Bible Verses About Prayer

Prayer is one thing that any Christian knows about. However, many are not familiar with. Prayer provides us a chance to talk with our heavenly father. Scripture gives us many examples of the importance of prayer. It also shows us how prayer helps our daily Christian walk. I hope you will walk with me through these bible verses about prayer.

Many verses teach us how to pray. Matthew tells us that prayer must be performed with the right intentions. Mat_6:5-6, "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Prayer is not supposed to be a thing to get us attention. It is a private conversation between us and our heavenly father.

Matthew 6:9-15 is one of the most memorized passages in the Bible. These passages are known as the Lord’s Prayer. However, memorizing this prayer and repeating it word for word completely violates the verses before it. Mat 6:7-8, "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8  "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Jesus warned us specifically about praying with repetition.

When you speak to your earthly parents, how many times do you simply repeat the same conversation over and over again? You don’t!! Then why would you do this to your heavenly father? He does not want meaningless repetition. God wants us to bring our fears, our doubts, our worries, our needs, and our gratitude to him. How can we do this is we simply repeat one prayer over and over again?

As Eastern religions have gained popularity, people speak of the importance of meditation. They speak about using meditation to ease their stress. That is what prayer was meant to be. Prayer was meant to be time for us to bring the worries of the day to our heavenly father. Man turned it into a time to repeat a few memorized prayers. We took the power out of prayer.

Several verses illustrate this. We don’t see any verses where Jesus said to meditate. We do see that, after a hard or busy day, Jesus went to his heavenly father in prayer.

• Mat_14:23, “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”
• Luk_11:1  It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."
• Luk_5:16  But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
• Luk_6:12  It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
• Luk_22:41  And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,  
• Luk_9:28  Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

On the night he was taken to die, Jesus went to his father in prayer.

• Mar 6:44-46, “There were five thousand men who ate the loaves. 45  Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away.  46  After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.”
• Mat_26:36  Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
• Mar_14:35  And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by.

Prayer is critical to a Christian life. Jesus told a parable about prayer. Luk 18:1-8, “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2  saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3  "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' 4  "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5  yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'" 6  And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7  now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8  "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

Faith plays a large part in prayer. We cannot be the type of Christians that do things simply because we are supposed to. This is part of the reason why Jesus warned against simply praying with repetition. We must have enough faith to believe that God can hear us and will act upon our requests. Mar_11:24, "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

Our lives are very hectic. It is very easy for us to get wrapped up in our daily concerns. We also live in a country that is growingly turning its back on God. If we allow it then the world will gladly separate us from God.  Prayer also provides us the chance to once again focus on God. Luk_22:40  When He arrived at the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."

We are told to bless those that curse us. We are told to pray for them. Luk_6:28, “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” We are also told to pray for those who persecute us. Mat_5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”

Why would God tell us to pray for people that are trying to hurt us? It cannot be just for their benefit. They probably won’t even know that we are praying for them. Could it be to cause a change in us? If someone is persecuting us then we can either approach it with patience or strike back at them. Praying allows us a chance to get rid of those feelings. Through prayer, we put away our bitterness.

Jesus told another parable about payer. This one illustrates the spirit we are supposed to have when we pray. Luk 18:9-14, “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10  "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  11  "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  12  'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13  "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' 14  "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

We are not to pray only when we want something. We are to pray consistently and constantly. 1Th_5:17, “pray without ceasing;”

If we pray with the proper spirit then we will not harbor ill will against anyone. Without this, we can carry with us wrath and dissension. If we bring these things into the church then we cause wrath and dissension among everyone. 1Ti_2:8, “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”

We are told that, if any among us are suffering, they must pray. Jas_5:13, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” We are told, if we are sick then we are to ask our brothers to pray for us. Jas_5:14, “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;”

If we approach this verse with a little modern science then it takes on a whole new meaning. Science tells us that stress can make illness worse. Stress put a strain on our system. This strain can compromise our immune system. Once our immune system is compromised then we are more likely to get sick. If we are already sick then stress can hinder our recovery.

Obviously, our creator already knew this fact. That is why he tells us to pray. Through prayer, we leave our problems on him. By getting rid of our problems, we do not have to worry about stress.

We are going to sin. There is not a prefect Christian. Overcoming sin, requires us to realize that we are not alone. God told us to confess our sins to one another. Jas_5:16,   “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you maybe healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” By praying for each other then we gain strength from each other to overcome sin.

Selfinshness is another trait against God that pray can help fight against. 3Jn_1:2,  “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” By praying for each other then we take focus off of ourselves. We cultivate the love for other human beings. It is vey tough to cultivate a love for other people and be selfish, at the same time.

1 Corinthians 10:6: Daily Devotional

1Corinthians 10:6, "Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved."

As we read the bible, it is easy for us to see it as a history book. we can fall into the trap of simply seeing it as stories of ancient people. However, through the Holy Spirit, these stories were written down as an example to us. They were not simply written down so we would worship God. They were written down so we could learn from their mistakes. By learning from their mistakes then we can strengthen our own relationship with God.

By studying their mistakes, we not only learn how to avoid them but we also improve our focus. If we spend time studying the Bible then we will draw our focus onto heavenly things. We will crave heavenly things. If we are focused on God then we will no longer crave things of this world. This is simply one little verse but it shows us the importance of learning from the Bible.

Daily Devotional: Are You A Hearer Or A Doer?

For today’s daily devotional, I would like to look at James 1:22, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

“…prove yourselves doers of the word…” James starts to mention works here. In later chapters, he will develop this idea more fully. James tells us to “prove ourselves” because anyone can say they are anything they would like. Just because someone says something about themselves does not mean it is true. The true manner of a person is proven through our actions. Our actions prove what is in our heart. Jesus told us, “"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Matt. 7:21

If we are focusing on God and making him the center of our life then our actions will reflect that. James is telling us it is not enough to simply say, “God I accept you into my life”. There has to be a change of the heart. This change of our hearts has to be enough to lead us to change our behavior.

Over the centuries, many bible scholars want to make works a salvation issue. At one point, Martin Luther even called the Book of James an “epistle of straw”. The bible looks at works as a doctor looks at a marathon runner. Being able to run a marathon is the outcome of a lot of hard work. The runner has trained very hard to be able to run a marathon. Works is the outcome of much study and time spent to focus one’s life on God. Works is the outcome of a person who has worked hard to build a biblical faith.

God expects us to produce. We see this example in Jesus’s encounter with the fig tree. Mat 21:18-19, “Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19  Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.”

This fig tree had done nothing. It had only existed. Yet, this fig tree had one purpose to produce figs. I ask you, as Christians, “What is our purpose?” Is it to simply show up every Sunday? Jesus’s example shows us that it is much more. If our hearts become Christian then so will our actions. As our actions follow God’s will then people will notice. When people notice then we will bear fruit.

“…and not merely hearers…” Word of God is available to all men. Everyone has the chance to hear the word of God. Jesus reminded us in the parable of the sowers that a man’s heart determines how he reacts to the word of God. If our hearts are fertile soil then the word of God takes root and grows. Out of this growth comes action on our part. Salvation is gained through this action. For example, as the word of God grows then we ask the question necessary to bring us to baptism.

Christian life is much more then simply praying for Jesus to come into your heart. It is something that should cause a change in us. Christians share in Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. As such, we should put away the person we were before. We should arise in newness of life. We should strive to live our life according to God’s ways. We should focus daily on him. If we do these things then we will become doers of the word. Not because we have to but because it now flows through every part of our body.

Free Will Vs Predestination

Does God determine saved and unsaved before we are even born? Do we spend our lives living out some predetermined plan? Do we actually have any free will at all? Throughout history man has pondered these questions. There has been a long standing debate over free will versus predestination. Can free will and predestination coexist in the world?

John Calvin was a large part of spreading predestination doctrine. He came to this doctrine from the belief that God rules over everything that happens here on earth. He taught that even before we are born that God determines whether we will be a child of his or not. Predestination states that God determines who will be saved and unsaved. Let us look at the verses that seem to point to predestination.

Jeremiah would seem to be an example of predestination. Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." This would seem to suggest that Jeremiah was predetermined to be a prophet. But, did Jeremiah have a choice whether or not to be a prophet?

Paul also would seem to state a predestined life. Galatians 1:15-16, “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased  to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.” God knew that Paul would be one to obey him. God knew that his obedience would lead him to be an apostle. He even knew that it would lead him to be the one to present the gospel to the Gentiles.

Did God predestine every part of Paul’s life? Here in lies the real questions. Does God simply have the ability to know what we are going to do before we do it? Thus, using the choices we will make to plan how he can best use us. Or, does he decide what we are going to do and we have no choice at all in it?

Examining Paul’s life would answer these questions:

• Paul started life as Saul. He worked hard to persecute Christians. Acts 8:1-3, “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.”
• He was even present at the stoning of Steven, the first martyr. Acts 7:58, “When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
• Paul required persuasion to turn him to the path God laid out for him. Acts 9:1-9, “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3  As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4  and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5  And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6  but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do." 7  The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8  Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9  And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

Paul always had a heart to do God’s will. However, he spent much of his life misguided. What he thought was God’s will was actually man’s misinterpretation of the scriptures. God provided the discipline to change Paul’s behavior. God knew that Paul had the abilities that he needed to preach his word. He only needed to show Paul how to use these abilities correctly.

It is clear that God has a plan for man. He chose to create us. Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."”

God chose Israel to be his chosen people. Abram, later named Abraham, was so faithful to God that he gave him the land of Canaan. Genesis 12:7, “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.” Why would God give a gift to someone for their faithfulness? If predestination was in then they have no choice but be faithful.

God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only begotten son. God knew that Abraham would follow his will. Yet, when Abraham did follow God’s will then God rewarded him for it. Genesis 22:15-17, “Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,   indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.” Again, why reward someone that has no choice but to obey you?

Throughout the bible, God rewards those who do his will. Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.” If you predetermine that your child is going to be a doctor, he has no choice in the matter, then why reward him for passing medical school?

Abraham’s was justified by his faith. Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” If we are predestined to either follow God or not then why would faith matter? Is God simply a heavenly being that likes to play with his creation? He predetermines who is going to go to heaven but still expects faith and obedience. What would be the point of this?

God does know what is going to happen. In Noah’s case, God saw that the people were turning increasingly wicked. He knew that he was going to destroy the earth. Yet, through Noah, he gave them a way to save themselves. Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” If God had already predestined that only Noah would be saved then why give them another chance?

God does make plans for man. God planned to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Ephesians 1:3-6, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5  He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6  to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

He made a plan for his son to die on the cross. Throughout the Old Testament, prophecies pointed to the coming of Jesus and his death on the cross. Jesus himself even Luke 24:25-27, “And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26  "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" 27  Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

Jesus knew what was going to happen to him. Matthew 16:21, “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

He made a plan available to us that we might turn away from sin. God’s plan begins with us hearing the gospel. That is why Christians were given the great commission. We must then believe what we have heard and repent.  Mark 1:15  and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." We must be baptized. Mark 16:16, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

God made a plan to discipline us to improve our spiritual health. Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Here we are told that discipline with train us. If our fate is already sealed then why do we need discipline. Wouldn’t predestination mean that we are not in control at all. We can just move through our lives. Predestination would mean we are waiting to win some spiritual lottery.

God judges us based on our deeds. Ezekiel 18:30, "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares the Lord GOD. "Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.” Even when God sees our wickedness and must discipline us, he does not take joy in it.

Jeremiah 26:3, “Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.”

God does not plan for anyone to disobey him. In fact, we see that his will is just the opposite. God does not want anyone to be lost. Not even one sheep in the flock is an acceptable loss. Matthew 18:12-14, "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13  "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14  "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”

“So it is not the will of your father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” (Matthew 18:14) Why would God decide who is going to heaven and hell, before we are born, then state that he does not want anyone to perish? If it is his will that no one perishes and he predestines this then why not just predestine for everyone to be saved?

God does not take pleasure in anyone being disobedient. Ezekiel 18:32, "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD. "Therefore, repent and live." If God cares for us so then why would he create people who are predestined to disobey him? Either God cares so little that he predestines people to hell or we live with free will to choose God or not.

While it is not his will God even speaks of those who “fall away”. Hebrews 6:4-6, “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6  and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

God does have a plan for our lives. This should be comforting to each and every one of us. God does not want us to be on our own. God wants to provide us with the resources and opportunities to carry out his will. This does not mean that he will make us carry out his will. We still have to personally choose whether or not to follow his will.

If God has predestined whether or not we are saved then why give us the bible at all? Why provide us with a way to choose him? Why send his son to die on the cross? None of these actions would make any sense. However, there is a second scenario. God has the power to know the future. He is able to know the choices that every person will make. Based on these choices he plans events to give us the tools we need. This does not mean that he predetermines what will happen. This simply means God sets in motion the framework. We are still left to live our lives within this framework. We can choose to turn to God and fulfill his plan for us. We also can choose to turn our back on him.

Note: All verses are taken from the New American Standard Bible.