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00:00:01 Now, my discussion is about 00:00:03 the miracle of prayer. 00:00:06 What is one of the foremost ways 00:00:09 we draw close to, we stay close to, Jehovah? 00:00:13 By means of prayer. 00:00:15 In prayer, we experience Jehovah’s love 00:00:19 in a truly intimate way. 00:00:22 The Watchtower some years ago made this comment: 00:00:26 “Be assured that through the miracle of prayer 00:00:29 Jehovah is able to listen to you.” 00:00:33 And that’s very appropriate —to describe prayer as a miracle. 00:00:37 Let’s think about it. 00:00:38 You can pray in any language, 00:00:41 even though according to some linguists 00:00:44 there are more than 6,800 languages spoken on the earth today. 00:00:48 Jehovah knows all those languages. 00:00:51 Now, we’re impressed if a person knows two or three languages. 00:00:55 Jehovah knows every language, and that includes 00:00:58 the, perhaps, 300 sign languages 00:01:02 being used on earth today, according to one encyclopedia. 00:01:06 Jehovah knows every sign language. 00:01:09 In fact, our prayer can be a silent prayer 00:01:12 uttered only in the privacy of our heart. 00:01:17 Amazingly, if a faithful servant of Jehovah 00:01:20 does not even know what to pray for 00:01:22 because of the perplexity of the situation 00:01:26 or his mental anguish, 00:01:28 according to Romans 8:26, 00:01:30 the holy spirit can, in effect, 00:01:34 formulate a prayer in his behalf. 00:01:37 Now, that is truly miraculous. 00:01:40 And as we know, Jehovah has not delegated 00:01:43 the hearing of a prayer to anyone —not even his Son. 00:01:46 Psalm 65:2 calls Jehovah 00:01:50 the “Hearer of prayer.” 00:01:52 And “Hearer” is singular. 00:01:54 But here’s a question: What is prayer? 00:01:57 Well, some have defined it as talking to Jehovah. 00:02:02 But is that really accurate? 00:02:04 Go to Genesis chapter 3, please. 00:02:08 Let’s use this scripture to answer that —if it’s just talking to Jehovah. 00:02:13 Genesis 3:9: 00:02:18 “And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: 00:02:23 ‘Where are you?’ 00:02:25 “Finally, he [Adam] said: 00:02:28 “‘I heard your voice in the garden, 00:02:31 but I was afraid because I was naked so I hid myself.’” 00:02:35 Well, clearly, Adam was talking to Jehovah, but it was not prayer. 00:02:40 And we have numerous other examples in the Bible. 00:02:44 So, appropriately, the Insight book defines prayer 00:02:48 as “worshipful address to the true God.” 00:02:52 And then it adds: “[It] involves devotion, trust, respect, 00:02:57 “and a sense of dependence 00:02:59 on the one to whom the prayer is directed.” 00:03:03 So that’s a very good point. 00:03:04 If we want Jehovah to view our prayer 00:03:07 as not just talking to him but truly prayer, 00:03:09 we’ve got to make sure it is worshipful address 00:03:13 and that we attach devotion, trust, 00:03:17 respect, a deep sense of dependence on Jehovah. 00:03:22 And, obviously, that would require that we prepare our hearts 00:03:26 before we pray to Jehovah. 00:03:29 Ezra 7:10—Ezra “prepared his heart.” 00:03:32 Well, we would do well to do the same. 00:03:34 But now, here’s another question, What are the different types of prayer? 00:03:39 Well, our publications have explained 00:03:41 that there are basically four types of prayer. 00:03:44 We have petition, supplication, 00:03:48 thanksgiving, and praise. 00:03:51 And if you boil it down even further, 00:03:53 you can say there are two types of prayer —petition and thanksgiving— 00:03:57 because supplication is really a form of petition 00:04:01 —just very deep petition, but petition. 00:04:04 And praise is a form of thanksgiving 00:04:08 —thanking Jehovah for being the God that he is. 00:04:12 But now, let’s briefly talk about these four categories of prayer 00:04:16 we can divide it into. 00:04:18 Take first, petition. 00:04:20 Just like it sounds, we’re asking —we’re requesting—of Jehovah. 00:04:25 And Jehovah encourages us to ask him for our needs. 00:04:29 At Matthew 7:7, Jesus said: 00:04:32 “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; 00:04:36 “keep on seeking, and you will find; 00:04:39 keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.” 00:04:42 And, of course, Jesus gives us things we can pray for 00:04:45 —our daily bread, forgiveness of our sins, 00:04:49 deliverance from the evil one as a few examples. 00:04:52 But now, let’s take supplication. 00:04:55 The Watchtower explains 00:04:57 that “the word means ‘earnest entreaty,’ . . . ‘beseeching prayer.’” 00:05:01 It involves imploring God very earnestly 00:05:05 as in time of great stress or peril. 00:05:09 If you want to think of a modern example of supplication, 00:05:14 think of a wife’s prayer 00:05:16 the night before her husband is executed 00:05:20 for keeping his integrity 00:05:22 —that would truly be supplication. 00:05:25 Now, let’s go to thanksgiving. 00:05:27 As it sounds, it’s the rendering of thanks to Jehovah. 00:05:31 And how voluminous are the things 00:05:35 for which we should express gratitude to Jehovah! 00:05:38 We think about all the material, or physical, gifts 00:05:42 that not only make life possible 00:05:46 but make it enjoyable. 00:05:48 ‘Every good gift and every perfect present comes from Jehovah.’ 00:05:52 —James 1:17. 00:05:54 And then what about the spiritual gifts that Jehovah showers upon us 00:05:58 —the benefits of that ransom sacrifice, 00:06:01 the holy spirit, God’s Word, 00:06:04 the Christian congregation, our marvelous Kingdom hope, 00:06:09 just to mention a few things? 00:06:12 It is only right that we thank Jehovah 00:06:15 for the things he has done, is doing, 00:06:19 and will yet do in the future. 00:06:21 As Paul said at Ephesians 5:20, 00:06:24 we should be “always giving thanks to our God and Father 00:06:29 for everything.” 00:06:31 But now, let’s move to praise. 00:06:34 Praise is a noble, exalted form of prayer, 00:06:38 as we said before, closely related to thanksgiving. 00:06:41 We could look at it this way. 00:06:44 Thanksgiving—we thank Jehovah for the gifts he gives us; 00:06:48 praise—we thank Jehovah for being the God he is 00:06:52 and for the qualities he has that we appreciate so much. 00:06:56 See, one brother said that praise is “bragging on Jehovah.” 00:07:01 And that really harmonizes with what Paul said at 1 Corinthians 1:31: 00:07:06 “The one who boasts, 00:07:08 let him boast in Jehovah.” 00:07:11 Jehovah is above all others. 00:07:14 He is certainly deserving of praise. 00:07:18 Exodus 15:11 tells us this. 00:07:23 It says: “Who among the gods 00:07:26 “is like you, O Jehovah? 00:07:28 “Who is like you, showing yourself mighty in holiness? 00:07:33 “The One to be feared with songs of praise, 00:07:37 the One doing wonders.” 00:07:39 Yes, Jehovah is worthy 00:07:42 of our words in our songs of praise. 00:07:46 Well, there we have four types of prayer. 00:07:49 We mentioned petition, supplication, 00:07:52 thanksgiving, and praise. 00:07:55 And, obviously, we should endeavor to try to balance our prayers 00:08:00 using a combination of these different aspects of prayer. 00:08:05 Now, if we’re not especially careful, there’s a danger 00:08:09 that our prayers could become lopsided with petition. 00:08:14 Now that would not be good, would it? 00:08:16 In fact, I think of a survey 00:08:19 that the Awake! commented on in “Watching the World,” 00:08:23 a survey among people who prayed. 00:08:25 And among those who still pray, that survey showed 00:08:28 that for most of them, their prayers are only petitions. 00:08:33 And then it said that they view God 00:08:36 like a divine Santa Claus: 00:08:39 “Give me this. Give me that. 00:08:41 Help me with this. Do this for me.” 00:08:43 We wouldn’t want our prayers 00:08:45 to even slightly take on a selfish tenor like that. 00:08:49 And what probably is the weakest aspect of most prayers? 00:08:54 Probably praise. 00:08:56 If we’re not careful, our prayers 00:08:59 could lack sufficient praise for Jehovah. 00:09:02 And it would be sad because he is so deserving of praise. 00:09:06 Well, may we “persevere in prayer.” —Romans 12:12. 00:09:11 May we “pray constantly.” —1 Thessalonians 5:17. 00:09:16 And may we strive to keep our prayers balanced and heartfelt 00:09:21 —truly “worshipful address” to our heavenly Father. 00:09:26 And this will help us to draw close 00:09:29 and stay close 00:09:31 to our wonderful heavenly Father.
00:00:01 Now, my discussion is about 00:00:03 the miracle of prayer. 00:00:06 What is one of the foremost ways 00:00:09 we draw close to, we stay close to, Jehovah? 00:00:13 By means of prayer. 00:00:15 In prayer, we experience Jehovah’s love 00:00:19 in a truly intimate way. 00:00:22 The Watchtower some years ago made this comment: 00:00:26 “Be assured that through the miracle of prayer 00:00:29 Jehovah is able to listen to you.” 00:00:33 And that’s very appropriate —to describe prayer as a miracle. 00:00:37 Let’s think about it. 00:00:38 You can pray in any language, 00:00:41 even though according to some linguists 00:00:44 there are more than 6,800 languages spoken on the earth today. 00:00:48 Jehovah knows all those languages. 00:00:51 Now, we’re impressed if a person knows two or three languages. 00:00:55 Jehovah knows every language, and that includes 00:00:58 the, perhaps, 300 sign languages 00:01:02 being used on earth today, according to one encyclopedia. 00:01:06 Jehovah knows every sign language. 00:01:09 In fact, our prayer can be a silent prayer 00:01:12 uttered only in the privacy of our heart. 00:01:17 Amazingly, if a faithful servant of Jehovah 00:01:20 does not even know what to pray for 00:01:22 because of the perplexity of the situation 00:01:26 or his mental anguish, 00:01:28 according to Romans 8:26, 00:01:30 the holy spirit can, in effect, 00:01:34 formulate a prayer in his behalf. 00:01:37 Now, that is truly miraculous. 00:01:40 And as we know, Jehovah has not delegated 00:01:43 the hearing of a prayer to anyone —not even his Son. 00:01:46 Psalm 65:2 calls Jehovah 00:01:50 the “Hearer of prayer.” 00:01:52 And “Hearer” is singular. 00:01:54 But here’s a question: What is prayer? 00:01:57 Well, some have defined it as talking to Jehovah. 00:02:02 But is that really accurate? 00:02:04 Go to Genesis chapter 3, please. 00:02:08 Let’s use this scripture to answer that —if it’s just talking to Jehovah. 00:02:13 Genesis 3:9: 00:02:18 “And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: 00:02:23 ‘Where are you?’ 00:02:25 “Finally, he [Adam] said: 00:02:28 “‘I heard your voice in the garden, 00:02:31 but I was afraid because I was naked so I hid myself.’” 00:02:35 Well, clearly, Adam was talking to Jehovah, but it was not prayer. 00:02:40 And we have numerous other examples in the Bible. 00:02:44 So, appropriately, the Insight book defines prayer 00:02:48 as “worshipful address to the true God.” 00:02:52 And then it adds: “[It] involves devotion, trust, respect, 00:02:57 “and a sense of dependence 00:02:59 on the one to whom the prayer is directed.” 00:03:03 So that’s a very good point. 00:03:04 If we want Jehovah to view our prayer 00:03:07 as not just talking to him but truly prayer, 00:03:09 we’ve got to make sure it is worshipful address 00:03:13 and that we attach devotion, trust, 00:03:17 respect, a deep sense of dependence on Jehovah. 00:03:22 And, obviously, that would require that we prepare our hearts 00:03:26 before we pray to Jehovah. 00:03:29 Ezra 7:10—Ezra “prepared his heart.” 00:03:32 Well, we would do well to do the same. 00:03:34 But now, here’s another question, What are the different types of prayer? 00:03:39 Well, our publications have explained 00:03:41 that there are basically four types of prayer. 00:03:44 We have petition, supplication, 00:03:48 thanksgiving, and praise. 00:03:51 And if you boil it down even further, 00:03:53 you can say there are two types of prayer —petition and thanksgiving— 00:03:57 because supplication is really a form of petition 00:04:01 —just very deep petition, but petition. 00:04:04 And praise is a form of thanksgiving 00:04:08 —thanking Jehovah for being the God that he is. 00:04:12 But now, let’s briefly talk about these four categories of prayer 00:04:16 we can divide it into. 00:04:18 Take first, petition. 00:04:20 Just like it sounds, we’re asking —we’re requesting—of Jehovah. 00:04:25 And Jehovah encourages us to ask him for our needs. 00:04:29 At Matthew 7:7, Jesus said: 00:04:32 “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; 00:04:36 “keep on seeking, and you will find; 00:04:39 keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.” 00:04:42 And, of course, Jesus gives us things we can pray for 00:04:45 —our daily bread, forgiveness of our sins, 00:04:49 deliverance from the evil one as a few examples. 00:04:52 But now, let’s take supplication. 00:04:55 The Watchtower explains 00:04:57 that “the word means ‘earnest entreaty,’ . . . ‘beseeching prayer.’” 00:05:01 It involves imploring God very earnestly 00:05:05 as in time of great stress or peril. 00:05:09 If you want to think of a modern example of supplication, 00:05:14 think of a wife’s prayer 00:05:16 the night before her husband is executed 00:05:20 for keeping his integrity 00:05:22 —that would truly be supplication. 00:05:25 Now, let’s go to thanksgiving. 00:05:27 As it sounds, it’s the rendering of thanks to Jehovah. 00:05:31 And how voluminous are the things 00:05:35 for which we should express gratitude to Jehovah! 00:05:38 We think about all the material, or physical, gifts 00:05:42 that not only make life possible 00:05:46 but make it enjoyable. 00:05:48 ‘Every good gift and every perfect present comes from Jehovah.’ 00:05:52 —James 1:17. 00:05:54 And then what about the spiritual gifts that Jehovah showers upon us 00:05:58 —the benefits of that ransom sacrifice, 00:06:01 the holy spirit, God’s Word, 00:06:04 the Christian congregation, our marvelous Kingdom hope, 00:06:09 just to mention a few things? 00:06:12 It is only right that we thank Jehovah 00:06:15 for the things he has done, is doing, 00:06:19 and will yet do in the future. 00:06:21 As Paul said at Ephesians 5:20, 00:06:24 we should be “always giving thanks to our God and Father 00:06:29 for everything.” 00:06:31 But now, let’s move to praise. 00:06:34 Praise is a noble, exalted form of prayer, 00:06:38 as we said before, closely related to thanksgiving. 00:06:41 We could look at it this way. 00:06:44 Thanksgiving—we thank Jehovah for the gifts he gives us; 00:06:48 praise—we thank Jehovah for being the God he is 00:06:52 and for the qualities he has that we appreciate so much. 00:06:56 See, one brother said that praise is “bragging on Jehovah.” 00:07:01 And that really harmonizes with what Paul said at 1 Corinthians 1:31: 00:07:06 “The one who boasts, 00:07:08 let him boast in Jehovah.” 00:07:11 Jehovah is above all others. 00:07:14 He is certainly deserving of praise. 00:07:18 Exodus 15:11 tells us this. 00:07:23 It says: “Who among the gods 00:07:26 “is like you, O Jehovah? 00:07:28 “Who is like you, showing yourself mighty in holiness? 00:07:33 “The One to be feared with songs of praise, 00:07:37 the One doing wonders.” 00:07:39 Yes, Jehovah is worthy 00:07:42 of our words in our songs of praise. 00:07:46 Well, there we have four types of prayer. 00:07:49 We mentioned petition, supplication, 00:07:52 thanksgiving, and praise. 00:07:55 And, obviously, we should endeavor to try to balance our prayers 00:08:00 using a combination of these different aspects of prayer. 00:08:05 Now, if we’re not especially careful, there’s a danger 00:08:09 that our prayers could become lopsided with petition. 00:08:14 Now that would not be good, would it? 00:08:16 In fact, I think of a survey 00:08:19 that the Awake! commented on in “Watching the World,” 00:08:23 a survey among people who prayed. 00:08:25 And among those who still pray, that survey showed 00:08:28 that for most of them, their prayers are only petitions. 00:08:33 And then it said that they view God 00:08:36 like a divine Santa Claus: 00:08:39 “Give me this. Give me that. 00:08:41 Help me with this. Do this for me.” 00:08:43 We wouldn’t want our prayers 00:08:45 to even slightly take on a selfish tenor like that. 00:08:49 And what probably is the weakest aspect of most prayers? 00:08:54 Probably praise. 00:08:56 If we’re not careful, our prayers 00:08:59 could lack sufficient praise for Jehovah. 00:09:02 And it would be sad because he is so deserving of praise. 00:09:06 Well, may we “persevere in prayer.” —Romans 12:12. 00:09:11 May we “pray constantly.” —1 Thessalonians 5:17. 00:09:16 And may we strive to keep our prayers balanced and heartfelt 00:09:21 —truly “worshipful address” to our heavenly Father. 00:09:26 And this will help us to draw close 00:09:29 and stay close 00:09:31 to our wonderful heavenly Father.
