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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(seeking favor). Reverent petition to a divinity a universal
custom
. The Jews had
three
daily periods of
prayer
: 9 A. M., 12 A. M., 3 P. M. (
Psa. 55:17
17
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. (Psalm 55:17)
;
Dan. 6:10
10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (Daniel 6:10)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
This has been described as “the intercourse of a dependent one with
God
.” It may take the form of
communion
in one brought nigh, or it may be the making requests for oneself or for others. There are
twelve
different words used for prayer in the
Old
Testament
, and eight in the
New
Testament, with various shades of meaning, as there are in English: “asking, begging, beseeching.” In the synoptic Gospels
the word
used in connection with Christ is that most commonly employed for “praying,” but in
John
’s gospel the word is that generally rendered “ask” or “demand.” The change is explained by the different aspect in which the
Lord
is presented in John.
God hears and encourages prayer. A cry to God is the
mark
of a
soul
truly turning to Him: “Behold, he prayeth,” was said of
Saul
of
Tarsus
(
Acts 9:11
11
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, (Acts 9:11)
). To the saints it is said, “Pray without ceasing”; “ask and ye shall receive.” “If we ask anything
according to His will
He heareth us, and.... we know that we have the petitions.” “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer
believing
ye shall receive.” “Whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father
in My name
, He will give it you.” The disciples as left here, representative of Christ and charged with His interests, were to ask in His name; and the same is true in principle as regards believers now (
Mark 11:24
24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24)
;
John 14:13
13
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)
;
John 15:16
16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (John 15:16)
;
John 16:23,26
23
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. (John 16:23)
26
At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: (John 16:26)
;
James 1:5-7
5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. (James 1:5‑7)
;
1 John 5:14-15
14
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14‑15)
). Christians are exhorted to make known all their petitions, or requests, to God, and having done so, the
peace
of God shall keep their hearts and minds (
Phil. 4:6-7
6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6‑7)
). This is their wondrous privilege: they have addressed God, and in peace they leave it with Him to grant their petitions or not.
The above passages demonstrate that to receive what is prayed for, requests must be in
faith
, they must be according to the
light
of God’s will, and hence made in the name of
the Lord
Jesus
. While prayer is always to God, it is suggested that requests would naturally be made to the Father in respect of all that tends to the promotion of Christ in believers, as well as in things referring to their
discipline
in the pathway here. On the other hand prayer would be made to the
Lord
in relation to that over which He is set as administrator, such as the service of
the gospel
, the saints, the
house
of God, &c.
The attitudes in prayer which are recorded are: “standing” (
1 Sam. 1:26
26
And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. (1 Samuel 1:26)
;
Mark 11:25
25
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. (Mark 11:25)
); “kneeling” (
Dan. 6:10
10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (Daniel 6:10)
;
Luke 22:41
41
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, (Luke 22:41)
); and “falling down” (
Deut. 9:25
25
Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the Lord had said he would destroy you. (Deuteronomy 9:25)
;
Josh. 7:6
6
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. (Joshua 7:6)
).
“595. Prayer” From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Daniel 6:10
10
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (Daniel 6:10)
. His windows being open in his chamber toward
Jerusalem
, he kneeled upon his knees
three
times
a
day
, and prayed, and gave thanks before his
God
, as he did aforetime.
1. For the position of this chamber, see note on
2 Kings 4:10
10
Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. (2 Kings 4:10)
(#333).
2. He did not look toward the
sun
, as the
fire
-worshipers did (see note on
Ezekiel 8:16
16
And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. (Ezekiel 8:16)
, #568) but toward Jerusalem, where
the temple
of
Jehovah
stood, and where the sacred Presence was in the
Oracle
. This seems to have been a
custom
among the Jews when they were away from the Holy City. See
1 Kings 8:44,48
44
If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: (1 Kings 8:44)
48
And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: (1 Kings 8:48)
;
2 Chronicles 6:34
34
If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; (2 Chronicles 6:34)
;
Psalm 5:7; 28:2; 138:2
7
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. (Psalm 5:7)
2
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. (Psalm 28:2)
2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. (Psalm 138:2)
;
Jonah 2:4
4
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. (Jonah 2:4)
. See also note on
Matthew 4:23
23
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
(#636).
3. There was no legal prescription in the Jewish ritual of any hours for
seasons
of
prayer
. The hours of morning and
evening
sacrifice
would naturally be suggested to the mind of a pious
Jew
as suitable times for prayer. To this might easily be added a
time
midway. This appears to have been the case with
David
, who says: “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (
Psa. 55:17
17
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. (Psalm 55:17)
). The order in which these three seasons of prayer are named by the psalmist seems to indicate the origin of the custom as just suggested. In the text Daniel is said to have prayed “three times a day.” From
Daniel 9:21
21
Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. (Daniel 9:21)
, it appears that one of these seasons of prayer was at the time of evening sacrifice; the two others were probably the same as those mentioned by David. In later times the precise
hour
is more clearly indicated. Compare
Acts 2:15; 10:9; 3:1
15
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. (Acts 2:15)
9
On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: (Acts 10:9)
1
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. (Acts 3:1)
.
“645. Repetitions in Prayer” From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Matthew 6:7
7
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (Matthew 6:7)
. When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the
heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Some of the rabbis in our
Lord
’s
time
had taught that oft-repeated prayers were of certain efficacy, thus falling into an imitation of the heathen, who have ever been noted for unmeaning repetitions. When
Elijah
challenged the worshipers of
Baal
, they called on their
god
“from morning even unto noon, saying, O Baal, hear us” (
1 Kings 18:26
26
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. (1 Kings 18:26)
). When
Paul
excited the rage of
Demetrius
, who in turn aroused the mob at Ephesus, the angry crowd “all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is
Diana
of the
Ephesians
” (
Acts 19:34
34
But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. (Acts 19:34)
). It would seem as if the further men become removed from true
spiritual
worship
the greater estimate they
put
on oft-repeated forms. The Mohammedans equal the heathen in this respect. After the storming of Seringapatam, the body of Tippoo Sahib was found among the slain and in his pocket was a
book
of devotion with various forms of
prayer
, and among them the following: “O God, O God, O God, O God! O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Living, O Immortal! O Living, O Immortal! O Living, O Immortal! O Living, O Immortal! O
Creator
of the heavens and the
earth
, O thou who art endowed with majesty and
authority
! O wonderful,” etc. (Burder, Oriental Customs No. 931).
The Hindus consider the repetition of the name of a god an act of worship. They say the name of God is like
fire
, through which all sins are consumed; hence the repetition of the
names
of their deities is a common practice. According to Ward, they even have rosaries, the beads of which they count off in order to facilitate these repetitions. They imagine that by this easy process they can obtain anything they desire.
“741. Standing During Prayer” From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Mark 11:25
25
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. (Mark 11:25)
. When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any.
Standing, as well as kneeling, was, among the Jews, an ancient posture during
prayer
. There are several other
Scripture
references to it besides the text. See 1 Sam 1:26;
1 Kings 8:22
22
And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: (1 Kings 8:22)
;
2 Chronicles 6:13
13
For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, (2 Chronicles 6:13)
;
Luke 18:11,13
11
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (Luke 18:11)
13
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13)
. While in this attitude the hands were
sometimes
stretched out heavenward. See note on
1 Kings 8:22
22
And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: (1 Kings 8:22)
(#300). The ancient
Persians
and
Egyptians
also stood in prayer; the latter sometimes also kneeled. Some of the varied postures of the Mohammedans in prayer are standing.
Related Books and Articles:
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595. Prayer
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Manners and Customs of the Bible
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“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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