The First Prayer in the Bible

Why We Started and Why We Continue

There was a time, many moons ago, when I attempted to be a songwriter. I played in bands for several years, attended house shows, and hung out with other aspiring singer-songwriters.

I recall several late-night conversations with friends where we discussed and admired a particular artist’s music. We would highlight particularly profound lyrics or discuss why their style was so unique. In response, there was a common phrase we would often advise one another with.

“If you want to sound like them, you need to listen to what they listened to.”

This means that if you liked a particular musician and wanted to emulate them, you shouldn’t focus on listening to them but on the bands they listened to. If you want the same fruit, then you need the same seed. For example, I’ve always enjoyed the band “Dawes.” If I want to sound like Dawes, I should probably be listening to music from Laurel Canyon in the ‘60s and ‘70s. In other words, go back to what initially inspired them!

The Roots of Prayer

When it comes to prayer, we’ll find similar thinking. If you want to pray like the greats, you must return to who they listen to. For Eugene Peterson, the pastor and author, the answer was clear.

Peterson writes, “The great and sprawling university that Hebrews and Christians have attended to learn to answer God, to learn to pray, has been the Psalms. More people have learned to pray by matriculating in the Psalms than any other way.”

But what if we even went a step further in our roots of prayer- Why did the psalters even believe they should call upon God in prayer? Where did this act of prayer even begin in the Bible?

Before answering that question, I must first point out that prayer is one of the most natural things a human can do. Regardless of our personal beliefs about the spiritual realm, there’s an impulse within us all to pray. In moments of fortune, people will thank the “universe” for its blessing. In moments of tragedy, we shake our fists at injustice as if there is a judge who would rule otherwise if he noticed.

Pete Grieg explains, “From primitive cave paintings to the whitewashed walls of the Royal Academy, the universal impulse to pray permeates and pulsates through human anthropology and archaeology, sociology and psychology. It is no exaggeration to say that to be human is to pray.”

To be human is to pray.

However, when did our prayers begin?

The Beginning of Prayer

It’s hard to pinpoint precisely where prayer begins in the Bible.

Some have argued that we see prayer in the Garden of Eden or the sacrifices made by Cain and Abel. However, theologian J. Gary Millar argues these are not presented as prayers in the biblical text and resemble something more akin to normal conversation. The beginning of prayer, Millar argues, is found in Genesis 4:25-26.

²⁵ Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,^[saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” ²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.

At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord. - Genesis 4:25-26

The phrase at the end is a crucial signal to the reader that prayer has begun, “At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord.”

This is an arguably strange time for prayer to begin. The biblical introduction of prayer comes after a family genealogy, which is somewhat unexpected. There have been all sorts of explanations, but I believe Millar offers a great one.

He connects this moment to Genesis 3:15, where we receive word from God that man will one day crush the head of the serpent. It’s a curse to the serpent and a promise to humanity. This is good news, but Adam didn’t crush the serpent. Abel was murdered. Cain didn’t crush the serpent. Seth didn’t. Then Enosh came, and people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Who would crush the head of the serpent? The Lord.

Millar explains, “ The expected offspring is clearly neither Cain, nor Abel, nor Seth, nor Enosh. It seems that at this point, the realization begins to dawn on the Adamic community that the fulfillment of promise may take some time.”

At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.

Remembering, Reminding, and Releasing

Though, we should be careful to draw too many conclusions from such a short phrase. A few things that came to mind about prayer, and in typical preacher fashion… there are three of them, and they all start with the same letter.

Remembering

Part of the act of prayer involves remembering. Remembering what God has said will compel us into prayer and sustain us. The promise of God had remained at the forefront of their community.

Beginning our prayers by remembering what God has spoken has been a part of the pattern from the beginning.

Reminding

They not only remember what God has spoken but also know that God will keep his word. Therefore, they feel compelled to remind their creator of what he has spoken.

Knowing that God’s word has more weight than ours leads us to bold, powerful prayers.

Releasing

Perhaps the most critical act that happens is they release the promise back to God. They no longer believe they can usher in God’s promise through more offspring. They’ve concluded that it will be an act of God’s providence, so they call upon his name.

Prayer is born by releasing control over our lives, circumstances, and future back to God. In that release, we move from standing on our own two legs to falling on our knees in need.

What will happen in our prayer lives if we begin to recover these basic prayer postures?