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How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:23 am
by Hats Off
This is a question that arose from another thread:
Valerie wrote:It seems the Jews, and the NT Church had prayer meetings- outloud- there are examples in Scripture about that- if it was like how you describe I am not sure, these circle type, probably since the Scriptures don't go into details about it people must guess- but we know that Jesus in the Lord's prayer said "Our Father" not "My Father" and this would be an example of how He was seemingly referring to corporate prayer-seems every church we've ever attended, has their own way- God sees the heart, the fact that you recognize the tendency to be concerned with what others are thinking I think is natural to wrestle with- we're human!
I would suggest that Jesus teaches:
King James Bible Matthew 6:6
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
and Paul also has advice regarding prayer
Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
and then Sudsy's favourite:
[1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
and from the Old Testament
King James Bible
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.
SHOULD we take any of these literally - Jesus said to shut the door, Paul said to pray every where and at all times, with hands raised, while Daniel prayed at an open window - or are these just indications that prayer is needful?
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:28 am
by Heirbyadoption
Do you actually mean, "SHOULD" we take any of these literally?
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:34 am
by Hats Off
Yes, and what I really meant was "Can we take them all literally?"
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:59 am
by Bootstrap
The Bible shows people praying in a variety of ways, including exact words (the Lord's prayer), spontaneous prayer, praying in the Spirit, praying in silence, kneeling, shouting, sweating blood in the garden, anointing with oil for healing, raising holy hands, standing before God, falling down before God, bowing before God ...
We should pray in Spirit and in truth, letting the Spirit intercede for us beyond our words and beyond our understanding, and praying as God leads us. That can take many forms, as God leads.
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 2:49 pm
by MaxPC
Hats Off wrote:Yes, and what I really meant was "Can we take them all literally?"
I think we can. I see all of them addressing attitudes and aspects of prayer. Matthew 6:6 was about being humble in prayer, not someone seeking status as a holy person vis a vis the context.
Ephesians 6:18 is about praying at all times entrusting each moment to God and the 1 Tim 2:8 reminds us we can pray any where not just in the Temple, the Synagogue or the church. All 3 verses strike me as addressing personal and even impromptu prayer and also the attitudes we should have in any prayer.
The last verse reminds me that in addition to the impromptu prayers in my day, that like Daniel, I need to set aside specific times to sit with the Lord, talk to Him and praise Him.
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:59 pm
by RZehr
This came to my mind -
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:19 pm
by MaxPC
RZehr wrote:This came to my mind -
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Amen.
Living Water Mennonite Church has a good article on prayer too.
Fighting Your Battles with Prayer
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:17 pm
by Sudsy
Hats Off wrote:This is a question that arose from another thread:
Valerie wrote:It seems the Jews, and the NT Church had prayer meetings- outloud- there are examples in Scripture about that- if it was like how you describe I am not sure, these circle type, probably since the Scriptures don't go into details about it people must guess- but we know that Jesus in the Lord's prayer said "Our Father" not "My Father" and this would be an example of how He was seemingly referring to corporate prayer-seems every church we've ever attended, has their own way- God sees the heart, the fact that you recognize the tendency to be concerned with what others are thinking I think is natural to wrestle with- we're human!
I would suggest that Jesus teaches:
King James Bible Matthew 6:6
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Literally ? No, I don't think this means a clothes closet as we know it and shut the door. I do think it means to find a private place and make sure it is as private as shutting oneself in a closet. Somewhere were only God can hear your prayer.
and Paul also has advice regarding prayer
Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Literally ? Yes, whenever we pray we should pray in the Spirit. (and do we know what this means to pray in the Spirit ? I would like to hear what others have to say to explain what that means compared to not praying in the Spirit)
and then Sudsy's favourite:
[1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
Literally ? Only if the following verses are taken literally. 
and from the Old Testament
King James Bible
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.
Literally ? I take this to be actual fact in how he prayed.
SHOULD we take any of these literally - Jesus said to shut the door, Paul said to pray every where and at all times, with hands raised, while Daniel prayed at an open window - or are these just indications that prayer is needful?
I don't see these as 'just indications that prayers are needful' but rather they indicate there are ways to pray that are important to God. Another is Mathew 6:7 - And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 5:09 pm
by Mennogal
Bootstrap wrote:We should pray in Spirit and in truth, letting the Spirit intercede for us beyond our words and beyond our understanding, and praying as God leads us.
this seems best... just pray as you would and do not worry if it's right
Re: How Shall We Pray
Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 7:41 pm
by Valerie
Hats Off wrote:This is a question that arose from another thread:
Valerie wrote:It seems the Jews, and the NT Church had prayer meetings- outloud- there are examples in Scripture about that- if it was like how you describe I am not sure, these circle type, probably since the Scriptures don't go into details about it people must guess- but we know that Jesus in the Lord's prayer said "Our Father" not "My Father" and this would be an example of how He was seemingly referring to corporate prayer-seems every church we've ever attended, has their own way- God sees the heart, the fact that you recognize the tendency to be concerned with what others are thinking I think is natural to wrestle with- we're human!
I would suggest that Jesus teaches:
King James Bible Matthew 6:6
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
and Paul also has advice regarding prayer
Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
and then Sudsy's favourite:
[1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
and from the Old Testament
King James Bible
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.
SHOULD we take any of these literally - Jesus said to shut the door, Paul said to pray every where and at all times, with hands raised, while Daniel prayed at an open window - or are these just indications that prayer is needful?
I think it is important to take each of these in the context they were written to shed more light on it.
Let's add some more 'corporate prayer' in the New Testament Church- when Peter was set free from prison:
Acts 12:
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
I know that Jesus was calling the pharisees out about how they were doing 'showy' prayer to be seen, heard, and (hopefully) admired by those looking on- which is why He was instructing people against that kind of showiness when they pray- it's not about being seen by 'others' - yet there are many instances of people praying together. There's both.