Emotive Pray-ers
Some biblical characters prayed out of their emotional makeup . We see this in Hannah in the first chapter of 1 Samuel when she ’ s tearfully pleading for a child , and then in the very next chapter praising God joyfully . Also an emotive prayer , David wrote half of the psalms — many of them laments that expressed his fears . And then of course we can point to Jeremiah , who most believe wrote the book of Lamentations — the only book that consists solely of laments — focusing on the destruction of Jerusalem . Like us today , some biblical people are simply more emotionally wired .
That moment was pivotal in my study of prayer in the Bible — a new search then focused on studying how people prayed , with an antenna out to better understand their circumstances and personality . What I found is that folks tend to fall into four groups .
Devotional Pray-ers
Another group of biblical pray-ers demonstrated devotion to God . James 2:23 tells us Abraham was called “ Friend of God ” ( KJV ). Deborah wrote a long poetic response of thanksgiving in Judges 5 . When King Josiah heard the words of the Book of the Law , he renewed Judah ’ s covenant with the Lord and had the entire Book of the Law read aloud to all the people ( 2 Kings 22-23 ). Devotional pray-ers followed God with faithful discipline .
Cerebral Pray-ers
One group of biblical praying people seemed to be those who operated from a place of thinking . Adam questioned God ’ s parenting style . Job wanted answers to his “ why ?” questions . Moses dialogued and debated with God in his attempt to get out of his calling to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt . They reminded me of my husband , an attorneyturned-rancher who always wants a full explanation of something I propose and will take an opposing viewpoint until I convince him .
44 CRA today / www . christianretailassociation . org