Praying Biblical Prayers

Scripture is full of astonishing prayers. Certainly we might begin with the Psalms but even beyond that treasure trove I think of Exodus 32, 1 Samuel 2, Nehemiah 1, and Habakkuk 3:17-19 just to name a few. Examples of extraordinary words spoken by God’s people; men and women of faith who poured out their hearts to the Lord in full assurance that God is faithful, good, and just. And furthermore we understand that these prayers are not mere history, but instruction to us of what our prayers might look like. Add to this all the direct instruction we are given on prayer; “pray like this” (the Lord’s Prayer anyone?) and we truly have a wealth of material to draw upon as we seek the Lord in our own lives. Again we might think of all the times that God answered the prayers of his people, heard their cries, relieved their sufferings, intervened supernaturally and we ought to be well motivated to take our cares to the Lord. And yet oftentimes when I pray, when I petition, I feel that I do not receive the answer I was looking for, or perhaps am left wondering if my prayer was heard at all. I feel much less like Moses or Hannah, or Nehemiah, and much more like…well…Paul. Allow me to explain.

In addition to the wonderful scriptural prayers mentioned above, we encounter another in Romans 15:30-32. I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf, that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. Here we have a prayer of the Apostle Paul; a prayer that he is praying and that he is asking the believers of Rome to join him in. I like this prayer. It is specific, it is concrete, and while it is on Paul’s behalf, it is not a selfish prayer. If God answers this one, everyone wins! If God answers this prayer, believers from Jerusalem to Rome will be encouraged, Paul’s ministry will continue, and God will receive all the glory, what could be better? And might I add, that theologically speaking, Paul’s prayer here is excellent (as though I have any right to judge Paul’s theology!). He invokes the Holy Trinity in his desire that the ministry of the gospel might go forth. So what is Paul praying for here, and why am I drawing special attention to this prayer now? Allow me to answer these each in turn.

Paul wrote his letter to Rome (and prayed the prayer of 15:30-32) in or around Corinth most likely. He was writing to the churches at Rome to inform them that he wanted to come for a visit and yet first he needed to go in the opposite direction to Jerusalem. And so quite simply he is praying that his trip back east will go smoothly so that it can be followed up with a trip out west. Paul faced persecution nearly everywhere that he went and everywhere that he preached and so his prayer here is much more than a, “please pray that I make my connecting flight.” There is reason to be afraid, or at least reason to fear that all might not go smoothly, and so Paul prays (and asks his spiritual family to pray) 1) that he will be rescued from non-Christians in Jerusalem who might seek to cause him harm 2) that he would be well received by the Christians in Jerusalem and 3) that he would eventually make it to Rome in good spirits and there find refreshment. Now luckily for us, and because of the book of Acts, we know how God answered this prayer, and that brings me to why I bring up this prayer here and now.

In Acts 21 we read of Paul’s trip east to Jerusalem. We read of Paul’s reception from the believers there and…it’s favorable! Item 2 on the prayer is answered almost instantly. However, and I consider this to be a pretty big however, before a week is out, the Jews of the city attack Paul in mob form and so violent is their animosity that the Roman authorities arrest him simply to keep him alive. Now if you have read Acts before, you already know how this is going to end, but if you haven’t, let me save you the suspense. Paul isn’t going to get out of prison…ever. He will eventually make it to Rome but not so much in joy and refreshment as in chains and through hardship. So if we look back at Paul’s prayer from Romans 15 I guess we could say that technically his prayer is answered, but certainly not in the way that I am sure he had in mind. 1) Paul is rescued from the unbelievers who would seek him harm (through lifetime imprisonment) 2) he is well received by the believers in Jerusalem (for the 6 days that he is a free man) and 3) he makes it to Rome (or at least a Roman jail – he gets house arrest which yes, is better than jail). Suddenly Paul’s prayer, or rather the answer that Paul gets to his prayer feels a lot more like the answers I sometimes get to my prayers. That is to say things don’t go at all like I expected/wanted. But isn’t that at some level the point? I am not God. I don’t see the whole picture. And as much as I think I do, I really don’t know what is best. And so I choose to trust that when I pray and God does not answer my prayers the way I think he should, that he knows best. That he has a plan and it is infinitely better than my own. I choose to trust that it is good and right to pray according to my understanding, to seek what I think is right, but then to trust that what God actually does is the ultimate best. After all, this way of praying is biblical; it’s what Paul does in Romans 15.