Lord’s Library contributor Jared Helms answers the question what is prayer in simple words according to the Bible? Check out Jared’s YouTube channel and two blogs: A Light in the Darkness and Blind Faith Examples, or send him a reader response email. Lord’s Library’s Ministry Leaders Series is a collection of contributed articles written by ministry leaders on key Christian topics.
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.”
When asked for a definition of prayer the answer is simple, prayer is talking to God. However, we must know who God is, and who we are in order to really understand this definition. Genesis 1:1 is a good place to start in building this understanding: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
In this, the very first verse of Scripture we learn that God is transcendent in existence and in power, and in wisdom, knowledge, and all things. In this verse we find the definition of “God” played out in the act of creation. Exodus 3:14 bears further witness to the transcendence of God as He gives His name as, “I AM.” See verse: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
What is Prayer?
God is independent, self-sufficient, and self-existent, He simply is. No one could introduce themselves in this way except for God. This is no secret; it is much spoken of in Scripture. God wishes everyone to know of His unrivaled glory, He says as much through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 45:5-7: “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”
There is simply no one like God. No one can stand toe-to-toe with Him: as Job learned well. He is exalted above all else set-apart in the perfection of perfection as the holiest one. This we see in Isaiah 6:1-4 is ever proclaimed in praise around the throne of Heaven, and even those creatures who eternally proclaim this truth must cover their eyes and their feet in the awesome presence of God: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”
The hymn rightly says that God dwells in inaccessible light which eyes cannot begin to penetrate.
You see, we have loved the darkness rather than the light. See John 3:19: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” We have been since Genesis 3 rightly ashamed in our sinfulness. Our very hearts are become corrupted within us, so that we would well ask the question of. See Jeremiah 17:9 and Matthew 6:23:
- Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
- Matthew 6:23: “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
No one has escaped this depravity of soul, we have fallen short of the mark. See Romans 3:10-12 and Romans 3:23:
- Romans 3:10-12: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
- Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Thus, all our efforts to reach the presence of God must end like that of the builders of Babel. See Genesis 11:1-9: “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builder. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
For we have no rights to approach the righteous God as we have no righteousness of our own. See Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” We were hopeless, dead in our trespasses. See Ephesians 2:1: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:” We are at once separated from God as a result of our sins, and in sin do not seek God. We are born in godlessness, loving and worshipping self.
The picture painted is not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. We are entirely cutoff from God. We seem to assume that God will hear any and every prayer no matter who prays it. If prayer is a privilege it is a universal privilege in the general estimation, but the Bible paints a somewhat different picture. See Isaiah 1:15, Jeremiah 11:11, Zachariah 7:13, Proverbs 28:9, and John 9:31:
- Isaiah 1:15: “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”
- Jeremiah 11:11: “Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.”
- Zechariah 7:13: “Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:”
- Proverbs 28:9: “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
- John 9:31: “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”
Sin, and particularly idolatry, silences prayers. It does not matter how loudly, or how fervently a sinful heart or hearts call out, God will not hear them. We can see from the Old Testament example that this condition extended even to God’s own people. When Israel turned from God, God turned away from their prayers. The idea was firmly established, and in John 9 is stated plainly as common knowledge.
The heart that holds onto sin cannot take hold of prayer. The blemish of sin cannot be countenanced in the holy of holies. The Psalmist expressed it this way in Psalms 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
All mankind is born sinful; that is full of sin. See Genesis 8:21, Proverbs 22:15, and John 3:6: ”
- Genesis 8:21: “And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”
- Proverbs 22:15: “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
- John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10 make it clear there is no exception to this rule:
- 1 John 1:8-10: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
We might play at praying, but all our words vanish into the ether unheard. The prayers of the unrighteous are wishful thinking. What a depressing reality, and yet it is reality.
I do not mean to drag anyone down with this discussion, but we really must appreciate the chasm which sin creates between us and God. We are enemies of God, we violated His perfect decrees willingly according to Romans 5:10. It really was hopeless, but as Romans 5:8-10 assures us, God carried out an incredible campaign to win us back to Himself: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
God condescended to our level, manifesting His glory in ways that we might comprehend and appreciate, both that we might perceive the vast gulf between us, and that we might know that He is able and willing to bridge it. God through Christ did bridge the gulf of sin, so that anyone who believes in Christ has access to God. The bridge was built with the broken body of the Lord upon the tree, the same body which was resurrected three days later and now sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father. The way was opened with the priceless blood of the perfect Lamb shed once and for all to satisfy the just wraith of the thrice Holy Trinity.
Now we are in a position to begin to appreciate how awesome the simple act of prayer really is. For we see now what sort of miracle was needed to accomplish this reconciliation. What was needed was for God to become man, for the infinite to somehow take on finitude. Read John 1:1-14.
In Why God Became Man, Anselm of Canterbury said: “It would not have been right for the restoration of human nature to be left undone, and…it could not have been done unless man paid what was owing to God for sin. But the debt was so great that, while man alone owed it, only God could pay it, so that the same person must be both man and God. Thus it was necessary for God to take manhood into the unity of His Person, so that he who in his own nature ought to pay and could not should be in a person who could… The life of this Man was so sublime, so precious, that it can suffice to pay what is owing for the sins of the whole world, and infinitely more.”
Truly nothing is impossible with God! See Luke 1:37 and Matthew 19:26:
- Luke 1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
- Matthew 19:26: “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
In His incarnation, Jesus faced every temptation of man, and overcame without a trace or hint of sin See Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22, and 1 John 3:5:
- Hebrews 4:15: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
- 1 Peter 2:22: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”
- 1 John 3:5: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
In this He was the perfect sacrifice to bear the wrath reserved for us, paying the great penalty of our sins upon the cross and even to the grave. See Isaiah 53, Psalms 22, Romans 3:24-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21:
- Romans 3:24-26: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
He rose from the grave; the first of the new creation! See Acts 2:24, 1 Corinthians 15:20-21 and 1 Peter 1:3:
- Acts 2:24: “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-21: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.”
- 1 Peter 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
As Christ is the only way to the Father, He is our mediator with the Father. See John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 8:6, and Hebrews 9:15:
- John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
- 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
- Hebrews 8:6: “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”
- Hebrews 9:15: “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
It is through Christ we approach God the Father. See Hebrews 4:14-16: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
For this reason, we are commanded to pray in the name of Jesus.
The completed work of Christ gave us standing before God’s heavenly throne. Standing not as slaves, but as adopted sons having all the privileges of a son born to the family of God, and destined to receive the full inheritance. See Galatians 4:1-7: “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
So, we are welcomed into God’s presence as those who belong to His own family.
Now in Christ we see ourselves at once humbled to the lowest point, and also at once raised to the highest by such amazing grace. One of infinite worth died to save what must be worthless, yet in that sacrifice, such wretched souls were counted worthy even of redemption that cost so incalculable a sum. In this way, we were invited to commune with the Father by the Son through the Holy Spirit.
God did all of this out of love for us, according to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
He who needs nothing outside Himself was under no requirement to save, but willingly chose to undertake the work. Prayer is not some repayment of a debt, nor some offering that supplies the Almighty. See Psalms 50:12: “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”
Prayer is our privilege by grace through faith in Christ. It is a privilege of our adoption and a sign of our status. Prayer is the expression of the relationship we now enjoy with God. It is a necessity for us, but not a dreary duty, or obnoxious obligation. Prayer is entirely for our good, and to God’s glory. Now, to answer our original question:
What is prayer? It is the Gospel realized. Prayer is at once a grace and a means of grace. Prayer is communication with the Godhead who has loved us and invited us into their conversation and their community. Ah, now this is a point worthy of exposition.
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