You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the LORD your God. Joel 2:26 Praise – The most common Hebrew word associated with prayer is palal. In most contexts, it means “praise.” Think about that for a minute. Hebrew prayer is eight times more likely to be about praise…
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. Psalm 32:3 Groaning – We have all kept quiet about sin. And we have all suffered the consequences. David is absolutely right (and he would know). When I close the closet door on my sin, when I cover…
They have heard that I groan; there is no one to comfort me. Lamentations 1:21 Groan – If this word has never been part of your prayer vocabulary, I wonder if you have really experienced fatal dependence. Every biblical character whom God used to accomplish His purpose seems to have been intimately familiar with anaw…
Nevertheless, You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried to You. Psalm 31:22 Cried – There is no better place to discover the range of prayer than in the Psalms. In fact, a great number of the Psalms are actually called prayers. But guess what? Yesterday’s word “to pray” (athar) does not occur…
Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, that he may see His face with joy, and He may restore His righteousness to man. Job 33:26 Pray – Something quite unexpected occurs when the Old Testament speaks of praying. The only verb that actually means, “to pray” is this word, athar. It…
And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious. Exodus 22:27 Gracious – We come to God in prayer because we believe God is willing to give. That’s the bottom line. If your god is reluctant, petulant, temperamental or immoveable, then you need to…
A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the LORD their God. Jeremiah 3:21 Supplications – This English word is a bit strange these days. We don’t hear “supplications” very much in ordinary conversation. Perhaps that’s…
Now we pray to God that you do no wrong 2 Corinthians 13:7 Pray to God – Just how much post-modern thought is infected with the consequences of a Greek worldview can be seen in our understanding of this simple Pauline statement. Even our prayers are tainted with unbiblical assumptions. Paul uses the very rare…
For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, Romans 9:3 Wish – Paul’s wish is much more than a figure of speech. He chooses the Greek word euchomai; a word that is usually associated with praying or making a…
Let him sit alone and be silent since He has laid it on him. Lamentations 3:28 Alone – If God believes that it is not good to be alone, then why does God Himself bring about an emptiness in our hearts? Why are there times in life when we just can’t seem to connect, even…
