Effective Prayer Practices For Deeper Communication
Prayer is defined as converse with God, an intercourse of the soul with the divine, expressed through direct address rather than mere contemplation [2, 13]. It can be oral or mental, spontaneous or formal, and involves "beseeching the Lord" or "pouring out the soul before the Lord" [2]. The practice of prayer is commanded in Scripture, with passages like Isaiah 55:6 and Matthew 7:7 urging believers to seek God [4].
Effective prayer practices involve several key elements. First, prayer presupposes a belief in God's personality and His willingness to engage with humanity [2]. It is directed to God, to Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, and is offered through Christ [4]. The Apostle Paul, for instance, prayed that the love of believers would "abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight" [3]. This suggests that prayer is not merely asking for things, but also seeking spiritual growth and understanding [8].
A crucial aspect of effective prayer is sincerity and genuine desire. John Calvin emphasized that in prayer, one must "truly feel our wants, and seriously considering that we need all the things which we ask, accompany the prayer with a sincere, nay, ardent desire of obtaining them" [9]. He cautioned against repeating prayers in a perfunctory manner, as if performing a task [9]. Similarly, Augustine noted that while specific words are used at "certain stated hours and seasons," true prayer involves "uninterrupted desire along with the exercise of faith and hope and charity," which he called "praying always" [6].
The internal disposition of the one praying is paramount. Calvin stated that the mind should be "wholly intent on prayer," borne and raised above carnal thoughts and cares [7]. Maimonides, in the Jewish tradition, advised against praying amidst laughter, irreverent behavior, arguments, or anger, suggesting instead an environment conducive to spiritual focus, such as one filled with words of Torah that do not require deep concentration [12]. The "insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective," according to James 5:16 [1].
Prayer is also understood as an expression of reverence, love, gratitude, penitence, hope, submission, and confidence in God [13]. It is a means by which believers can make their requests known to God, celebrating His praise and imploring His aid [11, 14]. The Lord's Prayer, taught by Jesus, serves as a model, embodying a wide range of spiritual requirements in a simple and humble form [5]. It begins by seeking God's will, placing the petitioner's will in subordination to His [10].
Sources
- James “Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. -- James 5:16”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a "beseeching the Lord" (Ex. 32:11); "pouring out the soul before the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:15); "praying and crying to heaven" (2 Chr. 32:20); "seeking unto God and making supplication" (Job 8:5); "drawing near to God" (Ps. 73:28); "bowing the knees" (Eph. 3:14). Prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God, his ability and willingness to hold inter”
- Philippians “Philippians 1:9 (BSB) — And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Prayer — Commanded -- Isa 55:6; Mt 7:7; Php 4:6. To be offered To God. -- Ps 5:2; Mt 4:10. To Christ. -- Lu 23:42; Ac 7:59. To the Holy Spirit. -- 2Th 3:5. Through Christ. -- Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19. God hears -- Ps 10:17; 65:2. God answers -- Ps 99:6; Isa 58:9. Is described as Bowing the knees. -- Eph 3:14. Looking up. -- Ps 5:3. Lifting up the soul. -- Ps 25:1. Lifting up the heart. -- La 3:41. Pouring out the heart. -- Ps 62:8. Pouring out the soul. -- 1Sa 1:15. Calling upon the name of the Lord. -- Ge 12:8; Ps 116:4; Ac 22:16. Crying to God. -- Ps 27:7; 34:6. Drawing”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Lords Prayer — the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples. (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) "In this prayer our Lord shows his disciples how an infinite variety of wants and requests can be compressed into a few humble petitions. It embodies every possible desire of a praying heart, a whole world of spiritual requirements; yet all in the most simple, condensed and humble form, resembling, in this respect, a pearl on which the light of heaven plays."--Lange. "This prayer contains four great general sentiments, which constitute the very soul of religion,--sentiments which”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. IX -- 18. When we cherish uninterrupted desire along with the exercise of faith and hope and charity, we "pray always." But at certain stated hours and seasons we also use. words in prayer to Go: CHAP. X. -- 19. Wherefore it is neither wrong ! nor unprofitable to spend much time in praying, if there be leisure for this without hindering other good and necessary works to which duty' calls us, although even in the doing of these, as I have said, we ought by cherishing holy desire to pray without ceasing. For to spend a long time in prayer is ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: framed as becomes those who are entering into converse with God. This we shall accomplish in regard to the mind, if, laying aside carnal thoughts and cares which might interfere with the direct and pure contemplation of God, it not only be wholly intent on prayer, but also, as far as possible, be borne and raised above itself. I do not here insist on a mind so disengaged as to feel none of the gnawings of anxiety; on the contrary, it is by much anxiety that the fervor of prayer is inflamed. Thus we see that the holy servants of God”
- Colossians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Colossians 1:9: 1:9-10 Paul prays that God would grant his readers deeper understanding of the Good News and its full expression in their lives. Spiritual growth yields a clearer and deeper comprehension of Christian truth and conduct that pleases the Lord, through which a believer will have the endurance and patience to stand firm against evil (1:11).”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: God is pleased to try how efficiently faith influences our hearts. 6. Another rule of prayer is, that in asking we must always truly feel our wants, and seriously considering that we need all the things which we ask, accompany the prayer with a sincere, nay, ardent desire of obtaining them. Many repeat prayers in a perfunctory manner from a set form, as if they were performing a task to God, and though they confess that this is a necessary remedy for the evils of their condition, because it were fatal to be left without the divine ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: procedure seems to him best, in respect of method, time, and place. For before we offer up any petition for ourselves, we ask that his will may be done, and by so doing place our will in subordination to his, just as if we had laid a curb upon it, that, instead of presuming to give law to God, it may regard him as the ruler and disposer of all its wishes. 51. If, with minds thus framed to obedience, we allow ourselves to be governed by the laws of Divine Providence, we shall easily learn to persevere in prayer, and suspending our o”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: Saviour also condemns, namely, when hypocrites for the sake of ostentation court the presence of many witnesses, and would sooner pray in the market-place than pray without applause. The true object of prayer being, as we have already said (sec. 4, 5), to carry our thoughts directly to God, whether to celebrate his praise or implore his aid, we can easily see that its primary seat is in the mind and heart, or rather that prayer itself is properly an effusion and manifestation of internal feeling before Him who is the searcher of he”
- Mishneh Torah (Maimonides) (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Mishneh Torah (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah%2C Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 4:18: Similarly, one should not stand to pray in the midst of laughter or irreverent behavior, nor in the midst of a conversation, argument or anger, but rather in the midst of words of Torah. [However, one should not stand to pray] in the midst of a judgment or a [difficult] halachic issue, even though these are words of Torah, lest one's mind be distracted by the halachah in question. Rather, [one should pray] in the midst of words of Torah that do not require deep concentration, e.g., laws that have already been a”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 73: § 20. Prayer. Prayer is the converse of the soul with God. Therein we manifest or express to Him our reverence, and love for his divine perfection, our gratitude for all his mercies, our penitence for our sins, our hope in his forgiving love, our submission to his authority, our confidence in his care, our desires for his favour, and for the providential and spiritual blessings needed for ourselves and others. As religion, in the subjective sense of the word, is the state of mind induced by the due apprehension of the character of God and”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: time before—viz. that the Spirit of adoption , which seals the testimony of the Gospel on our hearts, gives us courage to make our requests known unto God, calls forth groanings which cannot be uttered, and enables us to cry, Abba, Father ( Rom. 8:26 ). This last point, as we have hitherto only touched upon it slightly in passing, must now be treated more fully. 2. To prayer , then, are we indebted for penetrating to those riches which are treasured up for us with our heavenly Father. For there is a kind of intercourse between God ”