Prayer

The priorities of prayer - I Timothy 2:1 – 2:8 (commentary)

A noted clergyman was asked by a colleague why the loud, vehement praying of his earlier days had given way to a more quiet, persuasive manner of speech. The man laughed. “When I was young,” he said, “I thought it was the thunder that killed people, but when I grew …

Jesus cursed the fig tree and it dried up - Mark 11:19 – 11:26 (commentary)

Jesus and His disciples were staying in Bethany each night (v. 19). The next day the disciples noticed that the fig tree Jesus had cursed the day before was all dried up (vv. 20-21). As they called it to His attention He used it as an illustration to teach them these principles …

What results do you expect from prayer? - Psalms 5:1 – 5:7 (commentary)

While very ill, John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, called to his wife and said, “Read me that Scripture where I first cast my anchor.” After he listened to the beautiful prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17, he seemed to forget his weakness. H …

Exodus 17:1 – 17:18 (commentary)

As Israel followed the Lord, He took them through different experiences and trials which helped them understand themselves better, as well as the power and grace of God. There are two such experiences recorded in this chapter:1. Water from the rock (vv. 1-7) - Once more Isra …

Instrument for getting God’s will done on earth - I John 5:13 – 5:17 (commentary)

“Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting Gods will done on earth,” wrote Robert Law. Some people hope that they will receive eternal life. John says that we can know we have it (v. 13). Our certainty is based on God’s pr …

David is a man after God’s own heart - Psalms 17:1 – 17:5 (commentary)

This psalm is a prayer of David as he was surrounded by enemies but encouraged by his faith in God.  Danger was pressing in on him, so help from the Lord was urgently needed. He would not  have been a man after God’s own heart, had he not been a man of prayer. So …

A Prayer For Guidance And Help - Psalms 25:1 – 25:7 (commentary)

No one knows for sure when this Psalm was written but there is a good possibility that it was written by David sometime during the rebellion of Absalom. It is for sure that David’s circumstances were serious and he hardly knows which way to turn, so he turns to God in …

Peter Leads The Prayer Meeting - Acts 1:15 – 1:26 (commentary)

After the Lord Jesus ascended Peter became the recognized leader of the disciples. He was bothered by the empty space left by the treachery and suicide of Judas, and had decided that someone must replace the missing member of the Apostolic ranks. With this mind a prayer meeting w …

Paul Requests Prayer For The Ministry - Romans 15:30 – 15:33 (commentary)

Too often we view prayer as a time for comfort, reflection, or making our requests known to God. But in verse 30 Paul urges believers to join in his struggles by means of prayer. Prayer is also a weapon in all believers’ armor as we intercede for others who join in the fight agai …

Prayer Produces Unity - Acts 4:23 – 4:31 (commentary)

After being threatened, the disciples returned to their own group to pray, and they told them all that the chief priests and elders had said to them (v. 23). When they had heard the story, with one accord, they lifted up their voice to God. This is truly one of the great prayers …

The Measure, Means, and Might of Prayer - John 14:13 – 14:14 (commentary)

Have you ever seen the plaque, “Why pray when you can worry?” Prayer has its measure, means and might clearly spelled out in this chapter. Jesus says, “You can do anything in my name and I will do it” (vv. 13-14).1. Measure: “Whatever you ask” - Meas …

Continual Prayer Brings Results - Acts 12:1 – 12:11 (commentary)

Perhaps you have heard it said, “Never underestimate the power of prayer.” In this exciting drama of Acts chapter 12 you can see the reality of this statement. In fact, it tells us much about prayer. In verse five we read that prayer was made: To God - the aimIn e …

Practice of Prayer - Matthew 6:5 – 6:18 (commentary)

Jesus speaks here about the practice of prayer which the Pharisees loved to perform publicly. Their prayers were not directed to God but to other men, and consisted of long  repetitive phrases (v. 7).  It is still very easy for professing Christians to pray to be heard …

The Weekness of our Flesh - Matthew 26:36 – 26:46 (commentary)

Gethsemane was a lush garden east of the city of Jerusalem near the slopes of the Mount of Olives (v. 36).  Jesus often went there for peace and quiet. On this occasion He takes Peter, James and John further into the garden (v. 37). He then stops and asks these three to keep …

Nehemiah prays for his people - Nehemiah 1:1 – 1:11 (commentary)

As chapter one begins we are told that Nehemiah is in Shusan serving in the winter palace of Artaxerxes the king (v. 1). The brother of Nehemiah came to visit him and told of the difficulties the people who had returned with Jerubbabel and Ezra were having in Jerusalem. Nehemiah …

Lamentations 3:41 – 3:46 (commentary)

Suffering should drive anyone to repentance, prayer and to renewed dedication to God. This seems to be the condition of Judah in this passage. In the first step the prophet exhorts the people to confess their sins to God because of their suffering (vv. 41-47). In the second step …

The Blessing of Answered Prayer - Psalms 30:1 – 30:12 (commentary)

It seems that David may have written this psalm during the time of the purchase, and erection of an altar in dedication of the threshing floor of Araunah (II Samuel 24). We do know that prosperity had caused David to become self-confident and proud. As a result of thi …

Prayer That The Wicked Won’t Triumph - Psalms 35:22 – 35:28 (commentary)

The Psalmist calls on God to wake up; not that He was asleep, but it is an appeal for Him to manifest Himself (v. 22). As he draws to a close in his prayer he becomes more intense. David cries out to God to defend him when people wrongly accused Him. If we are unjustly accused, o …

Psalms 41:1 – 41:9 (commentary)

Psalm 41 is a lesson based on a prayer for help against treachery. In grace God visited the writer with deliverance and put a song to rejoicing upon his lips. He concluded the preceding psalm by calling himself poor and needy. In this one he begins by commending those who conside …

Psalms 57:1 – 57:6 (commentary)

This Psalm is made up of prayers in the midst of perils. It is thought that David wrote this when he fled from Saul in the cave of Adulham in the valley of the Philistines (I Samuel 22). Another possibility is that it was penned in the cave of Engedi along the limestone banks of …

Psalms 66:16 – 66:20 (commentary)

In this passage the psalmist tells the congregation that God responded to his prayer and delivered him (vv. 16-20). However, it would not have happened that way if he had clung to sin. From Old Testament history we know that in the matter of Hezekiah’s illness God did something f …

Psalms 69:13 – 69:19 (commentary)

“Help” sums up David’s prayer. (vv. 13-18). He petitioned the Lord to save him from imminent death. Again he used the image of miry waters that would drown him (v. 14). The waters have only become deeper and the mire more dreadful. Now death itself is on the horizon.The …

Psalms 74:1 – 74:23 (commentary)

This psalm teaches us how to pray when calamity strikes. Just like we are so prone to do the psalmist asks why?Why have you abandoned your own people? (v.1) “Thine enemies roar” (v.4)Why have you abandoned your own possessions? (v. 2) “They break down the carved wo …

Prayer in the Midst of Disaster - Psalms 79:1 – 79:13 (commentary)

The Jews of the psalmist’s day had become apostate, yet at the same time, they adopted a superstitious attitude toward the temple. They imagined that since it was God’s house it could not be destroyed and therefore Jerusalem was off limits to the invader. However it was destroyed …

David Prays for Protection from Enemies - Psalms 86:1 – 86:17 (commentary)

In this psalm the psalmist petitions God to show His strength in the face of opposition.A prayer for protection (vv. 1-5) - In his prayer David earnestly requests that God hear, answer, guard, save, have mercy on and bring joy to him because of his poor and needy condition. The c …

Song of Thanksgiving - Psalms 116:1 – 116:11 (commentary)

We can not be sure when this psalm was written. Some Bible scholars think it was written by Hezekiah when childless, facing death, and with the Davidic line therefore in peril of extinction. It was a very personal psalm where the writer refers to himself 37 times. Yet it is not s …

God’s Word is True - Psalms 119:145 – 119:152 (commentary)

We need to balance the Word and prayer in our devotional life and ministry, for all Bible and no prayer can produce a life that is cold and sterile, but all prayer and no Bible could result in zeal without knowledge. The spiritual leaders in the early church gave themselves to pr …

Trusting the LORD in Times of Trouble - Psalms 130:1 – 130:8 (commentary)

The psalmist is found doing some serious praying. Someone has said that we do not know what prayer really is until we have cried out of deep sorrow or despair. He wants to be heard which is even better than answered. In fact if God answered all of our requests the way we wa …

David Realizing That Prayer is The Only Answer - Psalms 143:1 – 143:12 (commentary)

In this chapter I can’t help but be impressed with David’s brutal honesty about himself. He doesn’t attempt to project positive images about himself but is forthright and objective. Because of his spiritual poverty he’s ready for a mighty work of God in his life and he desp …

Concern for believers going through trials - II Thessalonians 3:1 – 3:5 (commentary)

The chapter begins with a request for prayer (vv. 1-2), a word of encouragement concerning God’s faithfulness (vv. 3-4) and a short prayer (v. 5).  Evidently Paul had heard that the Thessalonians were praying for him, and he asks them to keep on doing that. His request is tw …

Prayer changes things - I Thessalonians 3:9 – 3:13 (commentary)

It is especially tragic when Christians fail to say thank you to Jesus Christ and just take for granted what He has done for us. He gave everything; He suffered, He bled and He died on the cross for our sins and yet as Chris­tians, we tend to forget. The least we can do is to …

What do you need to pray for? - Colossians 4:1 – 4:6 (commentary)

Slave owners are to be fair and honest with their slaves. Don’t forget that you have a Master in heaven (v. 1). Our prayer life is to be continual (I Thessalonians 5:17), not casual which means we should be constantly in fellowship with God so that prayer is as normal as breath …

Prayer for God’s power and love - Ephesians 3:14 – 3:21 (commentary)

Unfortunately many Christians have a very selfish ap­proach to God in their prayer life. They are always asking, always wanting more from God. They want Him to make them rich, heal their diseases and make them happy and successful. If we want to receive God’s blessing, …

The warrior’s resource - Ephesians 6:18 – 6:24 (commentary)

Prayer is the energy that enables Christians to engage in the battle of life. We can never fight this battle in our own power, no matter how strong we may think we are. Remember that many men greater than we have fallen before us. Paul tells us how to pray in order to defeat Sa …

Hannah’s Prophetic Prayer - I Samuel 2:1 – 2:11 (commentary)

This is one of the great prayers of Scripture. Hannah praises God through a poetic prayer for a son and all that God has done (vv. 1-10). We can learn from this passage that God sometimes withholds His blessings from those who walk uprightly, but only for a time. We cannot expl …

The Prayer of Faith - James 5:13 – 5:20 (commentary)

James has already said a lot about prayer but now he puts a fitting climax to his letter with further instructions on the subject. Two of the greatest weak­nesses in the life of the average Christian today is prayer and praise (v.13). There is much need for prayer …

Jesus Teaching on Prayer - Luke 11:1 – 11:13 (commentary)

These verses contain what is commonly called the “Lord’s Prayer,” also found in Matthew 6:9-13.  It should really be called the “disciples prayer,” because Jesus could not pray it Himself since it says: “Forgive us our sins,” and Jesus cou …

Jesus Arrested in the Garden - Luke 22:39 – 22:53 (commentary)

At the conclusion of “The Last Supper” in the upper room, Jesus crossed over the brook Kidron to the Garden of Gethsemane which is located at the foot of the mount of Olives. This was a customary place of retirement when in Jerusalem (v. 39). Peter, James and …

Daniel Prays For The People - Daniel 9:1 – 9:10 (commentary)

At this time, Daniel was an old man, nearing ninety years of age. He had served through many changes of dynasty in the kingdom of Babylon, having been the prime minister of the kingdom under three successive kings. As the account tells us in the opening verses, he is readin …

Prayer Can Save a Nation - Jeremiah 10:12 – 10:25 (commentary)

While the heathen worship gods they had made, the Bible tells us that the Almighty God made us and all things by His power (v. 12). This is quite a contrast from the lifeless idols who can do nothing! At His command, there is a multitude of water in the heavens, which are …

God is Not Some Kind of Genie - Jeremiah 21:1 – 21:14 (commentary)

Nebuchadnezzar sends up another army against Jerusalem and the city is under siege. Zedekiah, who is now King, sends a hasty word to Jeremiah the prophet, asking him to intercede with God on their behalf (vv. 1-2). It appears that he sees God as some kind of a genie, …

What Can We do in Difficult Times? - Jeremiah 33:1 – 33:13 (commentary)

Jeremiah was imprisoned, yet God gave him instruction in prayer. What can we do in difficult times? God invites us to call on Him. Like Jeremiah we can respond to God’s invitation to prayer. 1. His prompting - “Call on me” (v. 33a). 2. His promise - (v. 33b). ( …