who accept Him as the revealer of the Father and the final authority in religion immediately dissipate all theoretical objections to the value and efficacy of prayer. Next we have His general teaching on the subject in parables (Luke 11:5-9; 18:1-14) and incidental sayings (Matt 5:44; 6:5-8; 7:7-11; 9:38; 17:21; 18:19; 21:22; 24:20; 26:41 and the parallels), which presents prayer, not as a mere energizing of the religious soul that is followed by beneficial spiritual reactions, but as the request of a child to a father (6:8; 7:11), subject, indeed, to the father’s will (7:11; compare 6:10; 26:39,42; 5:14), but secure always of loving attention and response (Matt 7:7-11; 21:22). In thus teaching us to approach God as our Father, Jesus raised prayer to its highest plane, making it not less reverent than it was at its best in Old Testament times, while far more intimate and trustful.

In the LORD’S PRAYER He summed up His ordinary teaching on the subject in a concrete example which serves as a model and breviary of prayer (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). But according to the Fourth Gospel, this was not His final word upon the subject. On the night of the betrayal, and in full view of His death and resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand, He told His disciples that prayer was henceforth to be addressed to the Father in the name of the Son, and that prayer thus offered was sure to be granted (John 16:23-24,26). The differentia of Christian prayer thus consists in its being offered in the name of Christ; while the secret of its success lies on the one hand in the new access to the Father which Christ has secured for His people (17:19; compare Heb 4:14-16; 10:19-22), and on the other in the fact that prayer offered in the name of Christ will be prayer in harmony with the Father’s will (15:7; compare 1 John 3:22 f; 5:13 f).

In the Acts and Epistles we see the apostolic church giving effect to Christ’s teaching on prayer. It was in a praying atmosphere that the church was born (Acts 1:14; compare 2:1); and throughout its early history prayer continued to be its vital breath and native air (2:42; 3:1; 6:4,6 and passim).

The Epistles abound in references to prayer. Those of Paul in particular contain frequent allusions to his own personal practice in the matter (Rom 1:9; Eph 1:16; Phil 1:9; 1 Thess 1:2, etc.), and many exhortations to his readers to cultivate the praying habit (Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18; Phil 4:6; 1 Thess 5:17, etc.). But the new and characteristic thing about Christian prayer as it meets us now is its connection with the Spirit. It has become a spiritual gift (1 Cor 14:14-16); and even those who have not this gift in the exceptional charismatic sense may “pray in the Spirit” whenever they come to the throne of grace (Eph 6:18; Jude verse 20). The gift of the Spirit, promised by Christ (John 14:16 ff, etc.), has raised prayer to its highest power by securing for it a divine cooperation (Rom 8:15,26; Gal 4:6). Thus Christian prayer in its full New Testament meaning is prayer addressed to God as Father, in the name of Christ as Mediator, and through the enabling grace of the indwelling Spirit.

J. C. LAMBERT