The Place of Prayer in an Age of Grace

Within Christendom there is a wide variety of teaching on prayer. Anyone who has studied this subject from the pages of the New Testament will not be surprised by this. As we progress through the Scriptures we find different teaching on prayer, and we find different promises associated with prayer. Indeed, at times we find no promises associated with prayer!

 

In the Gospels, and in the letters written to the Jewish Christians of the Acts period (Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation), we find a definiteness associated with prayer. We find promises and we find the word “will” associated with prayer. If we base our prayer expectations upon such passages as these, not only may we be disappointed, we can become judgmental – of ourselves and of others. We begin to think that our prayers are not answered because we don’t seek His kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), or because the people praying are not right with God (James 5:16). We may be wiser basing our prayer expectations on those parts of Scripture written for Gentiles living in this age of grace.

 

That is what this publication seeks to do, and it does so by a series of questions and answers based upon the last seven letters of Paul; Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians, Titus, 1 & 2 Timothy. These were the letters Paul wrote after Acts 28:25-28, after the nation of Israel had lost its central position in God’s plan, and after God had turned to the Gentiles, independently of Israel. In these letters we have essential teaching on prayer for this age of grace in which we live.

 

The first part of the book contains over 80 questions on the prayers in Paul’s later letters. These are ideal for personal meditation or for group discussion. The second part consists of suggested answers to those questions which the individual can consider or the group discuss.