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Sunday 6/28/26

Title: …THE Prayers

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…THE Prayers

 

Well I enjoyed a rich but brief study time yesterday which I deliberately cut short because in short order I discovered that the more questions I sought answers for, the deeper the rabbit hole got. 

So I pulled back, regrouped and narrowed my search down to highlight what the endgame should be for you and I, but included enough of the history of it to hit our objective of revealing what this 4th devotion of the early church really looked like.

I was additionally pleased to see I am not alone in recognizing these 4 devotions of the early and initial church as being pivotal and foundational.

But before we dive in, I told you in closing last week that I would point out some of the early Christian creeds, hymns, and liturgies embedded in some of the New Testament letters. They are words you know and have read or heard read probably hundreds of times, but did not know what they were.

Scholars are able to identify these sections by their poetic, rhythmic structures, specialized vocabulary, or framing language such as “I received and passed on to you“. 

1. Christological Hymns

• Philippians 2:5-11 (The Carmen Christi): Often considered the earliest existing Christian hymn. It traces Jesus’s pre-existence, incarnation, death, and final exaltation. 
• Colossians 1:15-20: A hymn celebrating Christ as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, and the reconciler of the world to God.
• Ephesians 5:14: Widely identified as an early baptismal hymn: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
• 1 Timothy 3:16: A hymn fragment about the mystery of godliness: “He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit…“ 

2. Creeds and Confessions

• 1 Corinthians 15:3-7: The most famous creedal formula in the entire New Testament. It concisely outlines the core gospel message—Christ’s death for our sins, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances.
• Romans 10:9: An early, simple baptismal or confessional creed: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
• Romans 1:3-4: An early creed linking Jesus’s humanity to David and his divine Sonship to the resurrection. 
• 2 Timothy 2:11-13: An early church confessional or martyr song: “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him…“

3. Liturgical Formulas and Doxologies

• 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: The Words of Institution for the Lord’s Supper. This is an early liturgical tradition that Paul “received” and transmitted to the church.
• 1 Corinthians 16:22 (Maranatha): Includes the Aramaic liturgical acclamation Maranatha (“Our Lord, come!“).
• 2 Corinthians 13:14: A trinitarian benediction commonly used in early church worship: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.“
• 1 Timothy 1:17: An early liturgical doxology: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.“

These were recited, sung and prayed from day to day as they gathered together from house to house both before and after work.

These gatherings were split between large public meetings (like the Jewish Temple courts) and intimate house-to-house fellowships.

The early church used houses for different purposes throughout the day:

• Morning Meetings: Christians frequently gathered in the mornings to pray together, learn the scriptures, and break bread. Many believers also attended the traditional morning and evening prayer times at the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
• Evening Meals: The core house-to-house gatherings frequently happened in the evening, often involving a shared communal meal (the Agape feast) as well as the Lord’s Supper. 

The primary biblical accounts of these house-to-house meetings can be found in Acts 2:46, Acts 5:42, and Acts 20:7-20.

Introduction to “…THE Prayers“

This morning we are looking at the 4th devotion of the early church which is captured in  the simple words. “…and to THE prayers.”

As I told you, the grammar of the Greek as well as the earliest copies have this wording and that is VERY important!

Strict adherence to the earliest Greek texts of the original phrasing, (ταῖς προσευχαῖς, tais proseuchais) found in manuscripts like Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, includes the definite article. This points to two conclusions:

This points to two conclusions:

1. Specific, established, or routine times of prayer rather than an unspecified, general spirit of prayerfulness.
2. That the prayers prayed were themselves liturgical and known, rather than spontaneous, informal and highly personalized communications with God.

The syntax of “the prayers” (ταῖς προσευχαῖς) provides a direct window into a life lived by the earliest of Christians which was a structured life of devotion. 

Now really, if you think about it, this is not hard to imagine. Remember if you will, that the initial church was exclusively Jewish. This was in keeping with the instruction and command of Jesus, as recorded in Acts 1:8. 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8  

So the church began in Jerusalem on the day of “first fruits” following Passover. The “first fruits” were the disciples, the women who followed Christ and those he met and taught for the next 40 days before ascending into heaven. 10 days later, which was 50 days since the resurrection, the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 in the upper room which at the moment represented all of God’s “sons and daughters” – at least until Peter got done preaching that morning.

Interestingly the Feast of First Fruits represented the Barley harvest. Barley held a symbolism in Judaism of humility and survival in harsh conditions. Wheat on the other hand, represented maturity and abundance and the Wheat harvest was symbolized in the Feast of Weeks when the Spirit of God fell upon His “sons and daughters”. 

Now I don’t want to get bogged down in all of the history of the story God was telling behind and before all the events of the early church in Acts 2, but I really feel as if I have to touch on it. This is just one of several things which has caused the modern church to lose its way by untethering itself from its Jewish roots.

The Jewish people, including the early church, were very grounded in an awareness of God’s sovereignty over time itself. Everything was seen as clearly planned out by our Father from eternity past. 

The result of this was a lifelong sure footing and solid foundation under their feet. It provided a confidence within their hearts that the story of their lives was just part of the greater story God had written long ago. 

That they, and by extension we, are all part of that story but that it does not depend upon us. We came into a story which had existed long before our birth and will continue long after we are gathered to Him. 

This perspective is both very helpful and healthy for a proper Christian world view which holds God in perfect reverence!

The Jewish Early Church

Having said all of that, the early church was JEWISH and remained Jewish for at least the first 7-10 years before Philip went to Samaria and Peter to Cornelius in Italy.

So while “…THE Prayers” almost certainly had expressions which go far beyond what we know – history does provide us a lens through which we can know some of what this passage is referring to. These include the scriptures themselves (through practice and instruction) as well as extra-biblical sources such as the Didache, Clement and Ignatius. All of which were written or began to be written within the 1st century while the Apostles were still around.

We need to remember that these initial Jewish converts did not see the Gospel as something distinctive to their Jewish faith, but rather the fulfillment of it – and they were right! 

As such, they saw no reason for forsaking the rituals of Judaism. Quite the opposite! 

To them, these “old rituals” had just been renewed and quickened with new, real life and meaning by the very breath of God at Pentecost.

The church which began here in Jerusalem simply continued with their existing Jewish liturgical repetitive, structured patterns of public worship, spiritual practices and seasonal observances they had practiced for generations according to the Law… and you need to know, that until Judaizers began to infiltrate their gatherings with distortions of the scriptures, these Jewish believers saw no conflict between their Jewish roots and their new identity in Christ. 

The only difference was that so much was no longer in their future, but had already been realized in the coming of the Messiah!

The modern church could learn volumes from this, but we are too busy trying to protect ourselves from what we in our ignorance call “legalism” that we have become blind to what the New Testament actually says.

Now, back to our verse.

“THE prayers”

The use of the plural definite article strongly indicates that the early church participated in set, structured prayers and times of prayer, rather than just general, unstructured prayerfulness.

First off, they did not forsake the temple, they just added the gathering together in homes to what they had always previously practiced.

Jewish believers and the temple

We have it on the authority of Luke’s historical record in Acts that the early church – following the example of the Apostles whose teachings they built their lives upon, frequented the temple to teach and for the 3 daily established times of prayer. 

Someone please do me the favor of turning to chapter 3 here in Acts, and read to me the very first verse.

“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” – Acts 3:1   

Now, we see this tradition in the most devout of Jews throughout the Old Testament where the Jewish people prayed 3 times a day – at morning, noon and night.

Now there is a fun historical study I did on this which dates this practice back to three events, in the three founding patriarchs of the faith…

• Abraham: Initiated the morning prayer. [Genesis 19:27]
• Isaac: The afternoon prayer. [Genesis 24:63]
• Jacob: The evening prayer. [Genesis 28:11]

While the Patriarchs initiated these prayer “windows”, the formalized obligation and timing of Jewish daily prayers were modeled directly after the schedule given by God for the Temple:

• The Morning Prayer (Shacharit): Corresponded exactly to the morning burnt offering which took place at roughly 9AM which the scriptures often call, “the third hour of the day”, which by the way, was the very time the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room on Pentecost. As is recorded in Acts 2:15.
• The Afternoon Prayer (Mincha): Corresponded to the afternoon sacrifice but it was more of a “window” of time referred to as the sixth (noon) and ninth hours (roughly corresponding to 3-6 PM). This was the time of day that Peter went on the roof to pray as recorded in Acts 10:9.
• The Evening Prayer (Maariv): This corresponded to the overnight burning of the remaining sacrificial fats and limbs left on the altar from the daytime offerings. This too was a “window” of time which began at dusk and could be prayed throughout the night. This was the time period we just read about when Peter and John went to pray in Acts 3:1. 

Now for those of you who are sharp, there appears a contradiction and it is one I cannot explain. The Jewish day BEGINS at dusk, so why that prayer time is called the evening prayer is a mystery, but it is what it is.

AMENDMENT: Since I taught this I looked this question up and found that even though the Jewish day began at sunset, the 3rd daily prayer was called “evening” prayer because the word simply referred to the twilight period when the prayer was performed. For the Jewish community this was not understood as the “evening prayer” but the pray prayed at twilight.

The codifying of this into a system of formalized prayer times was instituted when the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple (and later when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple). This was roughly the time of the likes of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi who, according to extra-biblical sources, made up part of the body of men who formalized these prayers. Their purpose was literally that these prayers might act as an accepted substitute for the sacrifices, which they could no longer offer. They derived this practice from Hosea 14:2 which says, “We will render the calves of our lips.”

Now, I want to be clear that there is no place in the Old Testament where God declared this as LAW, but we do see Him respecting it throughout the ages, through answered prayer and recognized devotion due to prayer major patriarchal lives such as King David and Daniel just to mention two heavy hitters.

God did not reprimand Daniel for his rigid three-times-a-day routine but rather, He sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths (Daniel 6). God did not correct King David for crying out “evening, morning, and noon“; instead, David records, “(16) But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.  (17)  Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.” – Psalm 55:16-17 

So while ultimately, God did not officially mandate these times, any more than He mandated the building and use of Synagogue, He inadvertently validated the Temple sacrificial system by sending fire from heaven to consume the morning/evening offerings (1 Kings 18 with Elijah & 2 Chronicles 7 with Solomon) and because the three daily prayers were legally pegged to those exact, God-sanctioned sacrifice times, the tradition could be said to inherit divine sanction, by the same.

That these prayers were known, liturgical prayers, is right in the language of the Greek text.

In Acts 2:42, Luke uses the definite article for our four distinct pillars of the early church: 

• THE Apostle’s teaching – any other gospel let them be accursed
• THE Fellowship – Must love brother if you claim to love God
• THE breaking of bread – Participation in the body and blood (+ agape feasts)
• and THE prayers – Lords, Shema, Psalms, 18 blessings 

And I want you to know, I did not find this before I started teaching it, I found the phrase “the four pillars” in my studies yesterday.

So while the prayers were structured, the setting of the prayers included the temple but expanded to the homes of the early church. According to Google’s AI LLM 

“They merged rigid liturgical traditions with the warmth of house-church fellowship.” 

Now this next part is a distillation of 39 pages of notes, so I don’t want any griping that I’m waxing a little historical here, it could be 30+ pages worse!

What were THE prayers?

We know from history, both biblical and extra-biblical, that “…THE prayers” definitely included “the Lord’s prayer”, the Shema, the 18-19 blessings of the Jewish people all of which they prayed DAILY. In addition to this were prayers assigned to specific days of the week AND finally those which corresponded to events of the Jewish calendar including Feasts and Festivals.

THAT is what is meant by “…THE prayers”. 

It was something the early believers were DEVOTED to and which were pillars of their faith, meaning they helped them live out the Gospel they committed themselves to.

You already know ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ so we will mention the ‘Shema’

This was prayed 2 times a day. Once in the morning and then in the evening.

The Shema as you know was the absolute core declaration of Jewish faith. It consisted of three specific passages of Scripture: 

1. Deuteronomy 6:4–9: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one…“
2. Deuteronomy 11:13–21: Which is a warning regarding obedience, blessings, and exile.
3. Numbers 15:37–41: Which is the command of the tassels (tzitzit) worn in remembrance of their liberation from Egypt.

The Daily Psalms were prayed every morning as well and they corresponded to a specific day of the week in exact accordance with ones the Levites historically sang on the Temple steps: 

• Sunday: Psalm 24 – Which was a declaration of God as Creator and King of the whole earth.
• Monday: Psalm 48 – Which regards God’s revealing Himself in His body and beautifying it. 
• Tuesday: Psalm 82 – Which was a recognition that God will execute justice for the needy and afflicted.
• Wednesday: Psalm 94 – Which was a recognition that God sees His people and will not forsake them.
• Thursday: Psalm 81 – A call to have ears to hear when God speaks.
• Friday: Psalm 93 – Which focuses upon the sovereign reign of God from His throne.
• Saturday (Sabbath): Psalm 92 –  Which in keeping with the stated purpose of the 7th day, focuses upon the handiwork of God in His creation.

Finally, as regards the daily observance of 3 times of prayers a day, is the “elephant in the room” – namely, the intimidatingly long 18-19 blessings. 

These were divided into three groups… and because I love you, I am going to tell you that these were later condensed into something FAR more manageable and to which you are very familiar. So don’t worry, be happy!

Nevertheless the division of the 18-19 blessings were all prayed three times daily and were divided into these three groups:

• Praise (Blessings 1–3) Greets God as the sovereign King.
• Petitions (Blessings 4–16) Presents requests.
• Thanksgiving (Blessings 17–19) Exits the throne room with gratitude and thanksgiving

I will also offer a very quick overview – because again, this was part of the initial church’s 4 devotions out of which came deep reverence for God.

If maintained, the Ephesian church would likely never have received the letter Jesus crafted for them in Revelation chapter 2.

In the initial decades following the resurrection, Jewish and Gentile believers still gathered in synagogues and in homes at the traditional hours of prayer. 

They continued to pray the concepts of the 18-19 blessings, but as understood through the teachings of the apostles. They now viewed and prayed them not as desperate future wishes, but as prophecies already fulfilled or actively unfolding through their Messiah Jesus.

Phase 1: Praise (Shevach)

• 1. The Ancestors (Avot)
  • Subject: Praising God as the supreme, almighty Creator Who remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  • Scripture Base: Genesis 15:1 (“I am your shield“) and Deuteronomy 10:17 (“the great, the mighty, and the awesome God“).
• 2. Divine Might (Gevurot)
  • Subject: Praising God’s ultimate power over nature, life, and death, specifically highlighting His ability to heal the sick and resurrect the dead.
  • Scripture Base: 1 Samuel 2:6 (“The Lord brings to death and makes alive“) and Psalm 145:14 (“The Lord upholds all who are falling“).
• 3. Sanctification of the Name (Kedushat HaShem)
  • Subject: Praising the holiness of God alongside the angels.
  • Scripture Base: Isaiah 6:3 (“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts“) and Ezekiel 3:12 (“Blessed be the glory of the Lord“).

Phase 2: Personal & National Petitions (Bakashot)

• 4. Knowledge & Discernment (Da’at)
  • Subject: Requesting wisdom, intellect, and spiritual understanding.
  • Scripture Base: Proverbs 2:6 (“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding“). 
• 5. Repentance (Teshuvah)
  • Subject: Asking God to draw hearts back to His Torah and laws.
  • Scripture Base: Lamentations 5:21 (“Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored“).
• 6. Forgiveness (Selichah)
  • Subject: A request for divine pardon for daily sins and shortcomings.
  • Scripture Base: Isaiah 55:7 (“Let him return to the Lord… for he will abundantly pardon“).
• 7. Redemption (Geulah)
  • Subject: Praying for relief from persecution and affliction.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 119:154 (“Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise“). 
• 8. Healing (Refuah)
  • Subject: A plea for the complete physical healing of the sick.
  • Scripture Base: Jeremiah 17:14 (“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved“).
• 9. Agricultural Abundance (Birkat HaShanim)
  • Subject: Asking God to bless the earth, crops, and seasons with rain and dew.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 145:16 (“You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing“). 
• 10. Ingathering of Exiles (Kibbutz Galuyot)
  • Subject: A prayer to sound the great shofar to gather scattered Jews back to Israel.
  • Scripture Base: Isaiah 27:13 (“And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing… will come“). 
• 11. Restoration of Justice (Birkat HaDin)
  • Subject: Praying for the return of righteous leaders, judges, and divine justice.
  • Scripture Base: Isaiah 1:26 (“And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning“). 
• 12. Defeat of Slanderers (Birkat HaMinim)
  • Subject: Asking God to swiftly dismantle malicious informers, heretics, and arrogant enemies.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 69:28 (“Let them be blotted out of the book of the living“) and Psalm 31:18. 
• 13. The Righteous (Tzadikim)
  • Subject: A plea for mercy upon the pious, scholars, and righteous converts.
  • Scripture Base: Leviticus 19:32 (“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man“) and Psalm 125:1.
• 14. Jerusalem (Bonian Yerushalayim)
  • Subject: Asking God to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it as an eternal sanctuary.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 147:2 (“The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel“).
• 15. The Davidic Dynasty (Malchut ben David)
  • Subject: Praying for the rapid arrival of the Messianic King from the line of David.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 132:17 (“There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed“). 
• 16. Acceptance of Prayer (Shomea Tefillah)
  • Subject: Begging God to hear, have mercy upon, and answer these supplications.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 65:2 (“O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come“). 

Phase 3: Service, Gratitude, & Peace (Hoda’ah)

• 17. Temple Service (Avodah)
  • Subject: Praying for the divine presence (Shechinah) to return to Zion and restore sacrificial worship.
  • Scripture Base: Exodus 25:8 (“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst“) and Ezekiel 43:2. 
• 18. Thanksgiving (Modim)
  • Subject: Offering deep gratitude to God for life, souls, and daily miracles.
  • Scripture Base: Psalm 79:13 (“We your people… will give thanks to you forever“) and Psalm 100:4.
• 19. Peace (Sim Shalom)
  • Subject: Final blessing asking for peace, kindness, righteousness, and compassion upon Israel.
  • Scripture Base: Numbers 6:24–26 (The Aaronic Blessing: “The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace“).

I will offer you a sampling of 5 of these blessings, which -like all of them – were updated to reflect New Covenant thinking under the Apostle teachings shifted the intent of the petitions: 

• Blessings 5 & 6 which represented (Repentance & Forgiveness) respectively, were originally pleas for God to accept ritual sacrifices and show mercy. Under the Apostles, this was prayed differently. Forgiveness was no longer an annual uncertainty; it was a settled reality because Christ’s blood had been shed once and for all, procuring forgiveness and restoration in person and for individual sins upon confession (Hebrews 10:12 & 1 John 1:9). 
• Blessing 7 (Redemption): Instead of waiting for a political savior to overthrow Rome, the early Church prayed this in thanksgiving to God for spiritual redemption from the kingdom of darkness and transference into the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13).
• Blessing 10 (Ingathering of Exiles): Originally a prayer for scattered ethnic Jews to return to the land of Israel. The Apostles expanded this to mean the global gathering of the Gentiles into the family of God. Paul had explicitly taught that Christ had broken down the wall of division between Jews and Gentiles and made one body out of the two (Ephesians 2:14-16).
• Blessing 15 (The Davidic Dynasty): Traditional Jews prayed this hoping a King from the line of David would eventually arrive. The 1st-century Church prayed this, declaring that the Davidic King had already arrived, ascended, and was currently seated at the right hand of God (Acts 2:34–36). Though they may have prayed this as a future to be fulfilled at the rapture of the saints or even at the establishment of Christ’s Millennial reign.

Now I told you that all of this was eventually amended and I will quickly explain that.

You know that through the letters of Paul as well as the book of Acts, tensions with non-believing Jewish authorities escalated throughout the 1st century. As millions of Gentiles flooded into the Church, most of which possessing no cultural connection to the Hebrew phrasing of the 18 blessings, gave rise to a vulnerability to misunderstanding and false doctrine from non-believing Jews. As a result, the Apostles systematically phased it out or rather, replaced it with something else. 

Now they did not invent a brand-new concept; rather, they weaponized an existing Jewish practice. 

In the 1st century, it was common for prominent Jewish Rabbis to take the long, complex 18 blessings and distill them down into short, punchy summary prayers for their disciples to use. 

What you may not know, is that this is what Jesus Himself had done when He gave His disciples the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

The Apostles took this “summary prayer” and instituted it as the official, universal replacement for the 18 blessings. This is recorded in the Didache chapter 8:2-3 where we are also told that the apostles commanded that it be prayed three times a day.

Didache chapter 8:2-3, “(2) Neither pray ye as the hypocrites, but as the Lord hath commanded in His gospel so pray ye: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil: for Thine is the power, and the glory, for ever. (3) Thrice a day pray ye in this fashion.”

By replacing the 18 blessings with the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles of the Lamb achieved something profound for the 1st-century global Church: 

1. It generated Unity: It allowed uneducated Gentile converts from Rome or Greece to pray in perfect agreement with highly educated Jewish converts in Jerusalem. 
2. It shifted the focus to the Father through Jesus: Every line of the distilled prayer reinforces that the Kingdom of God was breaking into the current world system through the body of Christ, thus keeping the early Church anchored squarely in the ‘Age of Grace‘.

Now, the “command” to pray this 3 times daily, appears nowhere in the New Testament. As such, it  does NOT really rise to the level of a command.

I assure you however, that you have committed to things with far less scope and relevance than this, so I see it as a really beneficial suggested practice.

Blessings!

 

Blessings!