Paul talked about prayer in his letter to the Colossians. He said, “Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God” (4:2). Then he asked the people to pray for him and his fellow workers. He wanted God to give them chances to preach the gospel. To understand why Paul told the people to be persistent, to keep alert, to give thanks, and ask for specific things in prayer, we will do a topical study of prayer.

Any time you do not understand something about your Christian life, you can do a topical study on that subject. You may want to know how to live by faith. Maybe you need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Do you know who you are in Christ? How can you live a holy life? Whatever the topic is, a study of it will show you a little more of God’s plan for you.

In this lesson you will study . . .

• The Benefits of Topical Study
• The Approach to Topical Study
• The Topic of Prayer

This lesson will help you . . .

• Describe the value of topical
• Put into practice a topical study of prayer as a model for other topical

Objective 1.     State two benefits of topical study.

The Benefits of Topical Study

We already suggested one benefit of topical study. It is to be able to find answers to questions about how to live a Christian life. You might want assurance of your salvation. You may need victory over a fear you have. Or you may be wanting to know God’s will for you. You can find the answers. Search the Bible for passages which teach about these things.

Another benefit of topical study is that it helps you to balance the teachings on each of the main topics of God’s Word. These main topics are the basic truths which God intends for us to live by. The Bible says:

He must hold firmly to the message which can be trusted and which agrees with the doctrine. In this way he will be able to encourage others with the true teaching and also to show the error of those who are opposed to it (Titus 1:9).

As you study each truth from various viewpoints, compare one reference with another. Then you will be able to interpret God’s Word as He intends for you to.

THE TOPIC OF PRAYER

Objective 3.     Select Scripture references to prayer and group them according to subjects.

Prayer is an important topic in the Scriptures. The word prayer is stated over 500 times. We chose some of these references for our study. You may find other references to include.

Follow our study and do the work yourself. The exercises will help you check your progress.

Here are the references we used in this study:

First, list all the references to prayer you can find. Write a portion of the Scripture with each reference. If you have a Good News Bible, look for references on the pages listed under the topic prayer in the Subject Index. For example, on page 21, Genesis 20:17-18 states, “. . . So Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed him . . . .”

Genesis 20:17-18; 25:22-23; 1 Samuel 1:10-20; 2 Samuel 7:18-29; 1 Kings 18:36-38; 2 Chronicles 6:12-42; Nehemiah 1:5-11; Psalms 4:3; 63:1; 95:6; Proverbs 15:8; 28:9; Isaiah 1:15-20; 38:1-20; 56:7; 59:2; Jeremiah 14:11; 33:3; Daniel 9:3, 21-23; Jonah 2:7; Matthew 5:44-45; 6:1-14; 14:19, 23; 18:19-20; 19:13-15; 26:36-44; Mark 1:35; 6:46; 11:24-25; Luke 3:21-22; 5:16; 6:28; 9:28-36; 10:2; 11:1-13; 18:1, 7, 10-14; John 15:7; 17: 1-26; Acts 1:14, 24; 4:29; 6:6; 8:15, 22; 9:40; 10:1, 2, 9, 31; 16:25; Romans 8:26-27; 10:1; 12:12; 15:31; 1 Corinthians 14:13-25; 2 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 3:20; 6:18-20; Philippians 1:19; 4:6; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; 4:4; 5:5; Hebrews 5:7; 10:22; 11:6; 13:18; James 1:5-8; 4:3; 5:13-17; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 3:20-22; 5:14-16; Jude 20; Revelation 5:8.

Be sure to write enough of the passage to know what it says about prayer. For 1 Samuel 1:10-20 you might write: “Hannah continued to pray to the LORD for a long time . . . ‘I have been praying like this because I’m so miserable’ . . . the Lord answered her . . . she gave birth to a son.”

For step 2 we organized the Scriptures into these categories:

Whom to pray for.

Matthew 5:4; Acts 6:6; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; James 5:16.

When to pray.

1 Samuel 1:10, 16; Matthew 26:36-44; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 18:7; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 5:5.

Hindrances to prayer.

Proverbs 15:8; 28:9; Isaiah 1:15; 59:2; Matthew 6:5; Luke 18:10-14; 20:

Where to pray.

47; James 1:6-8; 4:3. Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 9:18; Acts 1:14; 10:9; 1 Timothy 2:8.

Answers to prayer.

Genesis 20:17-18; 25:22-23; Daniel 9:21-23; Jonah 2:7; Acts 4:29-31; 8:17; 10:31; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9.

Prayer requests.

1 Kings 18:36-38; Nehemiah 1:5-11, Psalm 64:1; Isaiah 38:2-5; Matthew 26:41; Luke 22:32; John 17:1-26; Acts 1:24; 4:29; 8:15, 22; 9:40; Romans 10:1; 15:31; Ephesians 6:18;

How to pray.

James 1:5; 5:13-14. Jeremiah 33:3; Matthew 6:7-14; 18:19-20; 26:39; Mark 11:24-25; Luke 11:5-13; 18:1, 10-14; John 14:13-14; 15:7; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 14:13-25; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2; 1 Timothy 2:8; Hebrews 5:7; 10:22; 11:6; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 3:20-22; 5:14-15; Jude 20.

Praise and thanksgiving.

2 Samuel 7:18-29; Isaiah 38:10-20; Matthew 14:19; Acts 10:1-2; 16:25; 1 Timothy 4:4; James 5:13.

Posture.

1 Kings 8:22; Psalm 95:6; Jeremiah 33:3; Daniel 9:3; Matthew 19:13-15; 26:39; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:13; Acts 8:17; 9:40; 1 Timothy 2:8; James 5:14.

Effects of prayer.

Proverbs 15:8; Luke 3:21-22; 9:28-35; 2Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 1:19; James 5:16-17; Revelation 5:8.