Are there Conditions to Prayer? Part 2
by Trisha Ricks

Let's begin with a recap of last week's study:

Prayer is generally a request, or petition to YHWH. Prayer is most often used to seek Him out, to call for His assistance, to request something of Him.

I spoke of how I believe prayer (in the form of requests) to be one of those things which we should refrain from on Shabbat - in order to keep the day a set apart day for YHWH. I think that prayer requests should be presented in an acceptable time frame.

Additionally, most prayer within scriptures is done by the leaders/prophets. This illustrates that the intercessor, or person to make petition for the welfare of others, is someone who has been chosen - someone who has a very special commitment to YHWH.

Also, our presentation should be acceptable to YHWH when we make requests/prayers to Him. We should not request something which might be found offensive to Him. By the same token, our physical appearance/cleanliness should not be offensive to Him when we approach Him in prayer.

Moving on...

Acceptable character

I believe that our thoughts should be pure and our intentions innocent when we pray.

Throughout the psalms particularly, the theme of the faithful/righteous/upright man is interspersed. What are some of the conditions to being faithful/righteous/upright?

We'll look at the definitions:
upright
mt
tam
perfect, complete
complete, perfect
one who lacks nothing in physical strength, beauty, etc
sound, wholesome
an ordinary, quiet sort of person
complete, morally innocent, having integrity

one who is morally and ethically pure
upright
mymt
tamiym

complete, whole, entire, sound
complete, whole, entire
whole, sound, healthful
complete, entire (of time)
sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity

what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact (neuter adj/subst)
godly, faithful
dyx
chaciyd (khaseed)

faithful, kind, godly, holy one, saint, pious
kind
pious, godly
 
faithful ones (subst)
righteous
rvy
yashar

straight, upright, correct, right
straight, level
right, pleasing, correct
straightforward, just, upright, fitting, proper
uprightness, righteous, upright

that which is upright (subst)
faithful
nma
'aman

to support, confirm, be faithful
(Qal)
to support, confirm, be faithful, uphold, nourish 1a
foster-father (subst.) 1a
foster-mother, nurse 1a
pillars, supporters of the door

(Niphal)
to be established, be faithful, be carried, make firm 1b
to be carried by a nurse 1b
made firm, sure, lasting 1b
confirmed, established, sure 1b
verified, confirmed 1b

reliable, faithful, trusty

(Hiphil)
to stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in 1c
stand firm 1c

trust, believe

Gen 17:1 : When Abram was 99 .. YHWH appeared to Abram and said to him "I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless.

Ex 15:26 : He said, If you will heed YHWH your Elohim diligently, doing what is upright in His sight, giving ear to His commandments and keeping all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I YHWH am your healer

I Samuel 12:23 : ... I will continue to instruct you in the practice of what is good and right (Above all, you must rever YHWH and serve Him faithfully with all your heart, and consider how grandly He has dealt with you)

Psalms 119:2, 10, 45, 94, 155 : Happy are those who observe His decrees, who turn to Him wholeheartedly ; I have turned to You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commandments ; I will walk about at ease, for I have turned to Your precepts ; I am Yours; save me! For I have turned to Your precepts ; Deliverance is far from the wicked, for they have not turned to Your laws

Ps 4:2, 4 : Answer me when I call, O God, my vindicator!.. ; Know that YHWH singles out the faithful for Himself; YHWH hears when I call to Him. (So tremble, and sin no more; ponder it on your bed, and sigh. Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in YHWH)

Psalms 147:11 : but YHWH values those who fear Him, those who depend on His faithful care

Psalms 37:37 : Mark the blameless, note the upright, for there is a future for the man of integrity

Psalms 15:2 : (who may dwell?) he who lives without blame, who does what is right, and in his heart acknowledges the truth (whose tongue is not given to evil; who has never done harm to his fellow, or borne reproach for [acts toward] his neighbor; to whom a contemptible man is abhorrent, but who honors those who fear YHWH; who stands by his oath even to his hurt; who has never lent money at interest or accepted a bribe against the innocent)

Psalms 32:6 : Therefore let every faithful man pray to You upon discovering [his sin] that the rushing mighty waters not overtake him

I think we can each agree that the major point to being upright/faithful/righteous is to heed His words and keep evil thoughts and rebellion far from us. When sin occurs, we need to immediately seek His forgiveness - in truth and sincerity.

I Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Acceptable attitude

I believe that we should be most humble and meek when we pray. Our attitute should be one of subservience to Him. Our respect for YHWH should be evidenced in our heart as well as in our thoughts.

Num 12:3 : Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth

II Sam 22:28 : To humble folk You give victory and You look with scorn on the haughty

II Kings 20:2 (Isaiah 38:2) : Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to YHWH .. and wept profusely

II King 22:13, 18 : (Josiah) "Go, inquire of YHWH on my behalf, and on behalf of the people, and on behalf of all Judah ... ; (YHWH) But say this to the king of Judah , who sent you to inquire of YHWH .. (because your heart was softened and you humbled yourself before YHWH .. and you rent your clothes and wept before Me ... I have listened.)

Ps 10:17 : You will listen to the entreaty of the lowly, O YHWH You will make their hearts firm; You will incline Your ear

Ps 25:9 : He guides the lowly in the right path, and teaches the lowly His way

Ps 141:1 : I call You, O YHWH, hasten to me, give ear to my cry when I call You (take my prayer as an offering of incense, my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.. set a guard over my mouth.. let my mind not turn to an evil thing)

Ps 145:18 : YHWH is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him with sincerity (He fulfills the wishes of those who fear Him.. watches over all who love Him)

Is 66:2 : (to such a one I look) To the poor and brokenhearted who is concerned about My word

The concept of meek, lowly, humble has often been cast as only those with no material possessions, the poorest peoples. I think we can see by the verses above that meek, lowly and humble are also attitudes, and not simply environment/cultural settings. There are certainly verses which make it quite clear that the widow, the orphan, the stranger and the fatherless -- those with little -- are cared for by YHWH. Those who can are commanded to assist those in need. But the attitude of the lowly, the meek and the humble is something which is not dependant on abundance of or lack of material wealth.

As the verses show, sincerity, concern and desire for His word, without evil thought or pride --- these are attitudes which YHWH is mindful of.

Answered prayers

There is no doubt that our Almighty YHWH answers prayer. And there is no doubt that He is capable of anything we can imagine, as well as much that we cannot imagine.

I think that there is sufficient indication in the scriptures to show that the answer - or lack of answer - to prayer requests is in direct relation to the conditions which we've covered during this study.

Here are examples of prayers not heard and not answered:

Deut 1:45 : Again you wept before YHWH; but YHWH would not heed your cry or give ear to you

This instance relates to when the Israelites did not believe in YHWH's deliverance when the scouts came back from viewing the land -- then, when their punishment was declared, suddenly the natives seemed not so fierce. They were not willing to submit themselves to their punishment, but rather rushed out - rebelliously - to fight the people in the land... and were defeated. Then they were ready for YHWH's divine assistance - which we see that He was not inclined to give.

I Samuel 28:6, 16 : Saul inquired of YHWH and YHWH did not answer - either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets ; Samuel said "Why do you ask me...

We know that Saul became unfavorable to YHWH when he did not strictly heed His words through Samuel. And once Samuel had died, Saul could get no divine guidance. How sad that in his distress, he resorted to inquiring of the dead through a witch.

II Sam 22:42 : They looked but there was none to deliver, to YHWH but He answered them not

This verse speaks of the destruction of David's enemies and their complete lack of YHWH's assistance. This is a result of David's reward according to his "merit and the cleanness of [his] hands"; he kept YHWH's ways without guilt and was mindful of His rules, not departing from them. This can be found in II Sam 22:21-25.

Is 59:1 : No, YHWH's arm is not too short to save, or His ear too dull to hear... (but your iniquities have been a barrier between you and your God... Your sins have made Him turn His face away and refuse to hear you)

Proverbs 28:9 : he who turns a deaf ear to instruction, his prayer is abomination

Next are examples of prayers heard and/or answered:

First, we'll look at some prayers and requests which were heard/answered in a not so positive sense:

Num 11:1, 18 : The people took to complaining bitterly before YHWH. YHWH heard and was incensed.. ; .. for you have kept whining before YHWH..

Jer 8:6 : I have listened and heard: they do not speak honestly. No one regrets his wickedness and says "What have I done!" they all persist in their wayward course like a steed dashing forward in the fray

Ps 78:18 : To test God was in their mind when they demanded food for themselves

Ps 106:15 : He gave them what they asked for, then made them waste away

  Ps 50:15 : (of Asaph - who was called a prophet in II Chron 29:30) (sacrifice a thank offering to God and pay your vows to the Most High) Call upon Me in time of trouble; I will rescue you and you shall honor Me. (and to the wicked, God said :who are you to recite My laws, and mouth the terms of My covenant, seeing that you spurn My discipline and brush My words aside?)

Ps 99:6, 8 : Moses and Aaron... Samuel.. .when they called to YHWH He answered them ; O YHWH You answered them.. but You exacted retribution for their misdeeds

And now, the type of prayer/request which was heard/answered most favorably:

Ex 22:22 : If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me (speaking of the widow and the orphan)

Deut 5:25 : (the Hebrews said to Moses - you go closer and hear all that YHWH says and tell us and we'll do it -- and YHWH responds) ... I have heard the plea that this people made to you; they did well to speak thus

I Kings 3:5, 10, 11, 13 : in a dream, Elohim said, "Ask, what shall I grant you?" ; YHWH was pleased that Solomon had asked for this ; .. and YHWH said.. you did not ask for riches.. life of .. enemies.. you asked for discernment in dispensing justice ; I also grant you what you did not ask for

Ps 66:18-20 : had I an evil thought in my head - He would not have listened, but He did, He heard my prayer

Isaiah 49:8 : Thus said YHWH: In an hour of favor I answer you, and on a day of salvation I help you -- I created you and appointed you a covenant people -- restoring the land, allotting anew the desolate holdings

I'll close with my opinion. I think that we should not approach YHWH with requests on shabbat; I think that intercession - for the welfare of others especially - should only be offered by the most faithful and committed individuals; I think that when we make requests they should be for appropriate things and those requests should be made in an appropriate/acceptable manner -- we should attempt to be in a clean state; I think that we should examine ourselves and remove rebellion from us -- both rebellion of His laws and rebellion of His punishments, we should strive to have characters of righteousness and faithfulness; I think that our attitudes should be as servants, meek and humble -- with sincere desire to His will -- not proud or haughty.

We know that He is the One True King and the only One who can answer prayer. I think that each of us are here because we truly do want to be part of His nation. Let's remember that we need to be worthy of that category -- it's not simply a choice, but a way of life.