The preachers quoted here describe prayer as the privilege of God's children and the natural response of a soul to whom God has shown himself. They call it the breathing of the Holy Spirit in a Christian, a means by which God binds us to himself, and not a way of bending God to our will.
Prayer is as old as worship: in the days of Seth "then began men to call upon the name of the LORD" (Genesis 4:26). The usual New Testament word is proseuche, prayer addressed to God;1 a common Old Testament word, palal, carries the sense of interceding.2
Jesus both taught prayer and practised it. He gave the pattern, "Our Father which art in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-13), told his disciples to pray in secret (Matthew 6:6), and spoke a parable "to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1). He himself withdrew to pray and continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 5:16; 6:12).
The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines it: "Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to His will in the name of Christ with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgement of His mercies."3 John Bunyan, writing from prison, called it "a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit".4
Those definitions name the ground of prayer. It is to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. Because of Christ we may "come boldly unto the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16); we ask in his name (John 14:13-14); and "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought" (Romans 8:26). Its limit is God's will: "if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us" (1 John 5:14).
Scripture names several kinds: "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks" (1 Timothy 2:1). It commands persistence and forbids anxiety: "in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). E. M. Bounds wrote, "Prayer is the task and duty of each recurring day -- daily prayer for daily needs."5
Calvin's Institutes head the chapter on prayer "Of Prayer -- a perpetual exercise of Faith."6 It is not informing God or overcoming his reluctance. It is a child speaking to his Father, on the ground of Christ's work, and receiving from him.
- Strong's Greek 4335, proseuchḗ: "prayer (worship); by implication, an oratory (chapel)".
- Strong's Hebrew 6419, pâlal: "to judge (officially or mentally); by extension, to intercede, pray".
- Westminster Assembly, Westminster Shorter Catechism, "What is prayer?".
- John Bunyan, 41. Prayer John Bunyan, "What Prayer Is".
- E.M. Bounds, The Necessity Of Prayer, "I. prayer and faith".
- John Calvin, The Institutes Of The Christian Religion, "General index of chapters".
In their own words
Each line below is quoted exactly from a sermon on this site. Follow the link to hear or read it where it was said.
Prayer is the privilege of the children of God.
Chuck Smith
in When You Pray
Listen at 9:26
Prayer is the logical and sensible response of a human soul to a revelation from God.
Al Whittinghill
in First Baptist Atlanta in 1991 on Prayer - Part 4
Listen at 8:07
Prayer is the breathing of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life.
Bill McLeod
in How to Pray in the Holy Spirit
Listen at 12:08
Prayer is not twisting the arm of deity to do our will.
Harold Vaughan
in Preeminence of Prayer in the Life of Jesus
Listen at 20:39
Prayer is a way of God bonding us to himself.
Adrian Rogers
in Principle of Prayer
Listen at 6:08
Prayer is the work and the working power in any spiritual ministry.
William MacDonald
in Houston Colonial Hills Conference 1995-01 Prayer
Listen at 22:03
What Scripture says
- Matthew 6:9-13 the prayer Jesus taught his disciples
- Luke 18:1 men ought always to pray, and not to faint
- Philippians 4:6 in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
- Hebrews 4:16 come boldly to the throne of grace
- 1 John 5:14 if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us
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