Prayer is the one act every scripture here takes for granted. None of them argues for it. They show people doing it, and they are clear about three things: who is addressed, what is said, and what the body does.
Who we address
One, and no one else. The first of the ten words given at Sinai settles it.
"You shall have no other gods before me.
The Messiah tells his followers to go into a room, shut the door, and pray to the Lord God in secret, and not to pile up words as though length were the point (Matthew 6:6–7). Then he gives them the words to open with, addressing Him alone (Matthew 6:9).
The Lord God revealed it in the Psalms as an instruction to a whole people: trust in Him at all times, pour out your heart before Him (Psalm 62:8). And the Lord God revealed to us in the Recitation that He is near enough to hear it without help.
And when My servants ask you concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.
Chapter 40 has Him say it as a command with a promise attached: call upon Me, I will respond to you (The Recitation 40:60). And the opening chapter says, in the plural, what every prayer is doing: it is You we worship and You we ask for help (The Recitation 1:5).
So nothing is prayed to but the Lord God. Not a prophet, not an angel, not a saint, not a mother. The Recitation records the Messiah himself disowning any such thing (The Recitation 5:116–117), and an angel in the Revelation refusing worship and telling John to worship God instead (Revelation 22:8–9).
What we say
The scriptures are full of prayers already said, and they are the best place to learn from.
Abraham falls on his face when the Lord God speaks to him (Genesis 17:3). Moses argues for a people who had just disgraced themselves (Exodus 32:11). David asks for a clean heart and a right spirit (Psalm 51:10).
The Messiah teaches a short prayer with no flattery in it: that His name be kept holy, His will be done, bread for today, forgiveness in the measure we forgive, and to be kept out of harm (Matthew 6:9–13). In the garden he prays the hardest line of all: not what I desire, but what you desire (Matthew 26:39).
The Recitation opens with a prayer of seven signs, and it is the one most often said in the world.
Praise is to The God, Lord of the worlds -
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path -
Praise, then a confession of dependence, then one request. That is the pattern in all of them.
What the body does
Prayer is not only thinking. In every one of these books, people put themselves on the floor.
Abram falls on his face (Genesis 17:3). Moses and Aaron fall on their faces (Numbers 16:22). The Messiah, in the garden, falls on his face and prays (Matthew 26:39). And the Recitation gives the posture as an instruction.
O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good - that you may succeed.
Standing, bowing, prostrating. The same three movements appear in the Torah, in the Gospel and in the Recitation, done by the same kind of people for the same reason. Chapter 17 adds a note on the voice: not loud, not silent, somewhere between (The Recitation 17:110).
Four plain things to take away
- Address Him, and only Him (Exodus 20:3, The Recitation 1:5).
- Keep it short and honest. He is not persuaded by volume (Matthew 6:7).
- Use the prayers already given when your own words run out (Psalm 51, Matthew 6:9–13, The Recitation 1).
- Let the body join in. Bow. Put your forehead on the ground (The Recitation 22:77, Matthew 26:39).
He says He is near and that He answers (The Recitation 2:186). Perhaps the only thing left is to begin.
If you would like the words and the movements set out in order, they are on the prayer page.
Questions people might ask
Do I need special words?
No. The Messiah said not to pile up words (Matthew 6:7). The Lord God revealed to us in the Recitation that He is near and answers the one who calls (The Recitation 2:186). Speak plainly.
Can I pray to a prophet or a saint to pass my prayer on?
No. The first of the ten words says you shall have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3). Every prayer on this site is addressed to the Lord God alone.
How do different people pray?
The Prayer page has it step by step: the Children of Israel, the followers of the Messiah, and those who submit, with the verses each one stands on.
