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Bible Terms

Bible Term: Prayer

Prayer is communication with God. This can be through spoken words, written words, thoughts, meditation, or song.

God desires us to commune with him; prayer is one way of doing this.

Prayer is not intended for us to selfishly ask God for things (as in “give me this”) but to honor and glorify God by spending time with him.

Many people think of prayer as being one-directional — us talking to God. Yet prayer should be bi-directional, with us also listening to what God has to tell us.

God can speak to us through the Bible, through others, through circumstances, but especially through his Holy Spirit, who can put specific words and thoughts in our minds and even communicate via audible words.

[For some verses on God’s audible communication, see 1 Samuel 3:4-14, Psalm 18:13, Luke 3:22, Acts 9:4, 2 Peter 1:18.]

Key verse about Prayer: I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:16, NIV).

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

By Peter DeHaan

Peter writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and make a faith that matters. Learn more at https://peterdehaan.com.