To recap, in our study of Old Covenant prayer, we learned that “palal” means “to fall down before the one who has authority, to entreat Him to make a judgment so that He will take action to bring about a wonder or a miracle that will restore the person or situation for which he/she pleads to a life that is pleasant and righteous. This wonder will lead to “tefillah”, the purpose of prayer, i.e., the focus on God Himself.”
Why do we “fall down”? Falling down is more than bowing down. It is an act of desperation and recognition, acknowledging both that God is the only one who can make a judgment and act on it in response to our plea, and humility, acknowledging who we are before Him.
Who is the “authority” before whom we fall?
Jesus revealed that, in the New Covenant, God is our Father. We no longer approach Him as slaves to a Master who requires strict obedience to His rules. We approach God as children to a Father whom we trust because He loves us and has done everything to reconcile us to Himself. He has opened the way into His presence by offering His Son as a sacrifice for our sin.
What is the “judgment” for which we entreat Him?
Since Jesus insisted that the Father knows our needs before we ask Him, and that He meets our needs as we seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, we must determine what His judgments are in relation to “His kingdom and His righteousness”.
The judgments for which we plead, then, relate to His kingdom, i.e., the issues that arise as we follow Jesus and live under His authority, and His righteousness, (generosity), the ways in which we show our love to Him by loving His children. Since these are the only two commandments in the New Covenant…
1 John 3:23 NLT
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”
…our real needs arise from these two requirements. Needs drive us to seek His judgments and are, therefore, His way of keeping us connected to Him. Our mandate to manage the earth can only happen through continually seeking Him “for a judgment”.
God’s promises are His judgments which take care of every issue that arises in our quest to live “pleasant and righteous lives” as His children in His kingdom.
2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT
[3] “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. [4] And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”
Encapsulated in the work of Jesus is the guarantee that He stands surety for every promise God has ever made.
2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20]”For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”
Therefore, God will always provide the wisdom we need to understand and the grace to follow His ways as we continually entreat Him for judgments that enable us to do His will.
What does He restore?
God’s judgments are not about who is innocent and who is guilty. His “judgments” are His decisions about our plea for justice in our cause. He will act to restore the person or situation to a conducive life in His kingdom. Jesus also said that God will restore “speedily” but not according to our timetable. He is always following His own agenda and working on a much bigger canvas than our personal demands. Our faith in Him requires patience and trust.
This explains Jesus’ mystifying question at the end of His story.
Luke 18:8 NIV
[8] “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Faith and patience are the key ingredients of our relationship with the Father. These attitudes reveal the level of our submission to God.
Hebrews 6:12 NIV
[12] “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
What is “tefillah”?
We come to the climax of our consideration of the elements of true prayer…”tefillah”. To understand tefillah, we must view the concept from the perspective of the ancient rabbis.
“Tefillah” is a difficult concept to understand, let alone to explain. This word contains all the elements of prayer but goes beyond these to the heart of God’s intention. An unidentified Rabbi said this about “tefillah”.
“A key element of your relationship with your Creator is to “serve Him with all your heart”. The word serve in Hebrew is “avodah”, which carries the sense of laborious work. But what kind of labour can the heart do to serve G-d? The classic Jewish answer is that this is “tefillah”: a labour of awakening the hidden love within the heart until a state of intimate union with the divine is achieved.
“That’s why the common translation – prayer – is horribly inaccurate. Prayer implies two distinct entities, an inferior one making a request of a superior. There is another Hebrew word for this,” bakashah”. Similarly, worship has a word, “shevach”. “Tefillah” includes both these elements but, in itself neither of them. Instead, communion may be a better word – defined as a joining together of mind and spirit.”
Then he makes this observation:
…” You can’t commune with someone you don’t know, so knowing G-d is an integral part of “tefillah”.”
To conclude, the same rabbi said this:
“1. Speaking the words out loud helps focus your attention.
2. A human being is principally a speaking being. Tefillah brings the speakingness of that being closer to G-d. If you lift your heart and mind but leave behind your words, you’ve effectively left behind the human being… “
He comes to the conclusion:
“… The core of “tefillah”, on the other hand, is our mode of reaching deeper and yet deeper into our inner thoughts, and finding within them G-d Himself.”
(From the article, http://wwwchabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1452805/jewish/Tefillah.htm-retrieved March 2016)
Let me summarise.
” Tefillah” happens when we fall down to entreat the Judge for a judgment and He responds with a judgment and a miracle that causes us to wonder.
Needs, then, are the trigger that makes this process of true prayer happen.
Can you see, then, that unless “tefillah” happens, the purpose of prayer is unfilled and the circle of prayer is incomplete? “Tefillah” encompasses all the elements of prayer but comes to completion in the joining of heart, mind, and spirit with God in the intimacy of loving communion.
As urgent or important as we may consider the matters are for which we pray, they cannot override or supersede the most important purpose for prayer – that of deep heart adoration and worship.
(The material for this and the previous article are taken from “Designer Prayer”, Copyright © 2017, by Luella Campbell).
And so, once again, the hymn writer expresses in beautiful poetry, our desire to rise to the passion of the the Father’s heart for communion with His sons and daughters.
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of Heav’n to Earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter ev’ry trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev’ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver;
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy host above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till in Heav’n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #366a
Author: Charles Wesley (b. 1707,