Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Prayer: Questions & Answers from Ephesians 1:15-17

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the highest activity of the human soul?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, prayer is the highest activity of the human soul. He states very clearly: "Prayer is, after all, the highest activity of the human soul. The greatest thing any one of us ever does is to pray." He also notes that prayer is much more difficult than preaching, saying "preaching is child's play when compared with praying... It's a much easier thing to preach than to pray, because when one is preaching, one is speaking to men. But when one prays, one is speaking to God."

Who does the Apostle Paul address his prayers to in Ephesians 1, and why is this significant?

In Ephesians 1, Paul addresses his prayers to God the Father, not to Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out: "The first thing we notice is that the apostle prays to God the Father. Now that has its significance. He doesn't pray to the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't pray to the Holy Spirit." Lloyd-Jones suggests this is the biblical pattern, where Christ is the mediator who brings us to the Father, not the end destination of our prayers. He notes this is significant because some Christians mistakenly think "the hallmark of spirituality is that you pray to the Lord Jesus Christ," when Scripture primarily shows prayer directed to the Father.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the key to effective prayer based on Paul's example?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the key to effective prayer is pausing to recollect who God is before speaking to Him. He observes that Paul "pauses to remind himself of certain things. Before he begins to speak, he reminds himself of what he's going to do. He reminds himself of the one to whom he's going to speak." Lloyd-Jones insists: "I'm absolutely certain of this, that just there is the whole key to the question of prayer... He doesn't get on his knees or stand or whatever it was and begin to speak. He stops, he pauses. He recollects, he meditates. He talks to himself first."

What are the two extremes in prayer that Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against two extremes in prayer: 1. The liturgical extreme: "That kind of liturgical view of prayer which concentrates its attention upon the beauty of worship, the beauty of the phrases... its forms and its ceremonies." While beautiful, it can be "very remote" with "such emphasis upon the beauty and the greatness" that "you feel that God is far away."

1. The telegraphic extreme: "A series of telegraphic petitions with no adoration, no worship, no praise." This approach treats prayer as merely making quick requests to God, which Lloyd-Jones describes as "brief telegraphic petition, which is the opposite extreme of the liturgical, remote type of worship."

He suggests Paul's approach balances these extremes by including both reverence and confidence.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by the phrase "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ"?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that when Paul refers to "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ," he means:

1. God as the covenant God: "God has now made a covenant with men in the person of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. The covenant of grace, the covenant of redemption."

2. God as the one who was actually Jesus' God during His incarnation: "When the Lord Jesus Christ came unto earth and took on him the likeness of men... He went to God as a man, and then God became his God."

3. God as the one who sustained Jesus: "The God who sustained him and the God who held him, the God who never forsake him."

4. God as the one in whose presence Jesus now is: "The God in whose presence the Lord Jesus Christ is at this moment... He is seated at his right hand, ever living to make intercession for us."

What does the phrase "the Father of glory" mean according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "the Father of glory" means:

1. God as the source of all glory: "God is the source and the embodiment in and of himself of all glory... the father of glory, the source, the fount of all glory."

2. God as the sum of all excellence: "Glory is the summation of all the excellences and perfections and attributes of the Lord God Almighty himself."

3. God as the glorious Father (a Hebraism): "The father of glory, the glorious Father."

4. God as one who imparts glory: "God the Father is not only glorious and the source of all glory... He is one who is prepared to manifest that glory and to reveal that glory and to impart that glory. He's a father and a father gives."

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe we should study Paul's method of prayer?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones believes we should study Paul's method of prayer because:

1. It offers a better approach than prayer manuals: "If we only rarely get the essence of the apostles teaching at this point, I think it'll make all manuals on the subject of prayer quite unnecessary."

2. Paul was an expert at prayer: "There was no men who knew how to pray better than this apostle. There was no men who had had a greater abundance of answers to his prayer."

3. Paul's approach balances reverence and confidence: "He prays with confidence, with boldness, of access and of assurance. And yet the other element was always there first."

4. The apostle's prayer methods are inspired by the Holy Spirit: "He prays like this because, well, this is how the spirit has taught him to pray."