Prayer, according to the Bible, involves a personal relationship between God and the one who is praying. In prayer, we are not manipulating or invoking some unknown power, but calling upon the living God. True prayer regards God as a person, who hears and reacts to prayer.

The one who prays is not a robot, but a person who is involved in communication with God. Therefore, the form and words of a prayer are important only as they are the genuine expression of the thoughts and desires of a person. That this is the case appears from the emphasis in the Bible upon the personal state of the one who would pray aright. According to Scripture, the person who prays must be reverent, submissive, sincere, believing, and obedient.

Reverence

The Old Testament emphasizes the need for reverence in approaching God. The regulations of the ceremonial law and the striking acts of judgment when men dealt carelessly with holy things (Lev. 10:1–3; 1 Chron. 13:5–10, etc.) served to impress upon God’s people His holiness and transcendence. There is warning about irreverence in prayer: “Walk prudently when you go to the house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools.…Do not be rash with your mouth. and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few” (Eccl. 5:1–2).

When Jesus taught His disciples to use a child’s word for Father, “Abba,” in speaking to God, He was not repudiating the need for reverence in prayer. In the Lord’s Prayer there is a qualification; God is to be addressed as “Our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). As Calvin indicates, these words are not meant to “locate” God, as though He were in heaven and therefore not on earth. But, “it is as if He had been said to be of infinite greatness or loftiness, or incomprehensible essence, of boundless might, and of everlasting immortality” (Institutes, III:XX:40). Even in approaching God as Father, we are to be aware of the distance that separates His divinity from our humanity. And so the petition follows, “Hallowed be Your name” (Matt. 6:9). That is: “Help us first of all to know Thee rightly, and to hallow, glorify and praise Thee in all Thy works through which there shine almighty power, wisdom, goodness, righteousness, mercy, and truth” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q 22).

Reflection on the majesty, power, and purity of God leads to a reverent attitude in prayer.

Sincerity

Jesus’ rebuke of the Jewish religious leaders included a denunciation of their hypocrisy in prayer.” And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matt. 6:5). “Beware of the scribes. Who…for a pretense make long prayers” (Mark 12:38, 40). Behind such hypocrisy lay the self­satisfaction of such leaders. Their prayers were unreal because they had no sense of their own need, and therefore no real desire for the grace of God.

The Scriptures not only condemn hypocritical prayer, but speak positively of the need for sincerity in prayer. Jesus warned against the heaping up of empty phrases in prayer (Matt. 6:7–8); yet in two of His parables He encouraged persistence in prayer when an answer is delayed (Luke 11:5–8; 18:1–7). He certainly did not mean that by mere mechanical repetition God’s resistance is broken down. The force of these parables is obviously in an implied contrast between the sleepy friend and the unjust judge on the one hand, and God on the other. Persistent prayer reflects faith that is not vanquished by lack of immediate results (see Matt. 15:22–28); but it also implies fervent desire, an unwillingness to be satisfied unless the request is granted.

Descriptions of exemplary instances of prayer often include the fact that such prayers were made with earnestness. The publican who prayed for mercy “beat his breast” as an indication of the strength of his emotion (Luke 18:13). Christ’s prayers were made with “vehement cries and tears” (Heb. 5:7); in Gethsemane He prayed “more earnestly” (Luke 22:44). When Peter was imprisoned, “constant” prayer was made for him by the church (Acts 12:5). Elijah is said to have prayed “earnestly” (Jas. 5:17).

Calvin makes it one of the basic rules of prayer, “that in our petitions we ever sense our own insufficiency, and earnestly pondering how we need all that we seek, join with this prayer an earnest—nay, burning—desire to attain it.…Now what do we account more hateful…to God than the fiction of someone asking pardon for his sins, all the while either thinking he is not a sinner, or at least not thinking he is a sinner?”:XX:6).

Submission

Fervent desire, of course, does not stand by itself as a requirement for prayer. The sovereignty of God demands that human desire be submissive to His will.

The foremost example of submissive prayer is that of Jesus in Gethsemane: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). The believer, if he prays sincerely, manifests a similar attitude when he prays: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). In asking this, Calvin says, “we renounce the desires of our flesh: for whoever does not resign and submit his feelings to God opposes as much as he can God’s will, since only what is corrupt comes forth from us” (Institutes, III:XX:43).

Paul’s experience in prayer indicates how submission places bounds upon importunity in prayer. He prayed three times for the removal of his thorn; but when it was revealed to him that it was not God’s will to remove it, he gladly submitted to the will of the Father (2 Cor. 12:8–9).
This attitude of submission in prayer does not remain merely a kind of restraint, in that one does not insist on his own will as ultimate. But, insofar as the will of God is revealed, and hence is known, submission involves embracing that will, and desiring that it be done. Submission to God’s will determines in a positive way the content of prayer. Prayer made in submission to God thus comes to be prayer “according to His will” (1 John 5:14).

Faith

Scripture clearly indicates that faith is an essential condition for efficacious prayer. Jesus stated this positively when He said,” And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt. 21:22). The condition is stated negatively by James, when he says concerning the man praying for wisdom: “But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting; for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (Jas. 1:6–7 ARV).

The content of faith is not stated in these two passages. But their contexts, and other passages in which faith in relation to prayer is discussed, show that this faith does have a definite content. “The prayer of faith” (Jas. 5:15) is prayer that involves the conviction that certain things are true; that a certain state of affairs actually exists.

Much of the preceding discussion has dealt with the objective facts that make prayer possible. It has been necessary, all along, to speak of the faith-content that is implicit in true prayer. What remains to be done here is to show that when faith is mentioned in Scripture as a condition of prayer, it means believing that these facts are true. It will be seen that faith involves an inward conviction of the truth of God’s existence, power, and benevolence; and, in connection with the latter, of the efficacy of Christ’s redemptive work.

Belief in the Existence of God

That prayer involves belief in the existence of a hearer of prayer might seem so obvious as not to require statement. However, the existence of an altar to an unknown god, to which Paul refers (Acts 17:23), points to the possibility of prayer as a “shot in the dark,” made on the chance that such a prayer might be heard and answered. There are contemporary attempts to maintain prayer in the absence of belief in a personal God capable of hearing prayer. Hence it is not without reason that the writer of Hebrews says that “without faith it is impossible to please Him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He is” (Heb. 11:6). Paul indicates that the faith that is essential for prayer is belief in God when he asks, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” (Rom. 10:14). Faith here is clearly understood to be a believing acceptance of the revelation about God, which He Himself has given.

Belief in the Power of God

A number of passages emphasize the fact that faith involves awareness of, and confidence in, God’s unlimited power. In Hebrews, the God whose existence is believed is the God who created the world by His word of power (Heb. 11:3).

On a number of occasions, Jesus taught that faith is a belief in God’s omnipotence. He noted the greatness of the faith of the centurion, who was confident that simply by speaking a word of command, Jesus was able to heal his servant (Matt. 8:8–10). Jesus asked the blind men who sought healing,” Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Upon their affirmative reply. He said.” According to your faith let it be to you” (Matt. 9:27–29). The father of the epileptic boy was unsure whether Jesus was able to help or not; Jesus indicated that he lacked faith (Mark 9:17–24).

In these incidents, faith is seen to be confidence that nothing is beyond the power of the one in whom it is placed. The faith necessary for prayer is the kind of faith exemplified by Abraham: “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform”’ (Rom. 4:20-21).

Belief in God’s Benevolence

A number of passages point to God’s willingness to grant help as the content of faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that beyond faith in God’s existence, there is necessary for prayer the persuasion that He is the “rewarder” of those who seek Him. In James 1:5-6 the statement that prayer must be made in faith is preceded by the assertion that God “gives to all liberally and without reproach.” Jesus declared that the faith of the Canaanite woman was great (Matt. 15:22–28). Her faith was manifested in the fact that she continued to ask for mercy in the face of an apparent rebuff; her importunity rested upon an unshakable conviction of the Savior’s mercy.

Faith in God’s benevolence does not exist in isolation from an awareness of His holiness and of one’s own sinfulness. Faith also takes into account the fact that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18). Therefore, genuine faith in God’s benevolence is necessarily faith in Jesus Christ, who has removed the barrier of sin between God and the redeemed by His obedience and sacrifice. The faith that is essential for prayer is faith in His finished work; in Him “we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Eph. 3:12). The believer depends for God’s acceptance of his prayer upon all that has been revealed concerning the high priestly work of Christ.

When faith refers to a belief in the revelation concerning the nature of God and the work of Jesus Christ, it is easy to see why doubt makes prayer ineffective. To doubt God’s existence, or power, or benevolence, is to deny God Himself. It is an insult to His name to regard anything as too hard for Him (see Jer. 32:17, 27). To think of Him as unwilling to help is to imply that evil men, who respond to the pleas of their children, are better than God (Matt. 7:9–11). The Epistle to the Hebrews, which develops so fully the doctrine of the priesthood of Christ as the basis for confidence in approaching God, also has very solemn warnings about the sin of unbelief, of “spurning” the Son of God (see Heb. 10:23, 26–31).

Doubt about the nature of God as the Hearer of prayer, and the redemption accomplished by Christ, is not weakness of faith, but the lack of it, and is culpable in the sight of God. Prayer without such faith does not please God (Heb. 11:6), and no answer to it is to be expected. In Mark 11:22–24, faith in prayer is said to refer not only to the nature of God, but to the certainty that what is asked in prayer will actually be granted.

Obedience

There are a number of passages in which the efficacy of prayer is said to depend upon the “works” of the one who prays. Frequently in the Psalms the righteousness of the petitioner is given as a reason why his prayer should be heard: “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity” (Ps. 26:1). This cannot be dismissed as a sample of Old Testament “legalism.” Jesus singled out one petition of the Lord’s Prayer for comment: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you: but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14–15; see Mark 11:25; Matt. 18:23–35).

Here, one’s willingness to forgive his brother is a condition for an answer to the prayer for forgiveness. A similar condition is stated in 1 John 3:22: “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” It might be concluded from these verses that answered prayer is a reward for the performance of acts of obedience. Upon closer examination, however, it is found that this is not the case. The context of 1 John 3:22 makes plain the relationship between obedience to God’s commands and answered prayer. John has been discussing the command to love one another (1 John 3:11). Such love is not the means of gaining God’s favor, but the evidence that one already has received spiritual life from God:” We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). Obedience of the command to love is a result of union with Christ: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him” (1 John 3:24). And only those who are thus united to Christ actually possess access to God, and therefore can pray with assurance that God will answer.

Obedience to the commands of God and willingness to forgive others are products, not causes, of salvation. They are evidences of regeneration, by which believers gain the right to call upon God as Father (see John 1:12–13). When the saints mention their own righteousness in prayer, Calvin says, “By such expressions they mean nothing else but that by their regeneration itself they are attested as servants and children of God to whom He promises that He will be gracious” (Institutes III:XX:10).

Thus it is appropriate to speak of obedience as a condition of prayer when obedience is understood as evidence that one has been given new life through faith in Christ. Only the truly converted can pray efficaciously.

Just as repentance is inseparable from union with Christ, so all the subjective conditions for prayer must be viewed as gifts which Christ imparts to those who are His own. Those who are in Christ Jesus are the sons of God through faith (Gal. 3:26). To those who are His children by virtue of their union with the Son, God has sent the Spirit of His Son, crying “Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6). And the Spirit works in them reverence, sincerity, submission, faith, obedience. These are not therefore conditions, which are to be met by merely human effort, but are conditions that God Himself graciously works in those who receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.

Dr. Spear is professor of systematic theology at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pa. This article is an excerpt from the second edition of his book Talking to God: The Theology of Prayer, which will soon be released by Crown & Covenant Publications.

Questions for Discussion and Reflection

• How do you resolve the tension between praying to God as a child to a father, and the need for reverence in prayer?

• Explain the connection between sincerity and persistence in prayer.

• Does it indicate a lack of faith when one prays “If it is your will”? Explain.

• In Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, was submission to the Father’s will active or passive?

• This article presents the conviction that the faith which is necessary for effective prayer has content, that it means believing certain things are true. Have you heard or read teaching about “the prayer of faith” which differs from this?

• Does Matthew 6:14–15 mean that we must earn the right to have our prayers answered? Explain.