Prayer in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

prar (deesis, proseuche, (enteuxis; for an excellent discussion of the meaning of these see Thayer's Lexicon, p. 126, under the word deesis; the chief verbs are euchomai, proseuchomai, and deomai, especially in Luke and Acts; aiteo, "to ask a favor" distinguished from erotao, "to ask a question," is found occasionally): In the Bible "prayer" is used in a simpler and a more complex a narrower and a wider signification. In the former case it is supplication for benefits either for one's self (petition) or for others (intercession). In the latter it is an act of worship which covers all soul in its approach to God. Supplication is at the heart of it, for prayer always springs out of a sense of need and a belief that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). But adoration and confession and thanksgiving also find a It place, so that the suppliant becomes a worshipper. It is unnecessary to distinguish all the various terms for prayer that are employed in the Old Testament and the New Testament. But the fact should be noticed that in the Hebrew and Greek aloe there are on the one hand words for prayer that denote a direct petition or short, sharp cry of the heart in its distress (Ps 30:2; 2 Cor 12:8), and on the other "prayers" like that of Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10), which is in reality a song of thanksgiving, or that of Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, in which intercession is mingled with doxology (Eph 3:14-21). 1. In the Old Testament: The history of prayer as it meets us here reflects various stages of experience and revelation. In the patriarchal period, when `men began to call upon the name of the Lord' (Gen 4:26; compare 12:8; 21:33), prayer is naive, familiar and direct (Gen 15:2 ff; 17:18; 18:23 ff; 24:12). It is evidently associated with sacrifice (Gen 12:8; 13:4; 26:25), the underlying idea probably being that the gift or offering would help to elicit the desired response. Analogous to this is Jacob's vow, itself a species of prayer, in which the granting of desired benefits becomes the condition of promised service and fidelity (Gen 28:20 ff). In the pre- exilic history of Israel prayer still retains many of the primitive features of the patriarchal type (Ex 3:4; Nu 11:11-15; Jdg 6:13 ff; 11:30 f; 1 Sam 1:11; 2 Sam 15:8; Ps 66:13 f). The Law has remarkably little to say on the subject, differing here from the later Judaism (see Schurer, HJP, II, i, 290, index-vol, p. 93; and compare Mt 6:5 ff; 23:14; Acts 3:1; 16:13); while it confirms the association of prayer with sacrifices, which now appear, however, not as gifts in anticipation of benefits to follow, but as expiations of guilt (Dt 21:1-9) or thank offerings for past mercies (Dt 26:1-11). Moreover, the free, frank access of the private individual to God is more and more giving place to the mediation of the priest (Dt 21:5; 26:3), the intercession of the prophet (Ex 32:11-13; 1 Sam 7:5-13; 12:23), the ordered approach of tabernacle and temple services (Ex 40; 1 Ki 8). The prophet, it is true, approaches God immediately and freely--Moses (Ex 34:34; Dt 34:10) and David (2 Sam 7:27) are to be numbered among the prophets--but he does so in virtue of his office, and on the ground especially of his possession of the Spirit and his intercessory function (compare Ezek 2:2; Jer 14:15). A new epoch in the history of prayer in Israel was brought about by the experiences of the Exile. Chastisement...