Monthly Study

January 2023

People of Prayer

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.—1 John 5:14

Prayer seems like it should be easy. After all, what is prayer other than talking with God? Yet most people I know feel that their prayer life needs improvement. This month we will discover what the Bible has to say about the subject of prayer. I invite you not just to read about prayer but also put into practice what you learn. God is waiting to hear from you! In this month’s study, we will learn:

How prayer differs from ordinary conversation
What we can and should include in our prayers
Why it is important to become people dedicated to prayer

Your devotional author,
John Koessler

Volume 36Edition 1

Managing Editor: Jamie Janosz, Senior Editor: Elena Mafter, Contributing Editor: John Koessler, Writer: John Koessler, Art Director: Lynn Gabalec, Graphic Designer: Rachel Hutcheson, Marketing & Production: Paul B. Currie

John Koessler

Dr. John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the "Practical Theology" column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor.

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The Opposite of Prayer

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What is prayer? The simplest answer is that prayer is talking to God. But it may also be helpful to reverse the question. What is the opposite of prayer? Jesus describes what prayer should not look like in the parable recorded in Luke 18:9–14. Prayer is not self-congratulation. It is not a matter of reciting your spiritual resume. Instead, prayer means coming to God as you are, recognizing your deep need, and expressing it to Him.

January 1, 2023

Prayer in a Broken World

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When my children were small, I was often amazed at their confidence in me. While they were sure I could fix any broken thing they put in my hands, I knew that I couldn’t. God is a different matter. If the world were not broken, we would not need to pray. Prayer is needed because we will always face circumstances that go beyond our ability. The good news is that, unlike a human parent, God has the power to fix it.

January 2, 2023

Prayer and Doubt

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You might think that doubt has no place in prayer. After all, doubt seems like the opposite of faith. Hebrews 11:6 warns that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” In Genesis 15, Abram’s response to God’s promise to be his “shield” and his “very great reward” seems to be grounded in doubt. Abram’s answer is essentially a complaint: “You have given me no children” (v. 3).

January 3, 2023

What Is Prayer?

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When asked to define prayer, 19th-century preacher F. W. Robertson said this: “It is to connect every thought with the thought of God, to look on everything as His work and His appointment, to submit every thought, wish, and resolve to Him to feel His presence so that it shall restrain us even in our wildest joy.”

January 4, 2023

Waiting on God

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Time has a way of slipping by without our notice. Of course, the opposite happens when we are waiting for something, whether it be the coffee pot to fill or our vacation to begin. We become painfully aware of time when we are wanting something to happen. Especially when we are waiting for God.

January 5, 2023

Prayer and God's Presence

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Who do you run to when you are afraid? David spent a significant portion of his life on the run. As a young man, he fled from King Saul (1 Sam. 21:10). In later years, after his son Absalom mounted a palace coup against him (2 Sam. 15:14), he hid in the wilderness. It is unclear when David wrote Psalm 27, but it may well have been early in his life. David’s wilderness experience taught him to see God as a stronghold (v. 1). A stronghold was a place one went for protection, perhaps a mountain cave or a fortress.

January 6, 2023

Prayer and Longing

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If you’ve ever been away from home for a long period of time, you have probably experienced homesickness. We find a similar type of longing expressed in the Psalms. When we are homesick for God we long for past experiences of His presence. Or, we long to be reunited with Him for all eternity in our heavenly home.

January 7, 2023

Prayer and Shame

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The story of the prodigal son is arguably Jesus’ most famous parable. After squandering his inheritance, the younger son in the parable returns home in shame and confesses, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). Although the prodigal felt unworthy to be called a son, he was not too ashamed to say “Father.”

January 8, 2023

Admitting Our Sin

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We can imagine that on that long walk home, his stomach aching with hunger, the prodigal son wrestled with what he would say to his father. This is usually true of anyone who confesses wrongdoing. Whether we are admitting guilt to a parent, spouse, or even God, we plan our words in advance.

January 9, 2023

When You Are Unsure

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“I have a question, but before I ask it, I want you to say ‘yes.’” Nearly every parent has heard such a request from their child. The only reasonable response is to admit that we can’t guarantee what our answer will be until we have first heard the request.

January 10, 2023

When You Are Angry

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Picture the scene for a moment. The Old Testament prophet Jonah is hunkered down on the outskirts of Nineveh, pouting because God did not do what he wanted. The scene may seem laughable to us. But if we’re honest, we will admit there are times when we too get irritated with God.

January 11, 2023

Persistent Praying

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Not long after I trusted in Christ in my late teens, I decided I needed to spend more time in prayer. I decided that I should pray for at least an hour a day. I knelt by my bedside, prayed for myself and then friends and family. When it seemed like an hour had passed, I glanced at the clock. It had only been a few minutes!

January 12, 2023

How to Pray

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As a child, many of us were taught to kneel beside our bed to pray. But we can also pray while standing, walking, running, or even lying down. It is not the position we are in when we pray that matters; what is most important is the attitude of the heart.

January 13, 2023

Prayer and Praise

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If your church offered a free class in prayer taught by Jesus Himself, would you enroll? What if I told you there was already such a class? It is found in Matthew 6 where Jesus teaches His disciples a model prayer often called “The Lord’s Prayer.”

January 14, 2023

Praying for Yourself

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Do you ever feel guilty about praying for yourself? Our prayer lists can get so long they look like grocery lists! But we shouldn’t feel bad about this. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray about their personal needs, He began with some of the most basic issues of life. He does not limit us to praying for spiritual needs but begins with a request for “daily bread.”

January 15, 2023

The Potential of Prayer

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During some television commercials, you will see text scroll across the bottom of the screen in very tiny letters. If you read the text, which is often nearly impossible, you will find that it contains a legal disclaimer. Usually, it is a warning that the promised result may not happen for everyone.

January 16, 2023

The Power of Prayer

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We sometimes say “I’ll pray for you” when we don’t know what else to say. But praying for someone or in the face of an impossible situation is always the right thing to do. As Jesus showed in Mark 9, prayer is powerful.

January 17, 2023

Christ's Prayer for Us: Part 1

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After I became a follower of Jesus in my late teens, I wondered if someone had been praying for me to come to faith. Following Christ was not the obvious choice. Our family did not attend church. I thought about the people I knew and couldn’t think of anyone. But today’s passage reveals that at least one person prayed for me. It was Jesus Christ.

January 18, 2023

Christ's Prayer for Us: Part 2

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Our prayers reveal the matters that are closest to our hearts. Jesus’ prayer shows His concern for His disciples. Jesus prayed for the disciples He was about to leave behind. He also prayed for those who would believe through their message (v. 20). This means that Jesus prayed for us!

January 19, 2023

Why We Pray Poorly

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A preacher once lamented, “My preaching is better than my praying, and my praying is better than my life.” What he meant was that our prayers often reflect our aspirations more than they do our practice. But sometimes, our praying falls short as well. Why do we pray poorly?

January 20, 2023

A Praying Church

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As a young Christian, I took Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 6:6 to pray in secret literally. But the translation of the Bible I read at the time was the King James Version, which said, “enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” I took that literally so I went into my bedroom, climbed into my messy closet, and prayed in the dark!

January 21, 2023

Accessories to Prayer

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In fashion, an accessory is a non-essential item of clothing or jewelry. It might be a belt or a handbag. But an accessory can also be something that adds value or extends the function of something. For example, a printer and a camera are accessories that extend the capability of your computer.

January 22, 2023

Praying in Distress

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A foxhole prayer is one prayed in distress. The name comes from the holes that soldiers dug for protection during World War II. A foxhole prayer has two characteristics. First this type of prayer involves a bargain: “God, if you get me out of this, I promise I will...” Second, promises made in these prayers are often quickly forgotten.

January 23, 2023

Prayer as Ministry

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Prayer is the common task of ordinary Christians. Maybe you’ve heard someone say at a missionary conference, “Some can go, many can give, all can pray.” Yet there are some in the church who are set apart for a ministry of prayer. According to Acts 6:3–4, prayer and preaching the Word were the two fundamental duties of church leadership.

January 24, 2023

Praying with the Spirit

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When I face a challenge or have a large task to accomplish, I always know that my wife, Jane, will be praying for me. If I feel I need more prayer, I have friends that I can ask. But I always have someone else praying for me, whose voice I have never heard: the Holy Spirit.

January 25, 2023

Praying for Others

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Have you ever had a friend ask how they can pray for you? Sometimes this question is hard to answer because there are so many things, we cannot list them all. At other times we can’t think of any pressing need. It can be even harder when we are praying for someone else.

January 26, 2023

Musical Prayers

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Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald observed, “The only thing better than singing is more singing.” We usually consider singing a form of entertainment. But in the Scriptures, singing is also a mode or prayer. We often say our prayers, but sometimes we sing them.

January 27, 2023

Saying Grace

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Do you pray before meals? For many years it was customary for families to pray before every meal. But in our modern-day culture, where eating together or without distraction has become less popular, many have forgotten that practice. Saying a blessing before eating is actually a practice found in Scripture.

January 28, 2023

When You Cannot Pray

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Eli, the high priest, watched a woman praying intensely at the tabernacle in Shiloh. Hannah’s lips were moving, but Eli could hear no words. He mistakenly concluded that she was mumbling to herself in a drunken stupor. “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine” he told her. “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD” (1 Sam. 1:12–15).

January 29, 2023

Calling for Prayer

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When you are sick, you call the doctor. When your pipes spring a leak, you call the plumber. If your lights don’t work, you call the electrician. Who do you call when you have spiritual needs? In James 5:14 we are told to call “the elders of the church.”

January 30, 2023

The God Who Hears

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Our anxieties about prayer usually spring from the same question. It is not a question of what God can do. It is a question of what God will do. The fear that God will ignore us is at the heart of most of our concerns about prayer. We do not want to be ignored or our desires to be dismissed. We are afraid that in the end, despite what Jesus told us, God will indeed prove to be like the unjust judge of the parable (Luke 18:1–9).

January 31, 2023