Prayer was to be placed in the midst of everyday life, not just reserved for liturgical contexts. In fact, a notable characteristic of New Testament prayer (and its predecessor) was its spontaneity. Such petitions were, in part, motivated by the need of the moment. Thus, prayer was unquestioningly believed to be an effective cause of God's actions such that a difference resulted in human events. Indeed, Paul's teaching in Philippians 4:6 echoes Jesus' own. We can readily document that Jesus' instructions were taken to heart by his early followers: there were prayers for the selection of leaders, for deliverances from prisons, for the spread of the gospel, for healings, and so on (e.g., see Acts 1:24 12:5 13:3 ). The immediate source of this confidence came from the teachings and examples of Jesus himself, such as the model prayer he offered ( Matt 6:9-13 Luke 11:2-4 ) and his assurance that one had only to ask the Father in order to receive what was needed ( Matt 7:7 Luke 11:9 ). In fact, most Hebrew terms used in the Old Testament for prayer refer in some sense to petition prayer in the Old Testament more frequently expressed supplication than anything else.Ĭhristian prayer, then, shared a simple belief that God could be petitioned to intervene and effect changes in nature and in the course of world events. Petitions are made for rain and fire, relief from famine and plague, resurrections from the dead, and so forth (e.g., see 1 Kings 8:35-40 17:20-22 18:26-39 ).
Indeed, the simple and almost naive petitioning that marks New Testament prayer is reflected in all its humanness in the psalms the liturgical inheritance of the early Christians as well as in the rest of the early church's Scriptures. 144-150 Luke 1:46-55 ), confession (e.g., Psalm 51 Luke 18:13 ), and thanksgiving (e.g., Psalm 75 1 Thess 1:2 ), Christian prayer has always been essentially petitionary. Though prayer also includes adoration (e.g., Pss. This consistency extended into the patristic period, for the early Father's understanding of prayer was thoroughly shaped and limited by the Lord's Prayer, particularly through mutually influencing exegetical literature on it, devotional and liturgical use of it, and the catechetical tradition that employed it. The consistency in the latter case is seen in the close correspondence between Jesus' prayer life and the prayer life of the New Testament church. This is not to deny that there was a development in the conception of prayer, though this development is more pronounced in the Old Testament than it is in the New Testament and early church.
Bible Dictionaries - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Prayer Prayer Īn examination of the Old and New Testaments and of the early Church Fathers reveals certain "minimal" beliefs or assumptions that underlie the practice of Christian praying.
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