Prayer, the Vital Breath of the New Creature

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Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes the vital role of prayer in the life of the new creature, portraying it as essential communication with God that goes beyond mere requests to encompass praise, thanksgiving, and heart-felt connection aligned with God’s will. It explains that only those in a covenant relationship with God, formed through Jesus, have the assurance their prayers will be answered, and stresses that prayer should be sincere, focused on God’s purposes, and free from vain repetitions or selfish motives. Ultimately, prayer educates, strengthens, and fosters sympathy in believers, preparing them to receive God’s blessings until the time when prayer gives way to eternal praise.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Prayer: “The Vital Breath of the New Creature”

Context and Purpose of the Study
– The discourse is based on a study held by the Ecclesia in November, reviewing familiar material on prayer.
– The subject is deemed vital to the well-being of the new creature (the spiritually renewed believer).
– The main reference is Reprint 5310, which describes prayer as “the vital breath of the new creation,” emphasizing its essential role.
– Prayer is likened to breath—just as physical life cannot be sustained without breathing, spiritual life cannot be sustained without prayer.
– Other references such as Reprint 5745 call prayer “the very essence of the Christian life,” underscoring its indispensability.

Focus: “Why” to Pray Rather Than “How” to Pray
– The discourse seeks to explore the reasons and purposes behind prayer rather than simply methods.
– The term ‘pray’ appears 245 times in the Old Testament, derived from 11 Hebrew words, often meaning to request favors from others, not necessarily prayer to God.
– Example: Genesis 13:8, Abraham’s entreaty to Lot (“I pray thee” means “I beseech” or request).
– In the New Testament, ‘pray’ appears 68 times from five Greek words, primarily directed toward God, which is the focus here.

Understanding Prayer
– Prayer is more than asking for things or a “wish list”; it is a sincere desire of the soul aligned with God’s will.
– True prayer is “the language of the heart” (Reprint 5835), requiring heartfelt involvement.
– Prayer prepares the heart to receive God’s blessings (Reprint 5745).
– Scriptures compare prayer to incense (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8), symbolizing the sweet aroma arising from the sacrifice of the earthly nature.
– Prayer forms include petitions, hymns, thanksgiving, and praise (Reprint 5200).
– Supplication is a passionate, repeated request, involving persistence and waiting (Reprint 5480).
– Persistent prayer builds trust and unwavering faith in God’s willingness to bless.

Who May Pray and Expect an Answer?
– While all humans have an inherent desire to reach God (the “organ of veneration”), only those in covenant with God can expect their prayers to be answered (Reprint 5708).
– Prayer with assurance requires being part of God’s people through a covenant, made during the Gospel Age via Jesus (John 14:6; John 15:7).
– Exceptions:
– Consecrated children under parental covenant have prayer privileges (6th Volume, p. 684).
– “Household of faith” who have not fully entered covenant yet have limited prayer privileges.
– Example: Cornelius (Acts 10) prayed devoutly but had no covenant until God sent Peter with the Gospel message.
– God does not ignore prayers of mankind; answers may be delayed until resurrection or fuller realization.

Is Prayer a Command or a Privilege?
– Prayer is not commanded; it is a privilege granted by covenant (John 4:23-24).
– If prayer were a command, failure would be sin; Scriptures show worship must be “in spirit and in truth.”
– Prayer, however, is a necessity for the new creature’s spiritual survival and growth.
– Matthew 6:6 encourages private, sincere prayer.
– The adversary often interferes by causing distraction, drowsiness, or mechanical prayers.
– Advice: Short, intense, heartfelt prayers are more effective than long, distracted ones (Reprint 5746).
– John Bunyan’s quote: “Better a heart without words than words without a heart.”

The Province (Proper Domain) of Prayer
– From the November 1885 article (Reprint 797), “province” means the proper office or business of prayer.
– Prayer should ask only for things God is “well pleased to grant” — those in harmony with His Word.
– Prayer is not to dictate God’s will but to align ourselves with His will (John 15:7).
– The promise: “Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7), conditioned on abiding in Christ.

The Object or Purpose of Prayer
– Prayer’s object is to bring the believer’s heart and mind into contact with God’s heart and mind.
– It enables realization of God’s fatherly love, care, and interest in our welfare (Reprint 797).
– Prayer is an opportunity to unburden our hearts and prepare to receive God’s guidance and blessings.
– It brings the soul into God’s presence (6th Volume).
– Prayer helps us realize our dependence on God and recognize our weaknesses and strengths (Reprint 5101).
– It strengthens the new creature against the world, flesh, and adversary.
– Prayer cultivates sympathy toward others engaged in the same struggle.
– It also helps use the highest faculties of the old nature to overcome fleshly weaknesses (Reprint 5311).

Regulation of Prayer Content by God’s Word
– Knowledge of God’s Word is necessary to pray properly and avoid asking for improper things (Reprint 5310).
– Without such knowledge, we risk asking amiss (James 4:3), i.e., selfish, fleshly desires.
– God’s Word guides us to pray for what pleases Him.

Improper Prayer Practices
– Jesus condemns “vain repetitions” (Matthew 6:7), meaning repeating the same words thoughtlessly or with a mechanical mindset.
– Examples include Buddhist “prayer wheels,” repetitive chanting in Islam, and Catholic rosary prayers.
– Such prayers lack heart and are not heard by God (Reprint 5311; Ephesians 6:18).
– Genuine persistent prayer (e.g., “Thy kingdom come” – Matthew 6:10) is not vain repetition but a heartfelt supplication.
– “Asking amiss” (James 4:3) refers to selfish prayers motivated by lust.
– Praying to avoid trials must be done carefully; God’s will may involve trials to develop us (Reprint 5928).
– Instead, pray for grace and strength to endure trials.

Proper Subjects for Prayer (Based on the Lord’s Prayer)
– Recognize God’s holiness and supremacy: “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” (Matthew 6:9).
– “Hallowed” means to sanctify or dedicate to God.
– Pray for God’s kingdom and will on earth as in heaven, focusing on the church (the body and head) and the eventual restitution of all mankind.
– Pray for daily needs, understood spiritually as well as physically (Matthew 4:4).
– Ask for spiritual fruits like love, patience, gentleness, wisdom, and guidance (Luke 22:42).
– Pray for forgiveness of trespasses, recognizing our need to forgive others.
– Pray for deliverance from temptation and the Evil One, acknowledging our insufficiency without God’s help.

Summary of Prayer’s Blessings (Reprint 5101)
– Prayer is educational: Reveals weaknesses and strengths, encouraging earnest spiritual effort.
– Prayer strengthens the new creature against worldly, fleshly, and adversarial challenges.
– Prayer fosters sympathy toward fellow believers engaged in the same spiritual struggle.

Final Thoughts on Prayer and Eternity
– Continue to pray for God’s kingdom until it is fully established (Reprint 5833).
– After the first resurrection, when the new creature is perfected, prayer for needs will cease.
– Prayer will be “swallowed up in praise” because the perfected will have no needs.
– Praise and thanksgiving will continue eternally.
– The discourse closes with a blessing and a request for correction if anything was stated amiss.

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Key Bible Verses Referenced:

– Genesis 13:8 — Abraham’s entreaty to Lot.
– Psalm 141:2 — “Let my prayer be set before thee as incense.”
– Revelation 5:8 — Prayers of the saints likened to incense.
– John 14:6 — “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
– John 15:7 — “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
– Matthew 5:45 — “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good.”
– Matthew 6:6 — “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.”
– Matthew 6:7 — “Use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do.”
– Matthew 6:9-13 — The Lord’s Prayer.
– Matthew 4:4 — “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
– Luke 22:42 — “Not my will, but thine be done.”
– Ephesians 6:18 — “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.”
– James 4:3 — “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.”
– Acts 10 — The conversion of Cornelius.

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Keywords and Concepts:

– Prayer as vital breath, essential spiritual life
– Covenant relationship prerequisite for answered prayer
– Prayer as communication of heart with God’s heart
– Persistence, supplication, thanksgiving, praise
– Proper province (domain) of prayer aligned with God’s will
– Avoid vain repetitions and selfish requests
– Prayer educating, strengthening, fostering sympathy
– Lord’s Prayer as model for prayer subjects
– Prayer ceases after resurrection, replaced by eternal praise

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This comprehensive summary captures the main points and scriptural insights of the discourse on prayer, emphasizing its significance, nature, proper practice, and spiritual benefits for the new creature.

Transcript

You know, our topic today is the result of a study which our Ecclesia had last November, and the material that we wish to go over is by no means new to anyone here. It’s just a review of some things that we all know. However, even though the material is familiar, it’s always good to review it every once in a while. Because as our title states, this subject is vital to the well being of the new creature.

Of course, our title is not something that we made up all by ourselves. It’s actually the title of reprint 5310. It’s an article that we will refer to quite a bit. We chose it because it has this wonderful phrase, the vital breath of the new creation.

If we were to compare it’s as if we were to compare our prayers to the importance of our breath. It reminds us of how, just long, how long, just how long we would last without breathing, you know, the same notion can be found in other places as well. For instance, reprint 5745 speaks of prayer as the very essence of the Christian life, his vital breath. Now, if all of this sounds like an overstatement, I can assure you that it is not. The more we look into this subject, the more we realize just how important prayer is to the welfare of the new creature.

And so, as we approach our subject today, we’re less interested in a how to lesson about prayer and more interested in a why to lesson. To this end, we’re going to ask a few questions and then spend some time exploring the answers. Let us begin with an attempt to gain some insight into the terms that we will be using. In the King James translation of the Old Testament, the word pray is used 245 times, and it comes from 11 different Hebrew words. Normally, that would be a lot for us to analyze.

However, because of how the Old English uses the word pray, the majority of the time it is not about praying to God. Rather, the idea is that of a request or a favor from some other human. For example, we might look at Genesis 13:8, where Abraham has said to his nephew Lot, let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee. The Douay Rheims uses the word beseech. In other words, Abraham entreated Lot to do something, and this is how the word is used.

For the majority of those 245 occurrences, we find them variously translated, but they usually present the idea of asking, begging, entreating, or requesting something from another human.

And then when we turn to the King James rendition of the New Testament, we find the word pray is used 68 times and it’s translated from five different Greek words. That makes our job a little bit easier. But besides, the New Testament uses that word pray the majority of the time. It is directed toward God, and of course, that’s the aspect of prayer that is of interest to us today.

We wish to understand the propriety and the protocols involved when we pray to our Heavenly Father. After all, we’re coming before the Creator of all things. Shouldn’t there be a certain reverence attached to this? When we think of the greatness of our God, we cannot help but feel our own insignificance. Couple that with our fallen condition, with all its weaknesses and imperfections, and we are amazed that our God has made any provision at all that we may come before him in prayer.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let us back up for a moment and ask our first question, and that is, what exactly is prayer? Is prayer just something, just about asking for something, perhaps a quick fix to our problems? Well, the Old English use of the word pray might suggest that this thought is correct.

After all, that’s the way that the world thinks. They treat prayer as a wish list for things to get. But for the new creature, prayer is more than this. Much more. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, prayer is the soul’s sincere desire uttered or unexpressed.

Surely we would not think of that sincere desire of the new creature as being for earthly things, especially if they were intended to be used selfishly. Rather, the new creature’s desire should be for those things aligned with our Heavenly Father’s plan and the principles of his government, and prayer is the way that we connect to our Heavenly Father. In the words of reprint 58 35. True prayer is the language of the heart.

Therefore, our heart must be intimately involved in our prayers.

And then we find in reprint 5745, where it tells us that prayer brings us into that attitude of mind which will be in heart readiness to receive our Father’s blessing. Yes, our Heavenly Father uses prayer as a way to prepare our hearts for those things which he has in store for us. We also find that in the Scriptures, prayer is sometimes compared to incense. For instance, in Psalm 141, verse 2, we read, Let my prayer be set before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. A similar thought is found in Revelation 5, 8, where it likens incense to the prayers of the saints.

Now, have you ever wondered why the Bible makes this association? Well, perhaps it’s because our prayers like incense are the sweet odor that comes from the performance of our covenant of sacrifice. That sweet smell is the result of the consumption of our earthly nature. So, coming back to our question, what is prayer? The Old English sense of the word seems to say that prayer is the act of asking for something.

But we find it to be far more comprehensive than just that. We find that it encompasses a broad range of ways in which we might approach the heavenly throne. Reprint 5200 identifies some of these. It tells us that our petitions, our hymns, and even our expressions of thanksgiving and praise are a form of prayer. Each of these articulates a different facet of our communication with God.

For instance, the word supplication is used to signify a deeper aspect of our common request in prayer. It implies something more passionate. The article calls it a continuous request, a repeated prayer, a longing desire. Reprint 5480 adds that it is an entreaty with intense yearning. Now, since the word supplication implies a continuous request, we would expect it to be made more than once.

It might even be made over an extended period of time. Therefore, it is closely tied to our watching and waiting for its fulfillment. After all, if we pay no attention to our prayers to see how they are being answered, it would indicate that we have not really appreciated our need. This watching and waiting may go on for days or weeks, or even longer. Our Heavenly Father may see that a delay in answering our request will develop a trust in Him.

It may also bring us into a condition where we can appreciate the outcome even more. After all, God wishes for us to be persistent. He desires for us to have an unwavering faith in his willingness to give us the best gifts. But of course, supplication is only one form of prayer. Another is the prayer that offers our thanks.

And this is one type of prayer which everyone in the world can make. Since Matthew 5, verse 45 tells us that God sends both the sunshine and the rain upon all, it is proper that we return thanks for such things.

Indeed, all of mankind may express their appreciation for those blessings received each and every day. We also find that prayer can take the form of praise or worship.

These also express our recognition of his goodness. Every fresh evidence of his love and watch care should be cause for a prayer of praise and rejoicing. In fact, prayer can be said to be the cultivation of the spirit of praise, thanksgiving, and a loving appreciation for the manifest goodness of God. So let our hearts be full of song, because even our hymns are a form of prayer. They are prayers set to music.

Of course, in all of these different forms of prayer there is the implication of limits on who may pray and in what way.

As we just noted, God will not hinder anyone from bowing the knee in worship or giving an expression of praise or thanksgiving, and anyone may lift up their voice in a hymn. But let us ask, can just anyone approach God and expect an answer to his prayer? Or is there some prerequisite to that gives one the right to pray? Well, the short answer to this question is yes, there is a prerequisite, but this answer is not universally accepted.

In order to understand why this is so, let us first recall that in general mankind has a deep rooted desire to reach out to God. It’s inherent in our nature. This is why so many references speak of the organ of veneration within mankind. It is the voice within us that appeals to the worship of God, and so reprint 58:33 speaks of prayer as the natural attitude of the human mind toward the Almighty.

Given this tendency, it should not surprise us that many believe that any and all may approach God in prayer and expect an answer. But this is not completely true. There are prerequisites that must be met before one might pray to our Heavenly Father and rightfully expect an answer. Remember, after Adam sinned, our Heavenly Father disowned the world of mankind. The Scriptures indicate that he will not deal directly with sinners.

They have no standing before him. Reprint 5708 confirms this thought, saying in the matter of prayer there is a limitation. Only certain persons may pray to the Lord with any assurance of being heard, and these are those who have become his people by a definite covenant. On this point we must be clear. Prayer, in the sense of making a request and having the assurance that it will be answered, requires that we are in a covenant relationship with God.

And during this gospel age, entering into such a covenant requires that we go through Jesus wrong way.

After all, Jesus said in John 14:6, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Additionally, the words of John 15:7 says that we must abide in him, and his words must abide in us. Not only must we be in that covenant relationship, but we must also have his words abide in us in the sense that we are actively seeking to live by that covenant. Only then do we have the promise that our prayers will be heard and answered. Now, having said that, let us note that there are two important exceptions to this rule.

The first is the children of the consecrated they have the privilege of prayer up until the time of their age of responsibility. This is noted in the sixth volume on page 684. They are included under the covenant of their parents and are considered justified in the tentative sense, and while they remain under that covenant, they have the right to look for an answer for their prayer. The second example or exception is the household of faith.

They have the same limited privilege of prayer, even though they have not yet entered fully into a covenant with God. This difference between the prayers of those in a covenant relationship and those without can be seen in the conversion of Cornelius as recorded in Acts, chapter 10. By all accounts, Cornelius was a good man who feared God. His prayers are said to have risen up before the Lord as incense. But God did not respond to them, because as of yet there was no covenant between them, and such a covenant could not be made until the appointed time.

So when the due time did arrive, the apostle Peter was sent to Cornelius to give him the message of the Gospel. Peter told Cornelius how God had provided a great ransom, a great sin offering, that Jesus had tasted death for every man. Peter explained that now, in advance of dealing with the world, God is taking out a little flock to be joined with Christ in the blessing of the world. Without such instruction, Cornelius could have never entered into any covenant with God. But with this information, Cornelius had the knowledge necessary to make an intelligent, full consecration, which he promptly did.

Doubtless he had heard of Jesus before, but now he understood the matter. He had been in the right condition of heart all along, but God would not recognize him as a son until Jesus had imputed his justification to Cornelius and become his advocate. In this example we see that God has marked out a particular course by which one may become his child, and no one can be accepted unless they come in the approved way and in the proper time. Until then, they have no assurance that their prayers will be answered.

Now, does this mean that God pays no attention to the prayers made by the majority of mankind? We think otherwise. We believe that, like Cornelius, their prayers are noted and held in reserve until such time as they may be answered. As an example of this, consider the case of one who might have prayed for the recovery of a loved one from out of a life or death situation, and yet still that loved one had died. Would this mean that their prayer went unanswered?

Or was the answer simply delayed until that loved one could be resurrected to true health and a permanent life in the mediatorial kingdom? So even though the prayers of mankind seem to go unanswered, in the end the answer will be grander than they could have ever hoped for. But now we come to a related question. After we understand who may pray, we come to the question of whether prayer is a commandment to the new creation, or is it simply a privilege granted by our covenant? Of course, as we search the Scriptures, we find nothing that would suggest that we are commanded to pray.

In fact, the opposite is true. Had God commanded for us to pray, then it would become a fixed rule imposed upon the new creation, which would mean that a failure to pray would be considered a sin. Here’s another way to look at it. John 4, verses 23 and 24 tells us that our Heavenly Father desires such to worship him as worship in spirit and in truth. Clearly, it would be contrary to this principle if prayer had been made a commandment.

Rather, as reprint 1864 tells us, prayer is one of the greatest privileges which the Word of God offers. It’s a great favor that permits us to approach the supreme ruler of the universe with our petitions, to which we give a hearty amen. It is indeed a blessed privilege, and yet some might wonder if prayer is a privilege and not a command to the new creation. Is it really necessary for us to pray?

After all, we are told in Matthew 6. 8 that the Lord knows what things we have need of even before we ask. But of course, this is false reasoning. For the new creation, prayer is more than just a privilege. It is a necessity.

Our title today expresses this truth when it says that the prayer is the vital breath of the new creature. So why is prayer so essential? Well, for one, our flesh is imperfect and frail, yet the new creature is held responsible for those weaknesses. Our only hope is to go often to the throne of grace for help in time of need, as well as forgiveness when we fall short. So even though we’re not bound by an iron law, the Scriptures encourage us to pray always.

They encourage us to never hesitate to come to him or to tarry long in communion with fellowship. It is our privilege to enter into our closet and shut the door to pray to our Heavenly Father who will reward us openly. Matthew 6, verse 6.

Now, sometimes when we pray or attempt to pray, we encounter obstacles. One of the adversary’s primary ways to separate us from our Heavenly Father is to interfere with our effort to pray. He knows that if he can succeed in cutting us off from fellowship with our Heavenly Father, we become so much more liable to succumb to his assault. So how is it that the adversary can interfere with our prayers? Well, usually it is done through our flesh.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes as we pray, we become drowsy and inattentive, our thoughts begin to wander. At other times our prayers become mechanical, as if we were on autopilot. We go through the motions without engaging either our mind or our heart. So how do we fight against that? Well, reprint 5746 advises that if we have difficulty concentrating, we should intensify and shorten our prayers, our petitions, because a few sentences of real heart prayer will accomplish more good than any amount of lip service.

So if we find ourselves going through the motions, perhaps you might consider these lines by John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress. He said, in prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. In the spirit of this, let our prayers focus on the condition of our heart and worry less about the words that we use now. Another problem with our prayers might come from our own reluctance. Sometimes we are slow to go to our Heavenly Father yet again for some repeated failure to overcome.

Well, this is one of those times when we can hardly attest to the fact that prayer is so very necessary. Prayer is the vital breath of the new creature. So if you find yourself in such a condition, consider this gem. When prayer delights the least, then learn to say, now is the greatest need that I should pray.

Our next two questions come from an early article that was published in November of 1885. The article is 797, and it represents it presents to us two very interesting questions about prayer. The first we will consider relates to the curious title of the article, which is the Province of Prayer. Our question is, what exactly does this mean? After all, the word providence or province is not one that we use very much.

Webster’s Dictionary of American English defines province in a number of ways. Mainly it has to do with the idea of a region or the domain of a country or government, which is not very helpful. The only definition that seems to fit with our question is the last, where it defines province as quote, the proper office or business of a person. For example, it is the province of a judge to decide causes between individuals. This is better, but still not as clear as we would like.

That is, until we can take into account a certain paragraph in the article. It offers us this the province of prayer is to ask for such and only such things as God has already declared himself well pleased to grant. In other words, the province or the proper business of prayer should be confined to those things which are in harmony with God’s word. So while we are encouraged to speak freely with our Heavenly Father, to tell him of our confidence and our trust we should steadfastly avoid telling him what he should do, telling him our will and our plan. Instead, let us bring ourselves into full accord with his will and his plan.

As we read earlier in John 15:7, let us abide in him and His Word abide in us. Now take special note of the precious promise given at the end of this verse. Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Commenting on this phrase, reprint 5311 observes that @ first this seems to say that we might ask for just about anything. However, when we consider the two conditions previously given in the verse, we find that our prayers must be limited to that which God specifies in His Word, in other words, the province Prayer the second question that we find in reprint 797 concerns the object of prayer.

Up until now, our concept of prayer was framed mainly in terms of asking God to give us something. After all, this is what the world thinks they pray to God asking for health or wealth, or to get themselves out of some situation with which they’ve gotten themselves into. Obviously, these are not proper objects for the prayer of a new creature, but it does bring up the question of what that object actually is. What is prayer designed to accomplish? Well, reprint 797 gives us this wonderful definition.

The object of prayer is to bring the heart and mind of the child of God, whether in sorrow, whether in joy or sorrow, into contact with the heart of God, that he may be enabled thus most fully to realize the Fatherhood of God, his love and care, and his deep interest in every item of our welfare, that in deep affliction we may unburden our heart to God, and thus have forcibly brought to our attention his love and care and wisdom. Let us pay special attention to what has been said here. The object of prayer is not just about asking for things. Rather, it is about bringing our heart into and mind into contact with heart and mind of our Heavenly Father. It allows us to unburden our heart of that which troubles us.

It allows us to realize his loving care, his deep interest in every item of our welfare. This is the condition of heart by which the new creature will benefit most. The paragraph continues by saying that the prayer is our opportunity to be prepared to listen for his answer and advice through His Word. In other words, the object of prayer is to change our heart to prepare us to hear his instruction. Prayer should begin should prepare us to receive the blessings which God has in store for us.

It should prepare us to receive his encouragement and strength. Now, in our preparations for this study, we searched for Other references that might tell us something about the object of prayer Here’s a sample of what we found in the sixth volume. The object of prayer is said to bring the soul into the presence of the Lord. Isn’t that amazing? Prayer brings the very essence of our being into the presence of the Creator of all things, and there we may seek what blessing he has in store for us.

Which is why prayer is so vital after all. Reprint 2252 tells us that God withholds many of his blessings until we approach to ask them in prayer in order that we may realize our need of his aid and our dependence upon Him. One of my favorite references about the object of prayer was this point made in reprint 5311. It tells us that prayer enables us to get the highest use of our natural abilities. By coming to the Lord with regularity of prayer, we learn to enlist the best qualities of our mind.

The point I found so compelling was in this last sentence. It says that the object of prayer is for the new creature to use the highest faculties of the old nature to wean the old creature from the natural habits which he had cultivated through weaknesses of the flesh. Well, I don’t know about you, but I have a suitcase full of bad habits and weaknesses of the flesh that I’d love to be rid of, and this paragraph says that the object of prayer is to facilitate that cleansing work which gives us just one more reason to be constant in prayer. Now, we’ve already pointed out that we need a certain amount of information in order to make a proper covenant with our Heavenly Father, and only those who have such a relationship are given the privilege of prayer.

But for our next question, we would like to explore a different role that knowledge has in prayer. We want to ask in what way does a knowledge of God’s Word regulate the content of our prayer? And the first thing that comes to mind is the lesson that we just learned about the province of prayer. If we are to seek only for those things which God has said he is willing to give, doesn’t that require a knowledge of God’s Word? This idea is expanded upon in reprint 53.

10. In order to pray properly, the child of God should know what he may pray for. Otherwise he might be asking for the wrong things, such as God would never be pleased to give Him. Dear friends, we live in the reality where we constantly deal with our fallen flesh. This includes our own faulty reasoning powers.

Without a proper knowledge of God’s Word, we would be prone to ask for things out of harmony with his will Therefore, His Word becomes our wisdom. As we grow in grace and in knowledge, as well as in His Spirit, we learn what things are proper to bring before him in our prayers. Which brings us to our next question, which is somewhat obvious, and that is, what does the Word of God have to say? What is proper in our prayers and what is not? Well, let us begin with those things that constitute improper prayer.

In Matthew 6, verse 7, our Lord tells us, when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. The phrase use not vain repetitions comes from the combination of Strong’s 3361 and Strong’s 945. Essentially, it means to stammer or to repeat the same thing over and over. As an example of this, Brother Russell often points to what he calls the Chinese prayer wheel, which is a bit of a misstatement. They’re actually a Buddhist arrangement of Tibetan origin and are used to repeat a desired mantra.

The supposed advantage is that the devotee can say hundreds of prayers a minute. We find something similar in Islam. As a part of their prayers, they repeatedly chant such phrases as great is Allah. But as Jesus said in Matthew 6:7, While the heathen may think that they are heard for their much speaking, their prayers are really only vain repetitions. The reason they are not heard is given in reprint 53 11.

It says that their first repetition was vain. Therefore, all their subsequent repetitions were vain because they are not based upon the conditions necessary to acceptable prayer. Now, while we might expect this type of vain repetition in religions that do not look to the Word of God for instruction, unfortunately we have seen a similar thing happen with those who do claim to follow the Bible. For centuries, the papal system has instructed its members to recite numerous repetitive prayers. Perhaps the most common is when they continuously repeat Hail Mary, full of grace, and so forth on their string of beads.

They count the number of times the prayer is repeated, because the promise they have been given is that for every repetition, their time in Purgatory will be reduced. But once again, their prayers are merely empty words, endlessly repeated. Now, we do not wish to belittle any of those who do such things. They are simply attempting to approach God. The real problem is that they’ve not been given a proper knowledge of how to do so, and so they recite their vain repetitions as a substitute for real prayer.

Of course, before we go patting ourselves on the back, a very similar thing can happen to us if we mindlessly say words without engaging our brain. If we voice a prayer which does not come from the heart, then we are saying a prayer rather than praying, and reprint 5835 tells us that this type of prayer does not go any higher than the head of the one who repeats the words. They are merely formalistic. They are the opposite of what Ephesians 6:18 encourages us to do.

It tells us that we should pray in the Spirit.

Now we should point out that there is a difference between the vain repetitions of improper prayer and and a continual prayer for a desired blessing. The best example of this is the prayer our Lord gave us in Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. For nearly two millennia the Church has prayed this prayer. Yet it is not a vain repetition. It is a scriptural promise for which we eagerly await.

It is a supplication for a desired blessing long sought for by all of God’s faithful children. In the words of reprint 58:35 our hearts cry out, O Lord, how long? How long until thou wilt deliver thy people and establish righteousness in the earth? The answer to this request has been delayed until it’s due time, and yet we continue to offer the prayer.

We’ve not given up hope for its fulfillment. Now, a slightly different version of improper prayer is what James 4:3 calls asking amiss. So what does this mean? Well, the verse tells us that the key element of such a prayer is that we are asking for something to consume upon our lust. In other words, something selfish.

The Greek indicates that it would be for something that we would waste upon our own pleasure, something that would minister to the desires of our flesh rather than that which is for our best spiritual interest.

And while we are thinking about what it means to pray amiss, there are ways that we might do this unintentionally. One example might be if we were to pray for the release from a trial. Here’s an area where we need to be careful about what we ask. We certainly can pray for strength and endurance in the trial. That’s perfectly fine.

We may also pray to reach the outcome which the Lord intends to learn the lesson that he has for us. But before we pray to have the trial removed or avoided, that request should be well thought out. Trials are part of our covenant of sacrifice. They develop us, they test us, and they prove our love. To ask our Lord to take them away is to ask for something that is counter to our covenant of submission to his will.

Rather, reprint 5928 tells us that we should pray for that grace to help in every time of need which our Lord has promised.

Indeed, that grace in time of need far outweighs any disadvantage that the trial might cause, and this brings us to an examination of the subjects which are proper for our prayers. So what does the Bible have to say about this question? Well, when the apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. But our Lord did not intend that we should mechanically repeat the words of these verses.

No, he gave us this prayer as an example of the proper things to bring before our Heavenly Father, and so we notice that the very first item of our prayer should be a recognition of our Heavenly Father as the One above all else. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. In this phrase, the Greek word hollowed is Strong’s G37. Thayers defines it as to separate from profane things, to dedicate to God.

The word occurs 29 times in the New Testament. Once it is translated holy. Twice it is translated hollow both times in the Gospel accounts of our Lord’s Prayer. However, for the remaining 26 times, it is translated using some version of the word sanctify. So here’s the first thing which our Lord would have us pray that we should sanctify our Heavenly Father’s name in our heart.

Closely associated with this. I didn’t get it. Closely associated with this, with our recognition of his superiority, is our desire for the principle of his government. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is one of our dearest hopes.

It should be a primary concern in our prayer. What exactly does it mean for us to pray for that kingdom? Well, our studies have taught us that the kingdom is primarily made up of the church head and body. So when we pray thy kingdom come, we are really praying for the completion of that church. Which means that we are praying for our brethren.

We are praying for their watch care for their development as fellow members of the body of Christ. Many of the brethren even like to remember these fellow members by their name.

Now, once that new creation is complete, our Heavenly Father’s plan will turn to the remainder of mankind, and so we pray thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Yes, our prayers should express our desire for the recovery and the restitution of all mankind according to the divine plan. Only after we have given consideration to our Father and His kingdom does our our Lord’s Prayer turn to those things which we have need of saying, Give us this day our daily bread. But this does not necessarily mean our physical food, because, as our Lord expressed in Matthew 4:4, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

After all, if we honestly trust in the promise that our Lord will provide for our earthly needs, we may be content to leave such things in his hands. Instead, our prayers should be concerned with those things that pertain to our spiritual bread, and that is a long list of things for which we might seek. We might begin by asking for more of His Holy Spirit. We may pray for more love, more gentleness, more patience for any and all of the fruits of the Spirit.

We may also pray for more wisdom from on high for the Spirit of a sound mind, and let us not forget to pray for his guidance in our daily walk, as our Lord prayed in Luke 22, verse 42 not my will, but thine be done. Our attitude in prayer should be nothing less than full heart submission, our willingness to follow in the Lord’s footsteps and to do those things pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

Next, our prayer instructs us on the topic of forgiveness when we fall short. Needless to say, this is one of the more important subjects for which we are to pray. While we have been cleansed from original sin by the precious blood of Christ, we still have daily trespasses, and since the promise of our forgiveness is tied to the way that we forgive those who trespass against us, we must pay close attention to our attitude when those slights against us happen. Let us remember that as our fallen flesh is the main source of our trespasses against others, it’s also true of those who trespass against us.

So let us learn sympathy for their fallen condition, because we know what it is like to struggle against that old man. Let us have a heart willing to forgive rather than to accuse or to condemn, and in conjunction with this forgiveness of our trespasses, we’re instructed to pray for deliverance from the snares of the adversary. Abandon us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. I do not need to tell you that we are insufficient of ourselves to resist his attack successfully.

We need our Lord’s help at all times if we are to avoid falling into his hands. So then, here’s a list of things which we might properly pray. They are part of the province of prayer. Let us use them to our benefit in our time Again, is short, running short today, and so we’d like to summarize by noting that Reprint 5101 outlines three blessings that result from our coming to the throne of grace.

The first is that prayer is educational. Through prayer we are shown our weaknesses as well as our strengths. It teaches us to strive more diligently, to be more earnest in our effort, daily scrutinize our thoughts and words and doings, and as we strive toward this goal, it will lead us to the second benefit of prayer, which is the strengthening of the new creature against the wilds of the world, the flesh, and the adversary. Of course, since we are still housed in this fallen flesh, we all have firsthand knowledge of the difficulty of this struggle.

And so the third benefit of prayer is that our efforts against those three foes should make us more sympathetic toward others, especially our brethren, who are striving even as we are. We’d like to close today with a thought found in reprint 5833. The article advises that we continue to pray for God’s incoming kingdom until it is fully established. However, we will not obtain that fullness of our desire until we are changed in the first resurrection, changed into the perfection of the new nature. Following that change, the article tells us that then we shall pray no more.

Then we shall be fully satisfied. Prayer will be swallowed up of praise at first I thought this was merely a poetic expression of our gratefulness, but after some consideration, I realized that when the new creature is raised to the divine nature, it will have life within itself and will have need of nothing. However, prayer is about seeking those things which for which we have need, whether they be physical or spiritual. Therefore, prayer in the sense of our making a request will come to an end. Yet prayer in the sense of our praise and thanksgiving for the blessed privilege that we have been given, well, that will continue throughout eternity.

So yes, prayer will be swallowed up in praise, and may the Lord add his blessing and correct anything that was said amiss.

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