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3. Prayer and the ceremonies of covenant worship
The tabernacle vividly symbolised the presence of God among Israel. The spiritual reality that Moses so desperately sought was made visible in a tent of leather and linen, and later in the cedar and gold of Solomon's temple. On the one hand, the elaborate symbolism of the tabernacle and temple might seem to institutionalise God's presence. No longer did God appear to an Israelite in Bethel as he had once appeared to Jacob. God was now to be worshipped at Jerusalem, in the place where he had put his name. An appointed priesthood mediated worship; a sacred calendar prescribed the times of worship; a detailed directory fixed the cultic actions. But on the other hand, God's appearing to Jacob or to Abraham had been only occasional. In contrast. the temple symbolised the abiding dwelling of God; the worshipper could come with confidence to the house of God, knowing that he could enter his courts with praise. God was present in his house, ready to receive the sacrifices he had appointed and to hear the prayers of his people. Indeed, Solomon, in dedicating the temple, recognised that this house of God was the place to which all nations were called to direct their prayers (1 Kgs. 8:41-43).
Only with the coming of Christ was the tension between the personal and the institutional resolved. Jesus presented his body as the true temple (John 2:19-21). His was the sacrifice foreshadowed at the altar of the temple, his is the royal priesthood of the Messiah (Zech. 6:12, 13: Ps. 110:4; Heb. 6:19-20). There is one place of worship, one place where God is immediately present. That place is not Mount Gerizim, as Samaritan tradition taught, but neither is it Jerusalem (John 2:19-21; 4:21). The veil of the temple is torn in half. The way to heaven is now opened through the veil of Christ's flesh (Heb. 10:20). No longer can there be a holy place on earth: not even on Mount Zion. Christ has entered into the true tabernacle, the dwelling of God in heaven (Heb. 8:1, 2).
The mediatorial role of the priesthood indicated the distance that remained between a sinful people and a holy God. Only a divinely appointed representative of the people could stand before God's face to offer the petitions of the people, symbolised in the burning incense (Exod. 30:1-10; Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:10). Yet, if the priesthood functioned as a buffer, it also showed the intimate approach that lay at the heart of God's covenant. The Old Testament priesthood is not abolished, it is fulfilled. Only through the ministry of the perfect High Priest can the once-for-all sacrifice be offered, and the mediation of a heavenly priesthood be forever established. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is uniquely qualified to minister the new covenant as a royal priest, seated on the right hand of the Father. There he ever lives to make intercession as the Advocate of the people of God (Heb. 7:25).
The intimacy of new covenant prayer does not flow directly from the simple fact that all believers have now become priests. We must not forget that Peter is quoting from the Old Testament when he declares, 'But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood' (1 Pet. 2:9; Exod. 19:6). The people served by the sons of Aaron were themselves a holy nation. In the new covenant God has not simply eliminated priestly mediation by promoting every believer to priestly status. Rather, it is Jesus Christ, the true and final Priest, who fulfils the priestly office. True, we have an access far more intimate than even the high priest of the old covenant. But we have it in Christ, who has entered heaven for us. We draw near to God through him; our boldness to enter the holy of holies in heaven itself is a boldness we gain from the finished sacrifice and continuing advocacy of Jesus Christ (Heb. 4:14-16; 7:25; 10:19-22). Our prayer is not intimate because it is unmediated. It is intimate because Christ, the Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, is our Mediator.
The concreteness, the specific location of the presence of God symbolised in the temple now has its fulfilment, not in a building made of stone and cedar, but in the incarnate person of the Lord. In Jesus Christ, God is personally present. By his Spirit he is present where two or three are gathered in his name (Mt. 18:20). By his Spirit we enter the heavenly Jerusalem in worship to gather with the saints and angels, and to be led in our worship by Jesus himself, the one Mediator between God and man (Heb. 12:22-24).
The fulfilment in Jesus Christ must also be kept in view to understand the relation between prayer and sacrifice. Because sacrifice was an outward ceremonial it could be substituted for the heart attitude that God's covenant demanded. For that reason the prophets condemn the offering of sacrifices as meaningless ritual on the part of people who have turned aside from obedience to God (Isa. 1:11-17; Jer. 6:20; Mal. 1:10). Yet the place of sacrifice continues to be acknowledged in the prayers of Israel in the Psalms. Particularly arc the vows of thank-offerings mentioned (Ps. 22:22, 25; 54:6; 116:14; Jonah 2:9). Whether literally or figuratively, the paying of vows to God is expressed as the way in which God's saving mercies are acknowledged. The prayer of David in Psalm 51 brings together the sacrifice of a broken heart and the thank-offering of restored fellowship (Ps. 51:16-19).
4. Prayer in the community of the covenant
God's covenant was never exclusively individual. At Sinai, all the people redeemed from Egypt entered into covenant with the Lord. Indeed it was God's covenant that formed a nation, a people of God, from the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt. God's words, mediated through Moses, were addressed to all the assembled people.
The consciousness of God's dealings with Israel colours the prayers of individual Israelites. The prayer of Hannah is suspect to the critics: it seems more appropriate as a hymn for the nation than as the thanks of a simple woman to whom God gave a son (1 Sam. 2:1-10). The hymns of the first chapter of Luke have a similar cast, reflecting, as they do, Hannah's song. Yet we fail to appreciate how deeply the consciousness of God's promises to the people were woven into the piety of each member of the community. Indeed, the deeper a person's trust in the Lord, the stronger is the awareness of God's covenant promises.
In the Psalms that same corporate consciousness is present. Many of the Psalms are 'we' psalms, addressing praise and petitions to the God of Israel in the first person plural. But the individual psalms are also corporate. They appear in the Psalter, not as samples of private poetry, nor even as the prayers of typical Israelites. Rather, the individuals speak as representatives of the people of God. This is particularly clear in the psalms of David, who writes as the king, the royal servant of the Lord. His tribulations are troubles for all the people of God; his enemies are the enemies of God and of the nation; his victories show the outstretched hand of the covenant God. Other individual psalms are also the words of servants of the Lord. Their cry is one in which all the people of God may join.
God's judgments on Israel's sin brought destruction and captivity. The prophets, however, promised that a remnant would be spared and that renewal would come. The winnowing process pointed to an Israel within Israel: a small but faithful number who would be circumcised in heart and renewed in sprit. As a refining process, the captivity put a new emphasis on prayer, and on individual prayer. Daniel prays faithfully in personal devotion. Yet Daniel prays facing Jerusalem (Dan. 6:10). His prayer is corporate in language and in burden (Dan. 9:3-20). Like Moses, he intercedes for the people of God.
Jesus prays alone, and teaches the need for private prayer. In contrast to the publicity-seeking Pharisees, the disciples are to pray to the Father in secret (Mt. 6:5,6). Yet Jesus also chides his disciples that they could not watch with him in prayer in Gethsemane (Mt. 26:40). He teaches them to pray together, 'Our Father, which art in heaven . . .' In the new covenant as in the old, the people of God join in praise, confession, petition and thanksgiving. The revelation of God's full and final salvation in Christ binds those born of the Spirit in a fellowship of prayer. Individual prayer is not put above corporate prayer as more spiritual, more profound, or more pleasing to God.
B. God's covenant Lordship shapes prayer
1. God's zeal for pure worship
Access to God in prayer implies that we seek to do the will of God. The covenant love of God for his people is a jealous love. God will tolerate no rivals. He will not be consigned to a polytheistic pantheon to be worshipped along with Baal and Astarte. To belong to God is to forsake the false gods (Exod. 20:5; 34:13; Deut. 4:23, 24). Solomon dedicated the temple of the Lord in prayer, but he later violated God's covenant by erecting a shrine to Chemosh, the god of the Moabites (1 Kgs. 11:7; cf. Deut. 13:6-8). John reminds Christians of their loyalty to Jesus Christ: 'He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols' (1 John 5:20,21). As God reveals himself in his Son, his zeal for exclusive worship demands that we come to God through him: 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).
The jealousy of God burns not only against the false gods, but against any idol that would be placed in his temple, any representation of him, the true God. He reminded Israel that they saw no form or likeness when he spoke to them from the fire on Sinai (Deut. 4:15). In the tabernacle the throne of God was symbolised by the golden lid of the ark of the covenant. That throne was attended by figures of the cherubim, but there was no representation of God. God's ban on images of himself did not mean that no image was possible; God had made mankind in his own image and likeness. It was the design of God that his own Son would take human flesh to reveal him. The 'mercy seat' awaited the coming of Jesus Christ. God's jealousy against idolatry is jealousy for his Son, who alone can reveal his Father (Mt. 11:27).
The limitation and the freedom of Christian prayer have the same root. God alone can tell us how he will be worshipped. Israel was warned against adapting their worship to the religious customs of the Canaanites. Israel, on entering the land, was not to say, 'How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same'. Rather, God warned his people: 'You must not worship the LORD your God in their way . . . see that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it' (Deut. 12:30-32). Only God can teach us how to worship or pray; we are therefore bound to his commandments. Yet this limitation is the fountain of our liberty in prayer. No one can bind our conscience to prescribed forms or rituals of prayer. We are not to pattern our prayers on the incantational spells of the heathen, who suppose that they may be heard for their much speaking, or who have discovered the mesmerised transformation of consciousness that can arise from endless repetition. Even the Lord's Prayer is recorded in the New Testament in two slightly different versions (Mt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). This principle, however, does not rule out the use of forms of prayer to enable a group or congregation to pray in unison. The richly indwelling word of Christ is the source of corporate song by which the congregation praises God and is built up (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19, 20). Such songs are themselves often prayers. Unison prayers whether sung, chanted, or recited play an important part in worship. The use of such forms, however, must always be qualified by the freedom God has given to his people in prayer, both individually and corporately.
2. Our zeal for our Lord
a. Expressed in submission to his will
The bond of God's gracious devotion toward his people draws us to a corresponding zeal. Prayer in the fellowship of God's covenant is not a grudging acceptance of his revealed will. Rather, it is zealous concern for his glory and for the accomplishment of his purposes. The petition that Jesus taught, 'Thy will be done', has the whole Old Testament for its background. Elijah cried, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty’ (1 Kgs. 19:10, 14). To be sure, the prophet's confession was also his complaint, but it yet expresses the devotion to God that is the fruit of faith among God's servants.
In seeking 'a better country, that is, a heavenly' the Old Testament saints were expressing their faith in God's purposes and designs. Abraham submitted to God's will even when God's command to sacrifice his son seemed to cancel the very promise that had been fulfilled in the gift of Isaac. Abraham told his servants, 'Stay here . . . We will worship and then we will come back to you' (Gen. 22:5). The word for 'worship' is a common term; it means to bow or prostrate oneself in prayer. [17] The unqualified submission of that posture symbolised the heart of Abraham's faith. In the covenant relation, God is the Lord, Abraham his servant. It is for the Lord to command, and the servant to obey. Abraham submitted: 'Thy will be done!' In faith, Abraham refused to see God's command as a betrayal of his promise. Isaac was given by a miracle; if need be, he would be restored by a miracle: 'Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death' (Heb. 11:19). On the slopes of Mount Moriah Abraham told Isaac, 'God himself will provide the Iamb for the burnt offering, my son' (Gen. 22:8). When God did provide his beloved Son as the Lamb, Jesus prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will' (Mt. 26:39). Jesus cast his body on the ground and his spirit on the Father. Here we may see the deepest meaning of prayer according to the will of God. In Gethsemane Jesus entered the mystery of God's purpose revealed to Abraham on Mount Moriah, the purpose that brought darkness over Calvary. Never will any child of God be called upon to bear the abandonment to wrath that was the Father's will for his Son. Only Jesus could endure that for us. Yet in our prayers we, too, may ask the Father to remove our cup of suffering. When the cup remains, Jesus himself enables us to say, 'Not as I will, but as you will'. His grace is sufficient; his power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:8-10).
The servant of the Lord, however, does not always walk in darkness, or face God's will as mystery. He reflects on the meaning of God's works, and meditates on the word of God (Ps. 1:2; 119:97; 145:5). The apostolic preaching of the cross knew the joy of a mystery revealed: the cross of Christ that had seemed to be the end of all their hopes was actually the beginning of hope that reached beyond the grave. We do not understand the ways of the Lord; much remains in mystery, but, reflecting on the wonder of God's redemption, we may already begin our praise (Ps. 35:28; 71:24; 105:2).
b. Expressed in confession seeking forgiveness
Since prayer is offered by a sinful people. God's Lordship demands that we confess the holiness of God and penitently plead for forgiveness of sin. To draw near to the Lord in prayer is to cry out with Isaiah, 'Woe is me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty' (Isa. 6:5).
In the Psalms David confesses his personal transgressions, and cries to God for forgiveness, cleansing, and restoration (Pss. 32; 51; 6:1, 2; 38:1-4; 40:12). His greatest joy centres in the mercy of God who removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). Many Psalms written in the first person singular express awareness of sin and look to the Lord for forgiveness (e.g. Ps. 130:3, 4; 143:2).
It is true that the psalmist will often plead his own faithfulness to God, and his innocence of transgression (e.g. Pss. 17:4, 5; 44:17, 18). This is common in the psalms of refuge (e.g. 7, 11, 17, 31, 142) and in other psalms where the psalmist appeals to God for judgment against his adversaries and accusers. [18] In this setting the psalmist's protestations of innocence do not imply a claim to sinless perfection; rather, they plead 'not guilty' to accusations. The Lord's servant may also contrast his own faithfulness to God with the wickedness and treachery of his enemies (Ps. 26:1-6). This leads to the theme of suffering of the righteous servant of the Lord. The wicked appear to prosper, while the godly suffer (Pss. 37; 73). In Job as in the Psalms the issue of God's justice is raised. On a deeper level, the psalmist perceives that he suffers for the Lord's sake: 'For zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me' (Ps. 69:9). The figure of the righteous servant, suffering, as did Moses and David, for the Lord's sake, becomes a type of Christ, the truly righteous Servant of the Lord (John 2:17).
Corporate as well as personal sin is confessed. Moses confessed the sin of Israel and prayed that God might remain amongst his people and forgive their sin (Exod. 34:9). The cries of sinful Israel to the Lord punctuate the book of Judges. Repeatedly the people rebelled against God, were judged by military defeat and oppression, and then sought deliverance from their enemies (Judg. 2; 3:15). Yet their cries were far from genuine repentance. Later, godly kings (Joash, Hezekiah, Josiah) took the initiative in expressing repentance and in taking action against idolatry. In connection with the exile, major prayers of repentance are included in the covenantal history. Psalm 106 reviews the melancholy history of Israel's disobedience leading up to the exile. Daniel prays eloquently, confessing the sin that led to the exile, and claiming the promise of God for restoration (Dan. 9:3-19). Nehemiah prays in a similar fashion (Neh. 1:5-11); the returning exiles are assembled and led in a great prayer of repentance by the Levites (Neh. 9:5-37). The penitent people cast themselves on God's hesed (Neh. 9:32).
c. Petitions
Prayer and petition are nearly synonymous; God is addressed out of the depth of human weakness and need. The cry for deliverance is the continual petition of Old Testament believers. King Hezekiah spreads before the Lord the threatening letter of the Rabshakeh of the besieging army of Assyria. His plea is direct: 'Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God' (2 Kgs. 19:19). The rod of Moses, lifted as an ensign in Israel's battle with the Amalekites, marks utter dependence on the Lord's deliverance. It also expresses the commitment of God to his covenant people. Moses' hand is indeed lifted, but more important, 'A hand is lifted up upon the throne of Jah!' (Exod. 17:16, ASV mg.). Yahweh-nissi: the Lord is the lifted ensign of his people; his raised hand grants their deliverance. Through the whole history of Israel the lesson is repeated: 'Salvation is of the LORD' (Jonah 2:9). God can save by a handful against a host (Gideon's band); indeed, by one sole champion, empowered by his Spirit (Samson). David conquers as the Lord's anointed, trusting not in his armament but in the name of the Lord. No impasse is too hopeless, no predicament too impossible for the Lord. Jonah's psalm celebrates the sure hope of God’s deliverance from the depths of death.
God's salvation from enemies includes the execution of his sentence against them (e.g. Pss. 54:5, 7; 58:6-11; 69:22-28; 79:6; 94:1, 2; 109:12; 137:7-9). The righteous name of the Lord must be vindicated against those who blaspheme his name and persecute his people. Such judgments are often sought in psalms that appeal to the Lord for the adjudication of a cause. Not only does the psalmist plead his own innocence of offence; he also describes the guilt of his accusers and persecutors, and calls for God's just judgment (e.g. Pss. 3:7; 5:10; 7:6, 12, 15, 16). The Lord abhors the bloody and deceitful man, and will destroy those who speak lies (Ps. 5:4-6). The violence of the wicked will descend upon his own head (7:15, 16). The psalmist knows God's judgment is certain; he calls on the Lord to deliver his saints by a speedy execution of justice (Pss. 10:1, 14-18; 11:6; cf. 12:5). Retribution is sought with a vehemence that has experienced the horror of atrocities: those who are responsible for such evils deserve to receive themselves the punishments they have inflicted (Ps. 137:8).
Jesus teaches his disciples to love their enemies; they are not to call down God's wrath upon their persecutors, but to pray for them (Mt. 5:43-48). The marvel of God's own love for his enemies appears at the cross. While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8-10). Christ's teaching is sometimes presented as in flat contradiction to the imprecatory psalms. Yet Jesus unequivocally teaches the holiness of God and his wrath against sin (Mt. 5:22; 25:41; Luke 13:4). Indeed, apart from God's just judgment on sin, the death of Christ on the cross would be unnecessary. The wrath of God remains for those who are yet unreconciled to God in Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-9). The apostles preached the gospel by warning of the coming judgment, and of every man's accountability before God (Acts 10:42; 17:31). The Christian does not take vengeance into his own hands, but he does leave vengeance in God's hands (Rom. 12:19). In the book of Revelation, as in the Old Testament, the saints cry out to God for the deliverance and vindication of the people of God (Rev. 6:9-11).
The wars of Israel were holy wars, fought at God's command to execute his sanctions. They symbolised the last judgment. When Christ by his coming changed the form of the people of God, the sign of the sword was removed from the church. Its sanctions are now only spiritual, not temporal. The people of God are not called to theocratic war. Christ came to bear the final judgment on the cross, not to inflict the final judgment from the throne. In this age, judgment is withheld so that men and women may repent. The church does not pray imprecatory psalms against those who persecute it. Rather, those psalms are now the battle-cry of the church against the hosts of Satan. We pray for a different victory over the human enemies of the gospel: the victory of God's saving grace (2 Cor. 2:14-16).
Besides praying for deliverance from enemies, God's people also sought deliverance from evils and ills. As a blessing of his covenant God promised Israel freedom from the diseases that he had placed in judgment on the Egyptians: 'I am the LORD who heals you' (Exod. 15:26). Hezekiah prayed to God for healing, and was delivered from mortal illness. In contrast, Asa was attended by physicians, but failed to seek his healing from the Lord (2 Kgs. 20:1-11; cf. 2 Chr. 16:12).
God's people had other needs besides deliverance. These, too, are reflected in the prayers of the old covenant. They need God's guidance and provision in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud to lead them; the manna and water from the rock to sustain them. Prayer for guidance appears early in the Pentateuch. We find a beautiful prayer by the steward of Abraham, sent to find a bride for Isaac (Gen. 24:12-14). David, who knew the uncertainties of life as a fugitive in the wilderness, prayed: 'Let the morning bring me word of your hesed, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul' (Ps. 143:8). Solomon, confronted with the task of reigning over Israel, prayed to God for wisdom so that he might know how to guide God's people (1 Kgs. 3:9).
Psalm 107 pictures the people of God, scattered and wandering in the desert, crying out in their hunger and thirst (v.4-6). It is the Lord who answers their prayer: 'He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things' (v. 9). The dependence of Israel on manna in the wilderness is reflected in the prayer the Lord taught to his disciples: 'Give us this day our daily bread' (Mt. 6:11 ). [19] The depth of such a prayer appears in the New Testament. The provision of the manna symbolises the giving of Christ as the Bread of heaven (John 6:32-35); the provision of the water from the smitten rock points to Christ from whose heart flow rivers of living water, the water of the Spirit (Exod. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:37-39; 19:34). [20]
d. Thanksgiving, praise, and hope
The greatest desire of the people of God goes beyond deliverance from surrounding enemies and the provision of daily needs. It stretches toward the fulfilment of the promises of God. Moses prayed to know the Lord; like the patriarchs of old, the prophets desired a better country, a heavenly one (Heb. 11:16). God himself must at last be the inheritance of his people. 'Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever' (Ps. 73:25, 26).
Throughout the Psalms, the supreme good that is sought is God himself (Pss. 4:7; 16:11; 17:15; 23; 27:4; 36:9; 42:1, 2; 63:1-8; 131). The psalmist thirsts for God, yearns to appear before God, to dwell in his courts. This desire also points toward God's promise of future blessing, a promise linked to his coming as Judge and Saviour (Pss. 96:13; 98:9).
The true worshippers of the Lord will not end prayer with petition. They will realise to whom their petition is being addressed, and sensing the presence of God, will move to praise. In psalms where an individual voices his lament there is also praise in the assurance of being heard. For example, Psalm 22 alternates lamentations with expressions of trust. This pattern is followed by a cry for deliverance (vv .19-21) that is immediately succeeded by an assurance of being heard, 'And from the horns of wild oxen you have answered me!' (v.21). [21] The psalmist then describes the thank-offering of praise that he will present in the midst of the worshipping congregation (v.22), and concludes with a magnificent doxology. Claus Westermann observes that while the urgent situation described in these psalms still remains (the sufferer has not been delivered), yet the prayer is regarded as realised. God may be praised, the thank-offering may be held in view, because God will answer. The transition to the assurance of being heard is therefore the real theme of these Psalms (Pss. 6:8; 10:17; 13:6; 28:6; 31:7, 21; 54:7; 56:13). 'They are no longer mere petition, but petition that has been heard. They are no longer mere lament. but lament that has been turned to praise.' [22]
The praise of God in the Psalms is both declarative and descriptive. God is praised for what he has done and for who he is. Such praise looks naturally toward the future, for God will come, and fulfil his promise in David's Son, his Anointed (2 Sam. 7:18-29).
C. The renewal of the covenant restores and renews prayer
Prayer in the Old Testament points forward to fulfilment in the New. There is a deepening emphasis on prayer in the prophets. The sin of Israel was not a lack of prayer: prayer was regularly and publicly practised. But many in Israel addressed their prayer to other gods. Those who did pray to the Lord offered their words but not their hearts. The prophets condemn the hypocritical pretence of such formal prayers: 'When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood . . .' (Isa. 1:15). Jesus cited the prophecy of Isaiah to condemn the lip-worship of those whose hearts were far from God (Mt. 15:8; Isa. 29:13). Isaiah pours out a prayer of penitence on behalf of those who will heed his message:
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away . . . Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are all the work of your hand . . . Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people. (lsa. 64:6-9).
Few indeed joined the prophets in prayers of penitence. The prophets warned of the approaching storm of God's judgments. Israel in the north was carried captive by the Assyrians. Then the clouds of judgment gathered over Judah. Jeremiah cried out in agony to God as the storm broke and the invading armies came. The vocabulary of distress fills the book of Lamentations. Jeremiah voices his personal grief, but mourns above all for the doom pronounced upon Jerusalem. So severe is the judgment of God's justice against the people that Jeremiah is forbidden even to pray for them (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11).
Yet the prophets looked beyond the darkness to a dawn of mercy. God's judgments against his people would be neither total nor final. A remnant would be spared, and to that despised remnant God would fulfil promises too marvellous to be described. The faithful are summoned to pray to the Lord for the restoration and renewal that only he can give: 'Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not' (Jer. 33:3 ASV). Those who pray for the future blessings of God cannot even conceive of what they will include. They are hidden things, like the inaccessible treasures of a fortified city. [23] God himself will perform them: he will come to be their Saviour. His coming is joined with the coming of the Son of David, God's anointed. 'In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land' (Jer. 33: 15 ASV).
If the renewal of that day, the people will call and the Lord will answer. They will cry, and he will say, 'Here I am!' (Isa. 58:9). Indeed, 'Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear' (Isa. 65:24). The open communion of prayer will be the supreme blessing of God's presence with his people (Zech. 13:9). In that time of blessing even the Gentiles will call upon the name of the Lord, and will be heard. God will reveal himself to the Gentiles because his own people have ignored his outstretched hands (Isa. 65:1; Rom. 9:20; 10:21). But at last God will make himself known to the full number of his people from Israel as well as from the Gentiles. The enemy nations Egypt and Assyria will pray to the Lord for healing and restoration; they, along with Israel, will be made a blessing in the earth (Isa. 19:19-25). 'Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD' (Zeph. 3:9).
How will God purify the lips of sinful Israel and of the unclean Gentiles? He must come, not only as the Warrior (Isa. 59:16, 17), and as the Shepherd (Ezek. 34:11, 12); he must come in the person of his Servant to bear their iniquities. The greatest prayer of the Old Testament is the prayer of the victorious Messiah, the prayer of intercession that pleads his atonement:
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (lsa. 53:12).
The prophets, proclaiming God's promises, call for true repentance (Isa. 58:6-8). Those who pray for the promised mercy must confess their sins, renounce their idols, and return to the Lord (Hos. 14:1-3; cf. Isa. 55:6-13). In the judgment of the exile God did strip away from Israel the evil of open idolatry. Those who remained faithful to the God of the covenant began to seek his face in penitent prayer. God's word to the prophet Zechariah describes the repentance of the exiles in Babylon. They confessed that God's judgments had come, just as the prophets had predicted (Zech. 1:6). [24]
Daniel found in the prophecy of Jeremiah the promise that after seventy years the captivity would be ended. The time was near: Daniel earnestly prayed for the promised restoration (Dan. 9:2, 17-19). The great prayers of confession of sin that we find in Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah eloquently summarise the history of Israel's unfaithfulness and God's continuing mercy. The prayer of Ezra comes with particular poignancy, for he fears that the returning exiles are again becoming involved with the heathen (Ezra 9:5-15).
The return from exile after seventy years was indeed a fulfilment of God's promise. Yet Ezra tells of the weeping of the oldest men when the foundations of the temple were laid (Ezra 3:12). They remembered the glory of the former house of God. The restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah fell far short of the promised glory. The post-exilic prophets therefore still point ahead to the great day of the Lord. Zechariah tells of the nations coming to worship the God of Israel (Zech. 14:16, 17). The glory of Jerusalem passes description: the pots of the city will be like temple vessels. The weakest inhabitant will be like King David. What then of the King? He will be as the angel of the Lord among them (Zech. 12:8)! The promises will at last be fulfilled when God himself comes, when his Spirit is poured out, when the Sun of righteousness rises with healing in his wings (Mal. 4:2).
III. PRAYER ADDRESSES THE TRIUNE GOD
A. The renewal and fulfilment of prayer in Christ
1. Fulfilment of the petition of the faithful remnant
Four centuries elapsed after the last prophetic word was spoken to the returned exiles. In that period prayer became central in the services of the synagogue. The 'Eighteen Benedictions' in an early form appear to go back to the time of Christ. The first three petitions praise God as the Creator, the God of the fathers, the holy and the only God. They go on to confess sin, to call upon God to give repentance and forgiveness and to visit Israel with redemption. [25] In the Psalms of Solomon the Messianic hope is strongly expressed (Ps. Sol. 17:23{21}). [26]
Formalism again undercut the fervency of true prayer, but God preserved men and women to pray for the coming of his salvation. God had promised not only that he would restore and renew his people, but that he would answer prayer in doing so: 'For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them' (Ezek. 36:37 ASV; Zech. 10:6). In grace God raised up those who would plead his promises.
That grace appears as God lifts the curtain on the first scene of the new covenant. It is the hour of prayer; God sends his angel to the altar where a priest of Aaron's lineage is offering incense. In the courtyard of the temple the people are assembled in prayer. As the incense and the prayer ascend, the angel tells Zachariah that his personal prayers have been answered (Luke 1:13). As God gave Sarah a son centuries before, so God will now give a son to Elizabeth. That son will be John, the forerunner of the Messiah. The speechless priest cannot pronounce the customary blessing, but it is God who has pronounced blessing for his people.
The theme of God's answer to prayer is again portrayed in the figures of Simeon and Anna who greet the infant Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:25-38). These aged saints represent 'all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem' (Luke 2:38). The prophetess Anna bears the joyful word to those who, like her, have been praying night and day (v.37).
The songs of Mary (Luke 1:46-55), Zachariah (vv.68-79), and Simeon (2:29-32) follow the patterns of the Psalms and the prophets in praising the Lord for his coming in salvation. [27] Mary's hymn reflects the song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1-10). The mystery of new covenant fulfilment already appears: God's grace is revealed to the poor and lowly. The songs celebrate the fulfilment of God's glorious promises, but a fulfilment that runs counter to all the vaunting of man. A humble virgin is the chosen handmaid of the Lord; despised shepherds are surrounded by angelic heralds. God's coming mocks the power and privilege of kings and princes. He hears the cry of the poor.
ContinuedThis essay first appeared in Teach us to Pray: Prayer in the Bible and the World, D. A. Carson (ed.), (Baker/Paternoster, 1990), 136-76, 336-38 and is used here with permission. No part of this essay may be copied or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers.