¹⁰ In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”  ¹² As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” (1 Samuels 1:10 – 14, New International Version)

¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  ² Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 135:1 – 2, New International Version)

³⁶ At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” ³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. (1 Kings 18:36 – 38, New International Version)

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” (Daniel 9:17 – 19, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Context:

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the biblical evidence that supports the claim that Jesus loved prayer!  When we consider the love between Father and Son, the evidence you provided was convincing but not surprising. 

Before we consider prayer in the Old Testament today, a brief discussion about the definition of prayer is appropriate.  For 40 Days of Discipline, we have considered prayer the avenue for “ongoing communion with God” (from Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster).  While we recognize that there are many other definitions of prayer, we will continue to use the definition above and discuss other relevant definitions that emerge from our deliberations.

From Adam’s conversations with God in the Garden of Eden to the prayers of the prophets of Israel, all segments of the Old Testament include stories of men and women who were passionate about God and exhibited their passion in prayer.  We have selected a small subset of the many prayers in the Old Testament that serve as reminders of the rich heritage of passionate prayer that disciples of Jesus inherit. 

Bible Passages:

Our Scripture passages for today reflect prayers from Hannah, David, Elijah, and Daniel.  The respectful intimacy in these prayers is palpable.

Please prayerfully read the Scripture passages above and consider the questions below.     

Questions:

• What inspiration do you take from the above prayers?
• Apart from the passages above, are there any Old Testament prayers that inspire you to pray?

Sharing your thoughts could be a big help to someone else.  Please leave a comment on the blog.