HOW DO WE PRAY?

by

ISKANDER JADEED

(Translated from Arabic)

THE GOOD WAY - RIKON - SWITZERLAND

CONTENTS

1. WHAT IS PRAYER? 3

2. HOW TO PRAY 5

3. HOW IS PRAYER PERFORMED? 9

4. HOW SHOULD PRAYER BE OFFERED? 11

5. WHERE SHALL~WE PRAY? 14

6. ARE THERE CONDITIONS FOR

ANSWERS TO PRAYER? 17

7. WHAT IS THE SECRET OF

PREVAILING PRAYER? 20

8. WHO GUIDES OUR PRAYER? 23

9. IN WHOSE NAME MUST PRAYER

BE OFFERED? 24

10. WHO IS OUR ADVOCATE? 26

11. WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS OF

ACCEPTABLE PRAYER? 28

12. HOW MANY OBLIGATORY PRAYER

TIMES MUST BE OBSERVED DAILY

AND WHERE? 30

RB 4665 E

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CH - 8486 RIKON (SUISSE)

1. WHAT IS PRAYER?

One of the great thinkers once said, "Prayer is the highest

and deepest natural manifestation of the soul, and it will

remain so as long as God wills." The natural disposition of

man to pray is evidenced by widespread use among all kinds

of people, no matter what their class, language or religion.

In its diverse forms and patterns as well as subject matter it

is practised at all times and in all places, even among the

most primitive nations.

Some people might become frustrated because they see

no answers or results to their prayers, and yet they do not

forsake prayer, because deep in themselves lies an in-

stinctive tendency to pray.

Perhaps inspired by this fact, Samuel Johnson, when

asked about the evidence which supports prayer, said,

"Prayer does not need proof outside itself because its

proofs are within. It is in the nature and function of man,

like breathing, eating and drinking, and he practises it as

part of his very being."

Ancient history tells us that the Greek world, which was

the cradle of civilization and philosophy, was full of the

spirit of prayer. Zerophar, the philosopher, used to begin

every day of his journeys with a word of prayer. Pericles

used to start every one of his speeches with prayer, and

Homer, the poet, began his famous poem with a word of

prayer. Plato said "Before he begins any work in life, every

intelligent person will seek help from God."

One of the proofs which illustrate that prayer is in-

stinctive in man and not acquired is that no matter how

much man grows and advances in civilization and science,

he never considers himself above the need to pray. On

the contrary, he still finds that prayer is necessary and

beneficial.

2. HOW TO PRAY?

Luke, the writer of the Gospel, tells us that Christ was

praying alone and "When he finished (prayer) one of his

disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray'." Maybe the

disciples realised there was a connection between the

wonderful life of their Master and prayer, so they came to

him asking him to teach them to pray. They could not

have done better than go to the Master. Jesus was an

experienced and successful teacher, and the successful

teacher is the one who teaches from his experiences. He did

not exhort them in what to do to reach their goal, but

showed them by example how to do so.

So by this method, which was full of experience, he

gave them a living pattern of prayer which contained

concise sentences suitable for expression before the throne

of Grace.

This pattern, simple in wording but deep in meaning is

called "The Lord's Prayer" in reference to the Lord who

taught it. It consists of the following:

a) Introduction

"Our Father in Heaven".

This exclamation places us in the position of the wonder-

ful relationship which the Lord Jesus came to establish

between us and the Father. It contains the secret of

redemption which is that Christ saves us from the curse so

that we become children of God. It contains also the secret

of regeneration, which is that the Holy Spirit by the new

birth gives us new life. There is in it also the secret of faith.

We understand from this introduction that prayer is the

fellowship of personal love between the one who prays

and the Lord God. The basis of its power and growth is the

knowledge of the Fatherhood of God revealed by the Holy

Spirit. So we must meditate long and profoundly upon

these words "Our Father in Heaven," until the Holy

Spirit makes them spirit and truth filling our hearts.

Then we speak to God in this way as from "inside the

curtain," in the sanctuary of secret power, where prayer can

avail much.

b) Three requests concerning God.

"Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will

be done."

The aim of the first request is that mankind should

sanctify the name of the Father in their hearts, their

thoughts, and with their tongues. The second request is a

natural result of the first. When the name of God is

sanctified in hearts, thoughts and by words, his authority is

spread abroad. The third request means the complete

surrender of man to God. The will of God is carried out in

heaven and Christ teaches us to pray, that God's will be

carried out on earth, as it is in heaven, in the spirit of

worship and complete obedience. The will of God is the

glory of heaven and its performance heaven's delight.

When this Will is carried out the Kingdom of God comes to

the heart.

c) Three requests concerning man.

The first deals with the needs of the body: "Give us today

our daily bread." Its purpose is to give to the body that

which is necessary for life, in order to make it possible for

man to carry out his spiritual duties.

The second request concerns forgiveness: "Forgive us

our debts." For even as bread is the first necessity of the

body, so the first necessity of the soul is forgiveness. For

truly, though we are children we are also sinners, and our

right to come to the Father is based on the blood of Christ

which obtained forgiveness for us.

The third request, "Lead us not into temptation, but

deliver us from the evil one," deals with sin and its

deceptions which draw us into temptation. This request

carries its own special obligation, because the one who

utters these words must flee from temptation.

d) Conclusion

This contains the reason for the whole prayer. We offer

it to God because He is King, that is, he has the power and

complete authority over the world and he has power to

answer these petitions. Glory is his and we ask these things

for his glory.

After explaining the pattern for prayer Christ

exhorted people to bring their requests to God. He said

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).

He followed the exhortation with the definite assurance

that whoever asks will receive, and he who seeks will find. It

is as if the Lord wanted to impress upon our minds the fact

that prayer has an unchangeable law; namely that whoever

asks receives.

If one asks and does not receive it means something is

hindering his prayers. This may be lack of assurance

that God is near those who call upon him. It might be a

state of doubt in the mind of the one who prays, since he

who doubts cannot possibly receive anything from God.

There may be the hindrance of sin which the one who

prays has not confessed to God, for sin veils the face of God

from man.

Prayer may fail when the one who prays asks for wrong

things, as James said "When you ask, you do not receive,

because you ask with wrong motives." It also may fail

because it is offered as religious duty and not out of love

and longing for God.

3. HOW IS PRAYER PERFORMED?

In his conversation with the Samaritan woman the

Lord Jesus said that the Heavenly Father seeks wor-

shippers and it pleases him when we worship him, on

condition our worship is in spirit and in truth. He said,

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true

worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for

they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is

spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in

truth" (John 4:23-24). Christ means here that there must

be agreement between God and those who worship him.

As the eye is fitted to receive light, and as the ear is made to

receive sound, so the worshipper who wants to enjoy

spiritual worship must be adjusted inwardly to receive the

Holy Spirit. Then the Spirit intercedes in him and his

worship is in spirit and truth.

Perhaps Christ wanted to teach us that the requirements

of the New Testament worshippers are quite different from

those of the Jews or Samaritans in the Old Testament.

Worship for the Jew was based on "the letter of the law."

The worship of the Samaritan was subject to many

delusions. Christian worship, however, is in the spirit,

that is, in contrast to Jewish worship and Samaritan

thinking.

Actually the manner of worship which Christ laid down

is logical and free from traditional rites which accompa-

nied the Old Testament worship. In other words true

Christians worship God, not according to the rites of

Mosaic Law, but according to spiritual precepts which

place less importance on bodily practises. It is full of divine

power and activity.

Surely, nothing encourages worship more than this

verse, "For they are the kind of worshippers the Father

seeks." For if the spirit seeks to meet its God, from whom it

came, God also, who sent the spirit, seeks to meet it in

worship.

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4. HOW SHOULD PRAYER BE OFFERED?

Jesus, after he had given his disciples a living pattern for

prayer, gave them another lesson to teach them that prayer

should be offered out of a real thirst and desire for God.

He illustrated this by means of a parable known as the

parable of the "importune friend." He said, "Suppose one

of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and

says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a

friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have

nothing to set before him.' Then the one inside answers,

'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my

children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you

anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him

the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's

persistence he will get up and give him as much as he

needs" (Luke 11:5-8). In another parable he taught that

men ought always to pray and not to faint. He said, "In a

certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor

cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who

kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice

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against my adversary.' For some time he refused, but

finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or

care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering

me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't

eventually wear me out with her coming!' And the Lord

said, 'Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not

God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to

him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell

you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.'"

We learn from these two parables that there is a great

difference between mere repetition of words in prayer and

importunity. The prophet Isaiah said, "You who call on

the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till

he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the

earth" (Isaiah 62:6-7).

Jesus, in both parables, praises importunity and firm-

ness of purpose, as if he wants to impress his word on our

minds: "He who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and

he who knocks it will be opened to him."

The parable of the "importunate friend" teaches us

important lessons of the faith which works by love. The

man went at midnight to ask bread for another. Pleading

for another is a very admirable act because it stimulates in

us the power of faith and urges us to effective prayer.

The prayer of intercession for others is the best mode of

prayer for it invokes the name of the living Christ to do his

work at the throne of God.

In the parable of the importunate widow, Christ teaches

us that perseverance in prayer is among the things which

God demands of us, and God cannot ignore the petitions

of his own. If the importunity of the widow overcame the

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unwillingness of the judge, how much more effective will

be the prayers of God's elect to their heavenly Father,

whose mercy is great.

We learn also that the purposes of God might move

slowly, but God has an appointed time, according to his

wisdom, in which to answer. He might delay his answers to

prayer because he wishes to rouse in us expectancy and

strengthen hope.

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5. WHERE SHALL WE PRAY?

The Gospel teaches us that Christ's coming freed

worship from traditions which restricted it to special

places where people were obliged to come at appointed

times. Christ said to the Samaritan woman, "Woman,

believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the

Father neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem"

(John 4:21). He told this woman, who had asked him

where they should worship, that it was neither on Mount

Nablus nor on Mount Jerusalem. He desired to make her

understand that God fills all of space so that we can

worship him wherever we are.

Christ stressed the importance of individual prayer in

private. He said, "But when you pray, go into your room,

close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will

reward you" (Matthew 6:6).

The purpose of this privacy is to provide the suppliant

with a quiet place where he can be alone with his Heavenly

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Father. Surely when we meditate on the subject of prayer,

in the light of the Sermon on the Mount, we see that the

Lord Jesus pictured the private place of prayer as filled

with the Light of God the Father. We note that he repeated

the name "Father" three times, for he said "Pray to your

Father", "Your Father will reward you" and "Your Father

knows what you need."

A private place is the place of quiet and calm where the

believer enjoys meeting his Heavenly Father. The light

which shines there, is a life-giving light and the inspiring

atmosphere, which fills it, is the breath of the Holy Spirit,

who pours God's love into our hearts. The Lord Jesus

taught "Go into your room, shut the door and pray," as if

by this precaution he desired the suppliant to pray in

secret and not be like the hypocrites who loved to stand

and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners to be

seen by men (Matthew 6:5). They desired to have the praise

of men rather than that of God, but the divine Teacher said

"Shut the door." Shut it to keep out the world and find

seclusion with the Father who awaits your coming with

longing.

A philosopher has said, "When you shut your door and

are alone in your room, do not say to yourself'I am alone'

but remember that God is there."

The Lord's teaching "Enter into your room and shut the

door" does not mean that being alone with God is only

possible behind a shut door. It means, rather, that the one

who prays should look for some secluded and quiet place

in which to worship, possibly a field as Jacob did, or

beneath a fig tree as Nathaniel, or on the roof-top as Peter,

or on the mountain as Jesus so often did.

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"Pray to your Father, who is unseen," said Jesus, the

Teacher of prayer. He wants us to understand that God is

not seen by the physical eye, but by the eye of faith. His

light shines in the heart of every worshipper who, detached

from the world, surrenders to the leadership of the Spirit of

Christ who brings him into the very presence of God.

The secret, the shut door, and detachment from things

around us, are only a means to prepare a quiet and holy

sanctuary where we can meditate deeply on the perfection

of God and his love which takes the role of Fatherhood.

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6. ARE THERE CONDITIONS FOR

ANSWERS TO PRAYER?

The Lord Jesus said, "If you remain in me and my words

remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given

you" (John 15:7). The Apostle John said, "Dear friends, if

our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before

God and receive from him anything we ask, because we

obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is

his command to "believe in the name of his Son, Jesus

Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us" (I

John 3:21-23).

In the world the power and influence of any mediator

depends on his personality and his relationship with the

person with whom he is mediating. So it is with God where

the answer to prayer depends on the Person of Jesus

Christ, who is the only Mediator and whose condition for

mediating on our behalf is that we "remain in him and his

word remains in us."

The Lord Jesus explained this "remain" in the parable

of the vine, where he says, "I am the true vine and my

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Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that

bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he

trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful. You are

already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can

bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can

you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you

are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he

will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing"

(John 15:1-5).

True believers are branches in Christ, who is the true

vine, and for them it is possible to have prayer answered.

Indeed, it is expected of the believer that he should remain

in Christ, keep his commandments, and walk in perfect

obedience in heart and life. Then he can pray in right-

eousness and the Lord will grant his supplications.

Some wonder why they fail to have this blessed life, the

life of the branch remaining in the vine. They should

consider the important words in the parable of the vine,

where the Lord Jesus says, "I AM the true vine and my

Father is the gardener... you are the branches." This

means that we have the Glorious Son, in the fullness of his

divinity, and the Father who watches over us as branches,

observing the growth of each branch. If we neglect to

remain connected to the vine, our divine growth will be

hindered, thus limiting our fruitfulness. The Gardener will

surely take his pruning knife to cleanse us.

The Bible gives us examples of the power of prayer in

the lives of Abraham, Moses and Elijah and mentions the

fruitfulness of their lives. When we consider their lives we

find that before they obtained these privileges and bles-

18

sings they accepted the Lord's discipline with joy and

obeyed his commands by separating from the world,

which is Satan's realm.

So, my friend, if you desire to receive the privilege of

being a man of prayer, submit to the divine Gardener when

he applies the pruning knife to your life. Do not be afraid

of anything, for the "knife" is the Word of God, as Christ

says, "You are already made clean by the word which I

have spoken to you" and according to Christ's prayer of

intercession which says "Sanctify them by the truth; Your

word is truth."

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7. WHAT IS THE SECRET OF PREVAILING

PRAYER?

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered, "I tell you the

truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself

into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes

that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"

(Mark 11:23-24). These are wonderful words assuring us

that faith is the secret of prevailing prayer, which moves

the heart of God. The Lord gives us two basic elements

essential for prayer:

a) The desire of the heart

The prophet Jeremiah said "You will seek me and find

me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah

29:12). The heart's desire is the spirit of prayer and if the

desire is weak the prayer is bound to be weak also. A

believer may have true desires for spiritual blessings, but

20

still has worldly desires which take the first place. Such a

person cannot expect power in his prayer, because he is not

abiding by the command of the Lord which says, "But seek

first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these

things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

b) Faith

"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have

received it." By faith we know God, by faith we receive the

Lord Jesus, by faith we live the victorious life. Likewise

by faith we have the life of prayer and the power of prayer.

We need to learn afresh what faith is and begin to live by

faith, and pray in faith.

"Have faith in God," said the Lord when he spoke

about the faith which moves mountains, and which he

gives to his disciples of every age. By this faith the early

Christians did miraculous works, healed the sick, and cast

out demons. These works are in fact moving of mountains.

If we long for the life of prayer and intercession, where

there is joy and power and blessing, we must learn anew

what faith is, for faith deals with God and takes him at

his word.

Faith accepts an answer from God before actually seeing

it. Faith sees the invisible. This seems strange, but it is at

the heart of prayer. The blessing of heaven, God's answer

to prayer, is spiritually understood before being seen

by the eye. Faith does this, and the soul which seeks God

and his answer, will be given the assurance that the things

it has asked for will be given, according to Christ's words,

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"Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and

the door will be opened to you."

Christ said, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe

that you have received it, and it will be yours." This is a

word of assurance to the one who prays, that the Heavenly

Father hears the prayers of faith and gives the answer.

Begin in faith, my friend, even if it is weak. Begin the new

life of prayer and you will be assured that you have

obtained grace in Christ. This grace will lead you, step by

step, to be faithful in prayer. Expect the Holy Spirit to

work within your heart. It is God who said, "Before they

call I will answer; and while they are still speaking I will

hear" (Isaiah 65:24). He will do as he has said.

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8. WHO GUIDES OUR PRAYER?

We read in Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Spirit

helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought

to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans

that words cannot express." And in Ephesians 6:18 we

read, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds

of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and

always keep on praying for all the saints."

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer, the Spirit of grace

and supplication which is poured into the believer's heart.

The Bible says, "He intercedes for the saints according to

the will of God in Spirit and in Truth."

Prayer in its essence is the expression of the Holy Spirit

in us. Wait on him, trust him and believe in him.

Disappointment and failure in prayer comes from lack of

submission to the guidance of the Spirit. Right and

prevailing prayer depends on the extent to which we are

filled by the Holy Spirit.

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9. IN WHOSE NAME MUST PRAYER

BE OFFERED?

Jesus said, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name,

so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask

me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John

14:13-14). Jesus desires us to trust absolutely in the power

of his name, to which all must bend the knee, and in Him

all prayer is answered.

There is a truth we must understand, that prayer in the

name of Christ does not mean uttering his name at the

beginning and at the end of prayer. It means the believer

should pray in the Spirit of Christ and through his merit

and Person.

The words, "If you ask anything in my name I will do it,"

mean that if we pray to the Father, Christ will answer in his

name and authority. Believers pray in Christ's name and

he works in the Father's name.

In fact when a person believes, he thinks first of the

worthiness of Christ and his intercession which is the

basis of our faith. However, when he grows in grace and

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knowledge of Christ, he enters into a deep union with him.

The result is that he learns prayer in the name of Christ

which is prayer in the Spirit of Christ. In other words,

union with Christ gives us fellowship in his nature and then

there is in us the power of his prayer.

He said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in

you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given unto you."

This means the believer, in whose heart Christ lives, can

enjoy all power inherent in Christ's name. This is not

surprising for Jesus taught us that prayer, and especially

prayer in his name, is to pray as he did, and to pray in

union with him.

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10. WHO IS OUR ADVOCATE?

Christ taught us how to pray and through his divine

words we know the meaning of prayer in his name. There

remains only for us to know Christ in his power as an

advocate and intercessor.

He ended his farewell message to his disciples with a

prayer of intercession, with which he sealed all his past

works. Then he interceded for his own, saying, "I pray for

them... keep them in Thy Name... Sanctify them in the

Truth."

No doubt this prayer is a sample of his intercession in

heaven. Inspired by this truth the apostle Paul said,

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to

God through him, because he always lives to intercede for

them" (Hebrews 7:25).

We understand from this verse that he still continues his

work of salvation in heaven, as he did on earth, in

continual fellowship with the Father, and in direct inter-

cession before him. Every work of grace in Christ is always

26

preceded by his intercession and every blessing descen-

ding on us from above carries the divine imprint which

comes through the intercession and advocacy of Christ.

Without doubt the advocacy of Christ is the fruit of the

atonement and its glory. When he gave himself to ransom

humanity, he had one goal: the glory of God in their

salvation. By his intercession, this goal is realised, for God

is glorified in the salvation of the most evil sinner, whose

life becomes a living praise to God's glory.

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11. WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS OF

ACCEPTABLE PRAYER?

There are certain conditions for prayer to be acceptable,

or there would be no value in it. Most important of these

conditions are the following:

1. Prayer must come from the heart. The Lord, who

searches the hearts, is in no need for words or outward

appearances. Prayer which is not from the heart does not

please God, and he does not accept it.

2. It must be reverent, and in keeping with his un-

bounded greatness and holiness, his knowledge and

power. Since his divine will is the basic element in every

true religion — even as it is among all those who know

God and glorifiy his holy name and worship him with the

reverence of the angels in heaven — we must not come to

him with words lacking in reverence.

3. It must be in humility, seeing we are unworthy

because of our depravity and uncleanliness in God's sight.

We must therefore follow the example of Isaiah the

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prophet who said, "Woe unto me, for I am undone. I am a

man of unclean lips."

4. It must be in a spirit of complete surrender to God.

Whoever surrenders himself to God, and whatever his

request may be, let him say, "Lord, not my will but Thine."

If a child knows he must commit his affairs to his earthly

father, how much more must we submit our wills to our

Heavenly Father, who alone knows what is good for us?

5. It must be in faith, because only the prayer of faith is

effective before God. A doubter cannot receive anything

from God. The suppliant has to believe that:

I) God exists.

II) God is able to hear and answer prayer.

3. God loves to answer.

4. God will surely answer if our prayer is according

to his will and for our own good.

6. The suppliant must seek the glory of God, and not his

own. Nor must he seek personal ambitions, resulting from

greed.

7. Prayer must be in the name of Christ, who is

proclaimed by the Holy Scripture to be the one and only

mediator and advocate of man.

h) Prayer must be in accord with God's purpose and

claims.

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12. HOW MANY OBLIGATORY PRAYER

TIMES MUST BE OBSERVED

DAILY AND WHERE?

In the Jewish Talmud it is forbidden for a person to

pray more than three times a day, as God is weary of

prayer every hour. But Christ, who came from God,

taught, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint"

(Luke 18:1). Of course he did not mean that we are to pray

for twenty-four hours a day on our knees, but that we

should never tire of prayer.

As for the number of times for prayer, the Bible does not

specify and limit it but we have many examples of men of

prayer. Daniel, the prophet, used to pray in the morning,

at noon and in the evening. David said, "Seven times a day

I praise you for your righteous laws" (Psalm 119:164).

The Gospel tells us that the Lord Jesus used to rise very

early in the morning and go to some lonely place to pray

(Mark 1:35). When we consider the lives of men of prayer

outside the Bible, we note that most found the early hours

of the morning, that is before the day's work, the best time

for prayer. No doubt the early morning is the best time for

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spiritual meditation. At that time our spirits are active and

alert. It is best always to give the Lord the first fruits of

our time.

A saint once said, "Morning is the door of the day. It is

good to guard it by prayer." Another said, "Morning is

one of the cords which binds our daily activities, so it is

good to bind it well with prayer."

The religion of the Gospel does not limit prayer to

special times, but leaves it to the desires of the heart. He

whose heart is joined to the Lord, prays and is not weary of

doing so. His prayer may not be one of words to praise the

Lord, but it can still be an activity which glorifies God.

Prayer, as understood from God's word is a state rather

than a form. It is the Spirit more than words, and a

fellowship with God in love, more than a religious duty.

It is true Christ gave his disciples a living pattern of

prayer but it is not a mould into which prayer can be poured

and become rigid. He intended it to be a starting point for

prayer to germinate and spread. When he gave them this

pattern he said, "Pray then, like this" which is to say, in the

Spirit.

31

QUIZ:

HOW DO WE PRAY?

Dear Friend, After reading this booklet answer the

following questions carefully. If 9 of your answers are right

we will send you another booklet out of the series,

"Comparisons between the Gospel and the Koran." When

you have finished 9 of the booklets we will send you a

certificate entitled, "Knowledge in the Bible Compared

with the Koran."

Questions:

1. Is prayer a natural tendency in a person or is it usually

done for the purpose of gain?

2. What is prayer and what does it mean?

3. How should our inward attitude be before God when

we pray?

4. How often must we pray?

5. Where should we pray?

6. What are the conditions for acceptable prayer?

7. What is the secret of effective prayer?

8. What can the reason be for unanswered prayer?

9. What does it mean to pray in the Name of Christ?

10. What is the service of Christ in heaven?

11. What must a worshipper believe when he prays?

12. How can we overcome laziness in our prayers?

Please don't forget to write your full name and address at

the end of your test. DO NOT write other remarks on your

test paper, but on a separate sheet. We are waiting for your

answer.

THE GOOD WAY P.O.BOX 66

CH - 8486 RIKON (SUISSE)

THE GOOD WAY

CH-8486 RIKON/P.O.BOX 66

SWITZERLAND

COMPARISONS BETWEEN

THE GOSPEL AND THE QURAN

Key for languages: A = Arabic/E = English/F = French

U = Urdu/M = Malayalam/B = Bengali

I = Indonesian

A.) GOD, CHRIST AND TRINITY

GOD IS ONE —

IN THE HOLY TRINITY

B. Zachariah

82

3,—

A/E

M/B

DID GOD APPEAR IN

THE FLESH?

I. Jadeed

48

2,—

A/E/M

THE PERSON OF CHRIST

IN THE GOSPEL AND

THE QURAN

I. Jadeed

72

3,—

A/E

U/M/I

GOD AND CHRIST

I. Jadeed

48

2,—

A/E

WHAT DO YOU THINK

ABOUT CHRIST?

Abd al Masih

24

1,—

M/B

A/E

HOW CAN WE KNOW THE

TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL?

I. Jadeed

24

1,—

A

B.) SALVATION

SIN AND ATONEMENT IN

ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY

I. Jadeed

48

2,—

A/E

U/M

HOW CAN YOU BE SAVED,

OMAN?

(Part 2 of Mizaan ul Haqq)

C. G. Pfander

136

4,—

A/E/M

Table of Contents

How Do We Pray?