Sola Scriptura-11
Prayers are a very important part of true Christian life. In fact, the apostles asked Jesus how to pray. Prayer, praying, and to pray are mentioned repeatedly throughout the Bible, both in the OT and NT. Jesus prayed, the apostles prayed, the church prayed, the prophets prayed, kings prayed, Moses prayed and so did many others. What kind of prayer is not acceptable?
Matthew 6:5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
6:7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 6:8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
What religion promotes and encourages meaningless repetition in prayers? The rosary is such a prayer. It fails the test for a number of reasons.
It is a prayer to Mary
It is a mindless repeat of a phrase with no real thought given to its shallowness.
It does not resemble any of the prayers in the Bible, especially the Apostles Prayer given in Matthew 6.
Matthew 6:8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 6:9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 6:10 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 6:11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 6:12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 6:13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
This is not a prayer to be continually repeated but an example or format for our prayers. There are many examples of exemplary prayers from which we can learn and apply to our individual prayers.
Daniel 9, Solomon in 1 Kings 8, and Jesus in John 17.
A few prayer highlights are listed below.
Luke 6:12 It was at this time that He (Jesus) went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Matthew 21:13 And He *said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN."
Acts 1:14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.
Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 4:3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4:4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 5:15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months
There are many more examples, but the point is made very clear. God instructs us to pray, encourages us to pray, and gave us numerous examples on how to pray. No two prayers are exactly the same and never repetitive.
More next Saturday.