Read Verses: Philippians 4:4-9
Key Verse:Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Prayer is not a natural thing for people to do. Oh, we wish, and hope, and even beg. But true prayer, its a rare and beautiful thing and goes beyond what these words entail. What we believe about prayer, about God, and about the purpose of prayer does a lot to influence how we approach prayer. We should probably take a moment and look at the word for prayer in the bible. Sometimes, when you get the definition of a word, it can bring a lot of detail into what that word means.
The main word for prayer is proseuchomai or proseuche. If it looks funny, that's because it's greek. And here are some definitions for that word that you will find if you look it up in a dictionary for ancient greek works...or other similar books dedicated to helping us understand the original meaning of works.
HELPS Word Studies says this: "proseúxomai (from 4314 /prós, "towards, exchange" and 2172/euxomai, "to wish, pray") – properly, to exchange wishes; pray – literally, to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith ("divine persuasion"). Accordingly, praying (4336/proseuxomai) is closely inter-connected with 4102 /pístis ("faith") in the NT. See: Ac 6:5,6,14:22,23; Eph 6:16-18; Col 1:3,4; 2 Thes 3:1,2; Js 5:13-15; Jude 20." Now if you read that, it's very interesting what the author of the word definition is trying to say. Let it sink in for a minute.
Prayer (proseuche) is actually a compound word in the Greek which means two or more Greek words are squished together in order to create another word, which often means something new, but maintains the essence of the words it was created from. We do it in English all the time. We have the word "talented" and combine it with "multi"...we get multi-talented. And this means a person who has multiple talents. Same in the Greek. So lets split apart the word for prayer and look at it more closely.
The word "pros" which starts both words has a wonderful use. the word means to “belong to” or “come near to” or “to pertain to” or “draw nigh.” It means “DRAWING VERY CLOSE” as if to speak something clear and intimate from very close proximity. Another scholar says the word pros is used to portray the intimate relationship that exists between the members of the Godhead. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.…" The word "with" is taken from the word pros. By using this word to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is telling us that theirs is an intimate relationship. One expositor has translated the verse, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face to face with God.…"
So what a picture we are have regarding prayer. First and foremost, it means to draw very close to God in a similar way that the Son draws close to the Father. That's why we look into words, they are full of these precious little gems that you never see any other way. Here is why some of our prayer lives stink. Prayer is drawing close to God in Spirit. It is developing intimacy with God. God needs to change us and prayer is that lifeline which brings understanding and change into our lives. We often treat prayer as in impersonal way to ask God for things we need. Sometimes we see prayer as a power that can change other things or people. Prayer does change things, but it starts by changing us. When Jesus drew near to His Father in prayer, he was experiencing something that we all want to experience. And as we draw closer to God and meet him face to face in prayer, he imparts wisdom and love, our wills begins understanding His will. Our lives are transformed.
The second part of that word is even more interesting. The second part of the world proseuche is taken from the word euche. The word euche is a Greek word that describes a wish, desire, prayer, or vow. It was originally used to depict a person who made some kind of vow to God because of some need or desire in his or her life. This individual would vow to give something of great value to God in exchange for a favorable answer to prayer. We can be reminded of the story of Hannah in the Old Testament or even a sacrifice. Sacrifice is closely associated with this word. It portrayed an individual who desired to see his prayer answered so desperately that he was willing to surrender everything he owned in exchange for answered prayer.
What does God want us to surrender to him? What kind of sacrifice can we make? What can we exchange that is precious to us, for an answer to prayer? You can see why this word is not very well explained today...it lends itself more to and Old Testament sacrificial system. But not really. What God wants is a pure and contrite heart. What he wants us to sacrifice is our self-life, our desire to do things our way. We open up our hearts to doing things God's way, whether we understand or not. Is this the kind of prayer life you have? Too often we are scared to draw close to God, afraid the change he might ask of us. After all, God is best kept at a distance (that was sarcasm). Prayer is necessary to understand God's will and purpose. What do you have that he wants???? Your heart and comittment.
Lord Jesus, lead us closer to you today. Bring us face to face with the Father that we might know and understand him better. Meet us in prayer...our sacrifice is this...a heart that wants to change and be closer to you. A heart that desires to know what it means to be part of the family, adopted into the House of God. We don't know how to draw close in prayer, respond to our faith and draw close to us, teach us the way. Make our wills one with the Father's. AMEN
Key Verse:Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Prayer is not a natural thing for people to do. Oh, we wish, and hope, and even beg. But true prayer, its a rare and beautiful thing and goes beyond what these words entail. What we believe about prayer, about God, and about the purpose of prayer does a lot to influence how we approach prayer. We should probably take a moment and look at the word for prayer in the bible. Sometimes, when you get the definition of a word, it can bring a lot of detail into what that word means.
The main word for prayer is proseuchomai or proseuche. If it looks funny, that's because it's greek. And here are some definitions for that word that you will find if you look it up in a dictionary for ancient greek works...or other similar books dedicated to helping us understand the original meaning of works.
HELPS Word Studies says this: "proseúxomai (from 4314 /prós, "towards, exchange" and 2172/euxomai, "to wish, pray") – properly, to exchange wishes; pray – literally, to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith ("divine persuasion"). Accordingly, praying (4336/proseuxomai) is closely inter-connected with 4102 /pístis ("faith") in the NT. See: Ac 6:5,6,14:22,23; Eph 6:16-18; Col 1:3,4; 2 Thes 3:1,2; Js 5:13-15; Jude 20." Now if you read that, it's very interesting what the author of the word definition is trying to say. Let it sink in for a minute.
Prayer (proseuche) is actually a compound word in the Greek which means two or more Greek words are squished together in order to create another word, which often means something new, but maintains the essence of the words it was created from. We do it in English all the time. We have the word "talented" and combine it with "multi"...we get multi-talented. And this means a person who has multiple talents. Same in the Greek. So lets split apart the word for prayer and look at it more closely.
The word "pros" which starts both words has a wonderful use. the word means to “belong to” or “come near to” or “to pertain to” or “draw nigh.” It means “DRAWING VERY CLOSE” as if to speak something clear and intimate from very close proximity. Another scholar says the word pros is used to portray the intimate relationship that exists between the members of the Godhead. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.…" The word "with" is taken from the word pros. By using this word to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is telling us that theirs is an intimate relationship. One expositor has translated the verse, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face to face with God.…"
So what a picture we are have regarding prayer. First and foremost, it means to draw very close to God in a similar way that the Son draws close to the Father. That's why we look into words, they are full of these precious little gems that you never see any other way. Here is why some of our prayer lives stink. Prayer is drawing close to God in Spirit. It is developing intimacy with God. God needs to change us and prayer is that lifeline which brings understanding and change into our lives. We often treat prayer as in impersonal way to ask God for things we need. Sometimes we see prayer as a power that can change other things or people. Prayer does change things, but it starts by changing us. When Jesus drew near to His Father in prayer, he was experiencing something that we all want to experience. And as we draw closer to God and meet him face to face in prayer, he imparts wisdom and love, our wills begins understanding His will. Our lives are transformed.
The second part of that word is even more interesting. The second part of the world proseuche is taken from the word euche. The word euche is a Greek word that describes a wish, desire, prayer, or vow. It was originally used to depict a person who made some kind of vow to God because of some need or desire in his or her life. This individual would vow to give something of great value to God in exchange for a favorable answer to prayer. We can be reminded of the story of Hannah in the Old Testament or even a sacrifice. Sacrifice is closely associated with this word. It portrayed an individual who desired to see his prayer answered so desperately that he was willing to surrender everything he owned in exchange for answered prayer.
What does God want us to surrender to him? What kind of sacrifice can we make? What can we exchange that is precious to us, for an answer to prayer? You can see why this word is not very well explained today...it lends itself more to and Old Testament sacrificial system. But not really. What God wants is a pure and contrite heart. What he wants us to sacrifice is our self-life, our desire to do things our way. We open up our hearts to doing things God's way, whether we understand or not. Is this the kind of prayer life you have? Too often we are scared to draw close to God, afraid the change he might ask of us. After all, God is best kept at a distance (that was sarcasm). Prayer is necessary to understand God's will and purpose. What do you have that he wants???? Your heart and comittment.
Lord Jesus, lead us closer to you today. Bring us face to face with the Father that we might know and understand him better. Meet us in prayer...our sacrifice is this...a heart that wants to change and be closer to you. A heart that desires to know what it means to be part of the family, adopted into the House of God. We don't know how to draw close in prayer, respond to our faith and draw close to us, teach us the way. Make our wills one with the Father's. AMEN
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