In the Throne Room
As you learned in the last lesson, George Müller once said that he never failed to gain an audience with the King. It is therefore evident that his prayers proceeded from an exalted view of the being who would hear them.
Scripture supports Müller’s perspective on prayer. It teaches that when we pray, we go before the throne of grace, a reference to the throne of God in heaven (Heb. 4:16). Our prayers rise to Him as He sits in regal estate upon the seat of dominion over the universe. We should therefore pray with a sense that our prayers should be appropriate for presentation to a king. We must not slip into complacency about our words, as if they were mere sounds in the air. We must always remember that they go to a place of supreme holiness and majesty.
As we pray, it is helpful to fix our mind's eye upon the heavenly throne room. We find it pictured in several passages (Isa. 6:1-3; Ezek. 1; Dan. 7:9-14; Rev. 4-5). The throne of the Father emanates a brilliant glory, which Paul describes as unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). The light has dazzling color. The throne itself is sapphire, or blue (Ezek. 1:26). The presence of God shines in the hues of jasper and sardine (Rev. 4:3). (The exact meaning of jasper is unknown, but according to the ancient writer Pliny, the best kind was colored in a shade of purple. Sardine is blood-red.) Light in all the colors of the rainbow, with green dominant, plays about the throne (Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3). Around the throne and perhaps enveloping it with their wings are four strange yet magnificent creatures called zoa, a term translated "beasts" in the KJV but in modern English is better rendered as "living creatures" (Rev. 4:6-9). Their description leaves little doubt that they are the same as the cherubim often mentioned in the Old Testament (Gen. 3:24; Ps. 99:1; Ezek. 10:1–9, 15–20; 11:22) and perhaps also as the seraphim seen by Isaiah (Isa. 6:2, 6). Before the throne stands a huge company of angels who continually praise God with thunderous voices (Rev. 5:11). The tally given by Scripture is equivalent to hundreds of millions plus millions more.
If our prayers go to such a place, should we not be careful in what we say? Should we not prune from our prayers all childish babblings, petty gripings, irreverent imaginings, pointless wanderings, and self-preoccupied musings? When addressing an earthly sovereign, we would use solemn and reverent speech full of praise. In like manner we should pray to God.
Protocol
Each person of the Trinity has a distinct role in prayer.
1. The Holy Spirit is our intercessor. When we have done as much as we can to make our prayers presentable to the King of Heaven, they will still be awkward and uncouth. We need help to speak the language of the King’s court. For this reason God gives us a helper in the person of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26-7). He takes our fumbling attempts at prayer and reworks them so that both in form and content they will be suitable for utterance in our Father's presence. He edits out anything that might give offense, and He sharpens our requests so that they seek real benefits.
2. The Father is the One who answers. In the model prayer that Jesus provided, He directed us to begin, "Our Father" (Matt. 6:9). It is the Father who hears and weighs our requests and then designs an answer according to His will (Matt. 6:8). Moreover, if the answer requires heavenly intervention in human affairs, He is the One who issues the executive order.
Is it therefore wrong to pray to other members of the Trinity? Certainly not. The last prayer of the Bible addresses Jesus (Rev. 22:20). But this prayer is essentially an expression of our love, saying we love Him so much that we cannot wait to see Him. To direct love and praise to Jesus or the Holy Spirit is never wrong.
It is not even wrong to approach them with petitions. A child may ask Jesus to come into his heart. In our hymns we ask the Holy Spirit to fill and control us. But we should understand that such petitions ultimately go to the Father for His disposal. Both the Son and the Holy Spirit are wholly subservient to the will of the Father. The Bible teaches that the Father grants salvation (2 Tim. 2:25) and gives the Spirit (Luke 11:13).
3. The Son gives us access to the Father. If we know Jesus, our sins have been blotted out. We are, as it were, clothed with Jesus, so that when the Father looks at us, He sees the Son in His perfection rather than ourselves in our sinfulness (Gal. 3:27). Except for our identification with Jesus, the Father would deny us the privilege of coming into His presence, and He would refuse to hear our prayers. For this reason, in obedience to what Jesus Himself taught us, we pray in Jesus' name (John 16:23, 24, 26).
What does this mean? Most Christians in the past felt that when praying we should explicitly acknowledge that Jesus is our sole avenue to the Father, and so they concluded every prayer with the phrase, "In Jesus' name, amen." Many today feel that the requirement to pray in Jesus' name merely means that we must first establish a relationship with Christ before we try to pray. Yet Jesus says nothing to suggest that we should not take Him literally when He commands us to pray in His name. Thus, it seems to me that to use the traditional closing phrase is a wise course, if only to remind us that except for Jesus, we would never win a hearing before the throne.
Saying "in thy name" or "in your name" at the end of a prayer confuses persons of the Trinity—a common mistake in prayer. We should close in Jesus’ name, but the pronoun "thy" refers to the Father if the Father is the person addressed at the beginning. Failure to distinguish the Father, the Son, and the Spirit when we are talking to God can lead to creative theology. How often have I heard someone thanking the Father for dying on the cross!
Judicial Proceedings
When referring to conversations between the heavenly Father and other beings in His presence, Scripture often compares the scene to a court room (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; Zech. 3:1–5; Rom. 8:34). The judge is God the Father, God’s people are the defendants, and their advocate is God the Son (1 John 2:1; the role of "intercession" that Rom. 8:34 credits to Him implies pleading on their behalf). If there is a lawyer for the defense, is there also a lawyer for the prosecution? Yes, Satan is our adversary in these proceedings. His name means "adversary." He is called "the accuser of the brethren" (Rev. 12:10). In the story of Job, we see that his role is to challenge the testimony of those who profess to be God's children. He seeks and obtains permission to try whether their faith is genuine. But opposing him is our Advocate, who seeks and obtains forgiveness for all of the moral blemishes that give the accuser grounds for vilifying us before the Father.
The devil works not only at undermining God's love for us, but also at blocking answers to our prayers. In the Book of Daniel, we learn that the forces of evil can oppose and delay the good angels who are implementing decrees of the Father (Dan. 10:12-3, 20).
Manner of Prayer
Although we depend on the Spirit's intercession to make our prayers acceptable, we should nevertheless try our best to offer good prayers. God always expects His children to make full use of their own faculties as they seek to do right. How then should we pray? Novices in the practice of prayer need to understand that it does not have rigid requirements.
1. Posture. As Christians we avoid the lotus seat and every other posture characteristic of Eastern meditation. Also, to distance ourselves from Muslim practice, we do not kneel on a prayer rug. But any natural posture—whether sitting, standing, lying prone, lying supine, or kneeling—is suitable for prayer. The circumstances may dictate which is best. A sitting or standing posture is most compatible with good order in a public service. For private prayer, many prefer a lying or kneeling posture. Each posture has special uses.
- Sitting. The best posture for fidgety children is probably to sit with hands folded. For Christians both young and old, sitting for prayer has always been customary when they come to a meal and thank God for the food He has provided.
- Standing. As Jews do today when they go to the Wailing Wall, so also Jews did in ancient times when they went to the Temple. They prayed in a standing position (Luke 18:11; Mark 11:25). Even today, standing is the usual manner of congregational prayer, no doubt because we sense that to stand is more respectful than to sit.
- Kneeling. The Bible frequently refers to kneeling in prayer (Acts 7:60; 9:40; 20:36; 21:5; Eph. 3:14; etc.). Bowing the knee to God carries unmistakable meaning. When we do it, we confess our lowliness before His lofty grandeur and we pay Him homage (Phil. 2:9-11). Also, we acknowledge Him as our Lord and King. The purpose of kneeling in prayer is therefore to show both humility and dependence. Today's Christian is apt to shun kneeling in prayer and to choose, rather, a more comfortable position. But he should ask himself, why? Is there any feeling in his heart that kneeling makes him look small and foolish? If so, he is exactly the person who should kneel when praying.
Jesus set an example of kneeling in prayer when He went to the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41). There, the challenge, at least for the disciples, was to remain awake, and they disappointed Jesus by falling asleep. One virtue in the kneeling posture during long prayer or prayer at night is that it helps us to resist drowsiness.
A common method of corporate prayer in the early church was to pray with hands raised (1 Tim. 2:8). This was an old Jewish custom (Psa. 28:2; 63:4; 134:2). From which posture the hands were normally raised is uncertain. Some texts associate the custom with kneeling (1 Kings 8:54; 2 Chron. 6:13; Ezra 9:5). The purpose of this method was doubtless to show that the object of the believer's faith was no mere idol of wood or stone. Rather, He was no less than the God of heaven above.
- Lying down. The numerous Biblical examples of lying prostrate in prayer (Num. 20:6; 2 Chron. 20:18; Matt. 26:39) suggest that this posture carries humility a step farther. It is a good way to address God when we are so overcome with weakness or helplessness that we wish to express an urgent desire for His sustaining grace.
2. Voice. We need not pray in a loud voice, or even in an audible voice. God can hear us although we pray silently (1 Chron. 28:9). Therefore, we can pray when we are surrounded by people, in a class or worship service perhaps, and we can even pray while we are talking to another person. No circumstance can deprive us of our recourse to prayer. Wherever we are, we can instantly begin praying as soon as the need or desire arises, and we can say whatever is on our hearts.
3. Place. As we showed in our discussion of personal devotions, the best place for communion with God is somewhere private (Matt. 6:5-6).
4. Time. Although we can pray whenever we desire conversation with God, Christians have always regarded certain times as especially appropriate.
- Before meals. The tradition of blessing a meal set before us rests on the example of Christ (Matt. 14:19; Mark 8:6-7; Luke 24:30), as well as on the age-old practice of all believers (1 Sam. 9:13; Acts 27:35; Rom. 14:6; 1 Cor. 10:30).
- Before bed. Some children recite a memorized prayer before going to sleep at night. It would be better, though, if their parents used bedtime to teach them how to pray spontaneously.
- At the beginning of a meeting. Congress, state legislatures, and political conventions have always opened with prayer, as have religious gatherings of all kinds, including classes in Christian schools and business meetings in the church. The purpose of prayer on such occasions is to seek divine aid.
- Before danger. Christians pray before battle, before surgery, and even before travel. They do so to beseech God's protection.
- After deliverance. Coming out of danger moves them to raise grateful prayer. They understand that they should also thank God after deliverance from any other hardship or trial.
- After success. They recognize that it is important to give God the glory and honor He is due after granting some special blessing, such as a new job or a new child.
- Before a major personal decision. The need then is for special wisdom.
Economies in Prayer
1. Eliminating rashness. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes instructs us to sift out all rashness from our prayers (Eccles. 5:2). Rashness includes any hasty vow to God. It is far better not to make such a vow than to make one and fail to perform it (Eccles. 5:4–5). Casting it onto the trash heap of our unfulfilled promises is the same as lying to God, which is a serious offense. Preachers and youth workers must refrain from pressuring young people into commitments that they are not ready to keep.
2. Raising no complaint against God. Say nothing to Him that amounts to griping. How foolish to accuse your God of being unfair or insensitive. Rather than complain about any trial or hardship that He has put into your life, simply ask Him for the patience to endure.
3. Suppressing all bitterness toward other people. Keep a loving spirit even when speaking about your worst enemy. Above all, bring no false accusation against another person. Prayer is the right occasion not for malicious gossip, but for Spirit-filled kindness.
4. Avoiding drowsiness. Even though it may be late in the evening, you should keep wide awake. A prayer of sleepy words between moments of nodding off will not carry much weight in the heavenly throne room. If your words are so dull that they usher in your nap time, why should God think they are important enough to deserve His attention? To win a sympathetic hearing, your prayer must proceed from a heart and mind fully engaged in what you are saying.
5. Shunning vain repetition. Repetition is vain if it is mindless for the most part, as when a Catholic recites the Rosary, or if it addresses a false god, as when the heathen pray, or if it badgers God for some unwise provision, as when a believer persists in asking Him for riches. Whatever kind it is, vain repetition accomplishes nothing of value (Matt. 6:7–8).
We find a classic example of vain repetition in Elijah’s contest with the priests of Baal. In their frenzied daylong pleas for their god to consume the sacrifice, they must have intoned the same words over and over again, but an answer never came. Elijah’s prayer securing Jehovah’s intervention was simple and brief (1 Kings 18:36–37).
Believers are probably most prone to vain repetition when they are "saying grace," a traditional name for the prayer of thanks before a meal. It is easy then to rush thoughtlessly through the same old words so that everybody can get started in filling their stomachs.
It is important, though, to distinguish between vain repetition of prayerful words and perseverance in approaching God with a good prayer. The latter, if it expresses the fervent desire of a righteous man, truly "availeth much" (Jas. 5:16) .
6. As much as possible, being specific. Although Scripture authorizes some general prayers—such as for civil peace and for freedom from persecution (1 Tim. 2:1–3)—many others are better avoided. For example, rather than pray for "all the missionaries in Africa," we should pray for their specific needs. Then God will be able to grant our requests in obvious ways that will give us occasion to praise His power and goodness.