Aquila
10-04-2013, 11:06 AM
I’ve been greatly inspired while studying Islam. Many things in Islam are indeed beautiful. One thing that I found extremely beautiful was their devotion to prayer. The devout Muslim turns towards Mecca and prays five times a day at set times. They have a complicated ritual of cleansing and recitation that most Westerners find a bit tedious and mind numbing (at least I do). But their devotion to the five daily prayers is essential to being a Muslim. I find this commendable. They indeed are a people of prayer. As a Christian, I felt myself humbled at this devotion. They do not believe what I believe regarding Jesus, yet they will stop at nothing to fulfill the daily prayers prescribed by their faith. I began asking… do I pray enough?
The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Thus, we are to always be in a prayerful state of mind wherein we’re always considering the Holy. However, I must admit, there are periods of time wherein my “prayer life” was rather void of actual dedicated and focused prayer. While contemplating the Islamic devotion to prayer and studying the Bible, I came across some interesting information.
In the Old Testament we read about the hours of “oblation” (Daniel 9:21, II Kings 16:15). We also read that Daniel prayed 3 times a day (Daniel 6:10). In the Psalms we read how the Psalmist rejoiced in that God heard his prayers as he prayed three times a day (Psalm 55:17). These customary prayers that developed in Judaism are:
1.Shacharit, or Shaharit, from the Hebrew shachar or shahar "morning light,"
2.Mincha or Minha, the afternoon prayers named for the flour offering that accompanied sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem,
3.Arvit, or Maariv, from "nightfall."
But what about the NT and the Church?
Interestingly we read about how the 120 were gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem for prayer during the “3rd hour’ when God poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3, 15). We also read how it was customary for early Christians to enter the temple at the Jewish “hour of prayer” (Acts 3:1). In Acts 10 we read about Cornelius being in prayer at the “ninth hour” and how that Peter was in prayer at the “sixth hour”.
So we have both OT and NT descriptions of the following hours of prayer. Here is what they are and what times they compare to in our current times:
3rd Hour - 8 A.M. to 9 A.M.
6th Hour - 11 A.M. to 12 Noon
9th Hour - 2 P.M. to 3 P.M.
Interestingly, these hours correspond with the three hours of prayer in Judaism. Essentially… the early church continued the Jewish times of prayer. After all, most were Jewish converts to Christ.
But even more interestingly, these times appear to be a memorial in time that symbolically represent the Atonement provided by Christ’s sufferings and His death upon the cross. Perhaps they are prophetic in nature. You see Jesus, our supreme sacrifice, was crucified in the third hour of the day (Mark 15:25). His witness of "darkness at noon day" occurred in the sixth hour (Mark 15:33-34; Matthew 27:45). Finally at the time of the evening oblation being the ninth hour Jesus gave up the ghost and died for the sins of the world (Luke 23:44-46). Could the very times of Jewish prayer be linked to prophetic fulfillments in the sacrifice of Jesus??? It’s an interesting thought. When praying at these times… the early church was honoring Christ’s suffering, Christ’s testimony, and Christ’s death upon the cross. Day in and day out… the early Christians were praying in honor of the Lamb of God three times a day.
Muslims also pray facing Mecca. However, Jesus was rejected by the Samaritans because He set His face towards Jerusalem,
“52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ~ Luke 9:52-54 (ESV)
I wonder if the early church customarily faced Jerusalem during their times of prayer. I’ll have to study it out.
The prayer… Jesus said that we are to pray after this manner…
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
While Jesus also warned of falling into “vain repetitions”, Jesus clearly gives an example of the “ideal prayer”. What better prayer to pray and meditate upon than the prayer of the Lord Himself??? The Didache describes that early Christians prayed this prayer three times a day (morning, noon, and evening). Again… during the most ancient hours of prayer and oblation established long before the time of Daniel.
Must one pray three times a day? Must one pray facing Jerusalem? Must one pray the Lord’s Prayer? I don’t want to approach it legalistically. Certainly God knows the heart and calling of each of His children. However, would God condemn a Christian who dedicated themselves to praying as the early church did??? I think not. In fact… I believe God would bless the devotion of such a saint. The exact time of prayer need not be approached legalistically… but if one can pray during the morning hours, the noon hours, and in the evening hours… would this not be beneficial spiritually? If one wanted to pray the Lord’s Prayer or simply pray in their own words… would that not be beneficial spiritually? If one wanted to face towards Jerusalem or perhaps their place of worship… would that not be beneficial with regards to meditation and devotion? Certainly we are admonished to pray and even to sing psalms and hymns. What if one wanted to pray the Shepherd’s Psalm or read a Psalm as part of this devotion? No amount of getting into the Word and meditating on the Holy can be of harm. In fact… I believe Satan fears ANY attempt to establish a regular prayer life.
The Bible says that sometimes the children of this world are more wise than the children of the Kingdom. Maybe the Muslims are on to something. In fact… maybe they borrowed their devotion from the example of the early church.
What are some of your thoughts???
The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Thus, we are to always be in a prayerful state of mind wherein we’re always considering the Holy. However, I must admit, there are periods of time wherein my “prayer life” was rather void of actual dedicated and focused prayer. While contemplating the Islamic devotion to prayer and studying the Bible, I came across some interesting information.
In the Old Testament we read about the hours of “oblation” (Daniel 9:21, II Kings 16:15). We also read that Daniel prayed 3 times a day (Daniel 6:10). In the Psalms we read how the Psalmist rejoiced in that God heard his prayers as he prayed three times a day (Psalm 55:17). These customary prayers that developed in Judaism are:
1.Shacharit, or Shaharit, from the Hebrew shachar or shahar "morning light,"
2.Mincha or Minha, the afternoon prayers named for the flour offering that accompanied sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem,
3.Arvit, or Maariv, from "nightfall."
But what about the NT and the Church?
Interestingly we read about how the 120 were gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem for prayer during the “3rd hour’ when God poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3, 15). We also read how it was customary for early Christians to enter the temple at the Jewish “hour of prayer” (Acts 3:1). In Acts 10 we read about Cornelius being in prayer at the “ninth hour” and how that Peter was in prayer at the “sixth hour”.
So we have both OT and NT descriptions of the following hours of prayer. Here is what they are and what times they compare to in our current times:
3rd Hour - 8 A.M. to 9 A.M.
6th Hour - 11 A.M. to 12 Noon
9th Hour - 2 P.M. to 3 P.M.
Interestingly, these hours correspond with the three hours of prayer in Judaism. Essentially… the early church continued the Jewish times of prayer. After all, most were Jewish converts to Christ.
But even more interestingly, these times appear to be a memorial in time that symbolically represent the Atonement provided by Christ’s sufferings and His death upon the cross. Perhaps they are prophetic in nature. You see Jesus, our supreme sacrifice, was crucified in the third hour of the day (Mark 15:25). His witness of "darkness at noon day" occurred in the sixth hour (Mark 15:33-34; Matthew 27:45). Finally at the time of the evening oblation being the ninth hour Jesus gave up the ghost and died for the sins of the world (Luke 23:44-46). Could the very times of Jewish prayer be linked to prophetic fulfillments in the sacrifice of Jesus??? It’s an interesting thought. When praying at these times… the early church was honoring Christ’s suffering, Christ’s testimony, and Christ’s death upon the cross. Day in and day out… the early Christians were praying in honor of the Lamb of God three times a day.
Muslims also pray facing Mecca. However, Jesus was rejected by the Samaritans because He set His face towards Jerusalem,
“52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ~ Luke 9:52-54 (ESV)
I wonder if the early church customarily faced Jerusalem during their times of prayer. I’ll have to study it out.
The prayer… Jesus said that we are to pray after this manner…
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
While Jesus also warned of falling into “vain repetitions”, Jesus clearly gives an example of the “ideal prayer”. What better prayer to pray and meditate upon than the prayer of the Lord Himself??? The Didache describes that early Christians prayed this prayer three times a day (morning, noon, and evening). Again… during the most ancient hours of prayer and oblation established long before the time of Daniel.
Must one pray three times a day? Must one pray facing Jerusalem? Must one pray the Lord’s Prayer? I don’t want to approach it legalistically. Certainly God knows the heart and calling of each of His children. However, would God condemn a Christian who dedicated themselves to praying as the early church did??? I think not. In fact… I believe God would bless the devotion of such a saint. The exact time of prayer need not be approached legalistically… but if one can pray during the morning hours, the noon hours, and in the evening hours… would this not be beneficial spiritually? If one wanted to pray the Lord’s Prayer or simply pray in their own words… would that not be beneficial spiritually? If one wanted to face towards Jerusalem or perhaps their place of worship… would that not be beneficial with regards to meditation and devotion? Certainly we are admonished to pray and even to sing psalms and hymns. What if one wanted to pray the Shepherd’s Psalm or read a Psalm as part of this devotion? No amount of getting into the Word and meditating on the Holy can be of harm. In fact… I believe Satan fears ANY attempt to establish a regular prayer life.
The Bible says that sometimes the children of this world are more wise than the children of the Kingdom. Maybe the Muslims are on to something. In fact… maybe they borrowed their devotion from the example of the early church.
What are some of your thoughts???