What has happened to our prayer life?
First, let’s spend a few minutes looking at the history of prayer. As early as Genesis 18:23, where Abraham pleaded with Elohim on behalf of the residents of Sodom prayer was being established. In Genesis 20:17, the Word tells us Abraham prayed to Elohim. Abraham set the standard for his descendants that followed. By the time of the Tabernacle and the Temple, prayer also accompanied the sacrificial rites. Individuals that brought sin offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem were required to say confessional prayers (Leviticus 5:5; Numbers 5:7) Those that brought the tithe and/or the First Fruits offering were also required to say certain prayers (Deuteronomy 26:5-10; 13-15). The Levites also sang the Psalms. The Priests regularly recited the Priestly Blessing. The Shema and the Ten Commandments were also prayed and sung during certain times by the Levites and Priests. Until the time of the second Temple, there were no real fixed times for prayers, the prayers however were said often.
It was Ezra the Scribe and the 120 men of the Great Assembly who, about 485 BCE (early second Temple period), fixed the number of the daily Temple services. These men also outlined the prayers and set the times for saying them. The three prayer services were set … morning, noon, evening. Reference to the thrice daily prayers is found in Psalms (55:18) also in Daniel (6:11). There is also reference to Abraham praying in the morning (Gen.19:27), Isaac praying toward sunset (Gen. 24:63), and Jacob praying towards evening (Gen. 28:10).
This brings us to the time of Y’Shua( Jesus). He grew up in the local Synagogues of His time and visiting the Temple at least three times a year. He was well versed in the prayers in the Synagogues and in the Temple. He was raised in a family that prayed. Researching The Good News, one cannot begin to list all the times Y’Shua(Jesus) prayed. Let me list some — Matthew 11:25-26, He prayed before the raising of Lazarus (John 11:41-42),then again in John 12:28, His prayer in John 17, 3 prayers in the Garden and the 3 prayers at His Crucifixion. Plus so many, many other times, like before the feeding miracles.
The most diligent of His prayers we find in Matthew 6:9-13. In this prayer He follows the prayers He learned as a child in the Synagogue of Nazareth and in His, at least, three visits to the Temple each year. In the simple yet complex, He gives to us a perfect outline of the prayers that had been said for close to 500 years. By doing this He shows us the example of an organized precise prayer, not a prayer of lip service that can be said quickly without deep meaning. A prayer that seeks forgiveness, but also gives forgiveness, a prayer that asks for us not to be tried, but to be delivered. Above all a prayer that in its first line glorifies Elohim above all.
So today I leave you with a question. How’s your prayer life? Quick and easy or devoted and precise?
