The Bible Book

38

AT THAT TIME PEOPLE

BEGAN TO CALL ON THE

NAME OF THE LORD

GENESIS 4:26, THE ORIGIN OF PRAYER

T

he first extended prayer

in the Bible arises from

the anguish of a couple

longing for children. It bursts forth

during a conversation initiated by

God with Abraham. After the King

of Sodom tries to strike a deal that

will obligate Abraham, God tells

Abraham not to be afraid. God

himself will be Abraham’s shield

and “very great reward.” To this

Abraham retorts: “What can you

give me since I remain childless?”

(Genesis 15:2). God’s answer to this

outburst, or prayer, is to take

Abraham outside and point to the

night sky: “Look up at the heavens

and count the stars—if indeed you

can count them.” God pauses, then

adds: “So shall your offspring be.”

A God who cares

Abraham’s encounter says much

about prayer in the Bible. First, it

takes place within the context

of a dialogue between God and

humankind, initiated by God. It

assumes there is a God who cares

and can be pleaded with. The

person praying expresses themself

with honesty and vigor, the prayer

often taking the form of a lament

about a painful situation. A common

pattern involves a crisis, leading to

prayer in which the person praying

complains about, or laments, the

situation and petitions God to

intervene. This leads to resolution

following divine intervention, which

may take the form of a promise.

Petitioning God

According to Genesis, the cult of

Israel’s God, Yahweh, begins

during the third generation of

human life on Earth, when Adam

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE S

Genesis 15:1–6 Abraham

prays for a child.

Genesis 21:8–21 Hagar,

Ishmael, and the well.

THEME

The potential of prayer

SETTING

Primeval period During the

time covered by the first 11

chapters of Genesis.

KEY FIGURES

Abraham Son of Terah, the

ninth son of Noah.

Sarah Wife of Abraham, who

is barren for many years.

Hagar Sarah’s Egyptian

handmaiden and concubine

of Abraham.

Ishmael Hagar and

Abraham’s son.

Prayer beads, used to count prayers,

are clasped by members of the

congregation at a Catholic church in

Baghdad, following the death of Pope

John Paul II in 2005.

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