All the Prayers of the Bible

After writing my previous post about prayers I want to look at some prayers that are documented in the bible.

I looked at the book "All the prayers of the Bible" by By Herbert Lockyer After looking at the Table of Contents of it (you can view the table of table of contents here)- it is truly evident that people in the Bible did pray about everything as it says to do in Eph 6:18 - And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
It provides prayers that are from the Bible that concern a lot of different circumstances. I haven't been a fan of praying set written prayers, but I think it would be a great idea to look over the prayers in the bible and get an idea of the general format of how the prayers in the Bible are. It might really enrich my prayer life... In the past I have used prayer in a more casual sense as if I were talking to a friend, but I have felt the need to make my prayers have more of a purpose, mainly to praise God and recognize his glory, as well as present the desires of my heart and struggles I am dealing with, and prayers for other people.

I finished reading the first section of "All the Prayers of the Bible", which was Genesis. It was different than I expected. What I thought would be a book that simply documents all the recorded prayers in the bible is more like a chronological account of the way people communicated with God. When i first looked at the table of contents I didn't quite understand why it was constructed the way it was it is - it seemed messy, but now that I'm reading, it makes sense. It is sectioned off by book of the bible and after that it breaks down the different prayers wi\thin each book. It actually turned out pretty awesome how it was constructed. This way as i read "All the Prayers of the Bible" it is taking me on a journey from the beginning of the Bible to the end, describing how the people of that time talked with God. It is really great. A lot of times I find reading Christian books arduous, but with this, because it really is simply a guide for reading the bible looking at the people and how they prayed it isn't dry like a lot of Christian books can be. Herbert Lockyer (author) is straight to the point as he gives insight into the importance of the the passage. There is no fluff, no long drawn out analogies to help me understand - analogies that make me feel like a child, no personal stories to help me relate - simply the material I am trying to learn - the word of God.


My Notes from reading
As I was reading I started off wanting to fervently take notes as I read, but it didn't feel right, It seemed as if I was reading for research and not for me. So I decided to just read through and highlight anything that really stood out. Then after I finished the section I went back and wrote down the key points. Doing it that way really gave me freedom to explore and soak it in. I found as I read that it really took me deeper into the word, I was really getting to know the people in scripture not as just characters but people. Looking back at the individual prayers really helps you get to the heart of the matter that we can often miss when we are just reading through a passage. It was also amazing at how reading "All the Prayers of the Bible" really pushed me to explore the word; I was so submerged in reading that I probably explored the Bible for 5 hours. I thought it was really amazing that this book guided me to be so curious about the word.

In the opening paragraph it says that for the patriarchs and prophets prayer was not a recital of well known and well-worn phrases, but it was the out pouring of the heart. (Ironic, this book is the complete opposite of what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a prayer book like the ones in churches. That's good it's not though.) It also said even if they didn't know the philosophy of prayer they knew about the power of prayer. (today it is probably the opposite - we know the philosophy but don't know the power)
Lockyer defines prayer as the desire, opportunity and privilege of talking with God and at times it can be defiant.



Genesis
Exodus




Genesis
"Prayer History Begins" Gen 4:26

• During the time of Seth "men began to call on the name of the Lord" -men were conscious of their weakness, and seeking refuge in God. They wished to be distinguished as men who feared God, and desired to do God's will.

"Prayer & Spiritual Progress" Gen 5:21-24, Heb 11:5-6, Jude:14-15

• as we are on our spiritual walk or as we progress spiritually we talk with God as we walk - asking for guidance

"Prayer and the Altar" Gen 12-13

• In those times sacrifice accompanied prayer and worship. god has to be approached by His people with gifts, as well as words As they seek God the people had to sacrifice unto him
• Now grace has been made and is possible for us to access God freely because of Jesus became our Altar and offering
• In the earlier books of the bible God does more talking than the people - the people simply listened and responded in obedience - We may be talking too much during our prayer time and not allowing God to speak to our hearts through His Word

"Prayer for an Heir" Gen 15

• After a long period Abram is beginning to loose faith as his wife is still without a child
• Abraham had to learn that God's delays were not denials
• We need to learn to be patient and keep faith with waiting

"Prayer the Language of a Cry" Gen 16

• Hagar, after becoming pregnant sari was men to Hagar causing her to run away - that is when God hears her cry and make a covenant with her
• Cry out to God when you are in distress, he wants to take care of you.

"Prayer and Revelation" Gen 17

• Once again God reveals himself to Abram and reminds him of his promise.
• Even after God has given him this covenant Abram laughs at God saying there is no way it could happen, why don't you just bless Ishmel (Hagar's child)
• God responds by saying yes I will bless Ishmel as you have asked, but my covenant will be made through Sarah's child Isaac
• What should be noted about Gen 17:
  • It was an intercessory prayer for Ishmael by his father Abraham
  • It was the 1st recorded prayer in specific form
  • It asked God for more than what God had offered to bestow
  • It received immediate answer
  • God approached Abraham initially, when God told him what would happen he didn't believe it - but he act in obedience anyways.

"Prayer for a Wicked City" Gen 18,19
Abraham's prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah

• Abraham asked God if he found innocent people (he asks multiple time with different amounts) for each number of innocent people that Abraham asked about God said he would spare the whole city
• Things to note about this passage
• God investigates situations (either ones in which there is blessings or condemnation involved) so that He may have full understanding before he takes action i.e. He is not quick to judge
• When Abraham asks he has complete humility approaching God - saying that he is only ashes and dust >I know I don't approach God like that, Humility is essential to effective prayer
• Abraham's spirit is sympathy for the city
• from Abraham's own words he said he is just ashes and dusts but even so God answers his prayer He said that He would save the city if there were innocent people - Imagine if we were bold enough to pray like Abraham for the wicked cities in our world today

"Prayer After a Lapse" Gen 20

• After Abraham fooled Abimelech by saying sari was his sister (this is the lapse-how he messed up) God proclaims a curse over the maids unless Abraham prays for Abimelech
• Once again Abraham is an intercessor. Throughout the bible it is depicted by the prophets that they are called to be intercessors. >I think it is interesting here that Abraham has to pray for Abimelech for the curse to be taken away - I wonder what the reason for that is.

"Prayer of Obedience" Gen 22
The sacrificing of Abraham's only son

• After God called Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham simply responded by saying 'here I am' and proceeded in obedience
• Sometimes no response is needed but our act of obedience

"Prayer for a Bride" Gen 24

• Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for Isaac
• The servant asked God for guidance. He asked very simply and directly
• His reliance on faithfulness of God resulted in an immediate response
• when he received his answer he praised God - he gave God credit
• We need to ask God for guidance in all of our decisions - like choosing a spouse

"Prayer for a Barren Wife" Gen 25:19-23

• It shows that if it is God's will our prayers will be answered
• It also shows that we often have to wait for God's blessing - God promised there would be many descendants through Issac but it was 20 years into their marriage before they had children.
• This also shows that God doesn't hurry his plan

"Prayer Changes Things" Gen 26

• Isaac became an enemy to Abimelech because of his success/power but later Abimelech comes to Isaac to make peace after learning that Isaac was in union with God
• I wonder what type of emotion led to the Abimelech to make peace - was it fear of God, selfish desire to have the same success that Isaac had, fear of Isaac?

"Prayer About a Wronged Brother" Gen 32

• Jacob has fled from Beersheba to get away from his brother Esaw whom he had stole the inheritance from in Gen 31:3 God tells him to go back to the homeland and he will be with him here in ch32 Jacob finds out that his brother is coming after him - so he calls out to God in his fear of his brother attacking
• What he prays should be noted
  • 1st he addresses God as the God of his fathers then addresses the covenant that God made with his father - this is basically saying "you were faithful in the past and now im asking for you to be faithful for me now"
  • 2nd He recalls the promise God made with him basically saying "You said that I was going to be fine, im just checking if that still the case"
  • 3rd he comes humbly with self abasement saying he is not worthy of his faithfulness, kindness, and mercy - basically saying "i know i don't deserve this but im asking anyways"
  • 4th He says what his request is - protection from Easu
  • 5th He states what God promised him.
• Jacob is looking for affirmation
• God said everything would be fine when he told him to go, but things weren't looking that way - they are looking dangerous, he is basically saying "God I thought you said everything was going to be fine, then why is my brother coming to attack me...You better not have been lying, why would you bring me out here just to be killed"
• This prayer was earnest, fervent and expressed his agony in distressed circumstances
• and you can see in ch 33 that Esau only wanted to reunite with Jacob and wanted no harm

"Prayer for Blessing upon the Tribes" Gen 48, 49

Israel's (Jacob) life is coming to a close, so it is time to bless his children - the foundations of the twelve tribes of Israel. Today we do not typically do blessings as they were done in that culture. It was very critical, which you can see from Gen 48:17,18,19 when Jacob is blessing the grandchildren it is even more critical for the eldest. They believed these blessings had a true and real manifestation in their future. In this way Israel is a prophet to his sons Gen 49:1. We do not typically see people praying like that today, maybe we should. The father does probably know his sons the best and thus would be able to speak truth in their futures. We should note that not all the blessings are good Gen 49:3-7,14-15.
This passage also shows us that we should end our lives in prayer just as Yahushua did.

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Exodus
Introduction: Exodus means "a going out". The men of this book come boldly before Yahweh believing that prayer was "The slender nerve that moveth the muscles of Omnipotence (all powerful)." This book teaches that redemption is essential to any relationship with Yahweh. This is why "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me" John 14:6 is true We must be redeemed by Yahushua to come to Yahweh. Answered prayer is dependent upon purity - "If I regard iniquity in my heart, Yahweh will not hear me" Psalm 66:18 This book also shows that Moses is a might intercessor and that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" James 5:16.

"Prayer Expressed As a Groan" Exodus 1, 2

It happened in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to Yahweh because of the bondage. Exodus 2:23

Yahweh heard their cry, remembered his covenant, and was concerned about them. Even with out saying a word Yahweh can hear our pain (Romans 8:27). Yahweh cares about us and will help us when we are in need.

"Prayer As a Dialogue" Exodus 3, 4

Moses has conversations with Yahweh. He asks questions, gets answers, responds to Yahweh. prayer is a two way channel, we should we seeking after response from Yahweh, not just speaking to him. Sometimes it may require waiting on Him in a still quiet. Sometimes we can get our answers through reading scriptures. We need to be willing to hear an answer that we may not like.

"Prayer As Complaint" Exodus 5-7

Exodus 5:22Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, "Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it that you have sent me? 23For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people; neither have you delivered your people at all."

Moses is discouraged because he has not had success in delivering the Israelites from Pharaoh. Moses is questioning the order of Yahweh, because he was not successful in what he was ordered to do. We should remember this story when Yahweh calls us to do something. It may not happen immediately, but we need to be persistent in our obedience. Scripture shows us it is okay to call unto Yahweh if it seems he will not keep his word, but we know if He said he would do something He will. (Exodus 6:2-8)

"Prayer in League with Omnipotence" Exodus 8-10

Exodus9:33Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands to Yahweh; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.

Exodus10:16Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God, and against you. 17Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to Yahweh your God, that he may also take away from me this death." 18He went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh. 19Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt (WEB)

Moses prays acknowledging that Yahweh has the power to control the forces of nature and bring the plagues. He opened his hand toward the heaven to indicate human need the divine ability to meet his need. We also learn from this passage that we need to be ready and willing to pray for wicked men. Pharaoh recognized his sin against Yahweh and we should honor that by helping him in prayer. Praying for others is very powerful. Some people may not know how to pray on their own, and a more devout person can intercede for them.



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