Pray Like a Warrior and Slay the Day
Prayer, the great communication tool between mankind and the Creator. What most of us do when we pray is to get down on our knees or stand with hands together or outreached to the sky and beg for one thing or another. We beg for health, we beg for wealth, a spouse, a child, a promotion, a car etc., etc. Did people always pray this way and if not, how did we get here? No, prayer did not originate with a ton of senseless, meaningless begging. The modern concept of prayer as we know it today comes from the Old French word preier, which was derived from the Latin word precari, meaning to ask or entreat. In Middle English the word was known as preien, meaning to ask earnestly, beg (etymonline.com). As we can see, the true concept and act of prayer has been greatly distorted.
What is prayer? 
Is prayer simply uttering a bunch of pleas and demands to our Father? If that were the case, then why do so many prayers go unanswered? Three reasons,
1. Most people don’t even know what prayer is and
2. When people pray incorrectly, most pray for the wrong things.
3. Father’s ear is not attentive to the prayers of intentionally sinful and wicked people.
Look, this is Faith Unapologetic. We are here to tear down religious lies and stumbling blocks that keep us separated from our Creator. I can hear those wheels in your head turning saying, “Wait one minute, G-d loves everybody and hears the prayers of us all! So what you just stated can’t be true. If it were true why are a lot of sinful wicked people prosperous and have nice things?” The simple answer to that question is the fact that Satan (the Adversary), uses the weaknesses of people and gives gifts to one’s heart’s desire. However, his gifts come at a great cost and have an expiration date. For this purpose, we will approach the above mentioned three reasons why the prayers of many go unanswered in reverse order.
Father’s ear is not attentive to the prayers of intentionally sinful and wicked people
We don’t have time for “feel good” lies and purposeful leading of Father’s sheep astray. We all need to be highly aware and wide awake to YAH’s Truth so we can walk in it. We can’t keep our heads buried in the sand like those of this world. We must accept Truth even when it hurts our feelings or goes against what we have been previously taught.
Isa 59:2-4, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your Alohim, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness.
4 None calls for justice, nor any pleads for Truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.”
Ps 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, YHVH will not hear me:”
Prov 15:28-29, “The heart of the righteous studies to answer: but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 YHVH is far from the wicked: but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”
Does YAH not hearing the prayers of the wicked still apply via the New Covenant? Yes!
John 9:31, “Now we know that Alohim hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of Alohim, and does His will, Him he hears.”
1 Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of YHVH are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of YHVH is against them that do evil.”
Yacob (James) 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with Alohim? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of Alohim.”
It is only the prayers of the righteous that avails much, Yacob 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
Please don’t misunderstand, if we are unintentionally living in sin out of ignorance or things outside of our control (e.g. human trafficking, abusive home), our merciful Father still hears our prayers. What was just discussed is speaking of those who are willfully and intentionally living in sin despite knowing the Truth (Heb 10:26-29).
Since Father does not attend to the prayers of the intentionally wicked, some turn to the Adversary for their needs, wants and desires. The world has been (for this age in time) relinquished to the Adversary, as such he can give rewards to whomever is gullible enough to receive them.
2 Cor 4:3-4, “But if our Besorah (gospel) be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the el (god) of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the honorable Besorah (gospel) of Mashiach (Messiah), who is the image of Alohim, should shine unto them.”
The Adversary has blinded the minds of non believers and gives them gifts to keep them blind and fast asleep. He even flaunted his authority and dangled his gifts in the face of Yahshua Ha’ Mashiach, Matt 4:8-10, “Again, the devil takes him up into an exceeding high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the esteem of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou will fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Yahshua unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship YHVH thy Alohim, and Him only shalt thou serve.”
When the Adversary gives gifts they come with evil ruachs (spirits) attached. He may give someone a fancy car, a big house, lots of money, fame etc. Yet in addition, the gifts come with the ruach of lust, of addiction, the ruach of mass extreme torment and paranoia, seeing/dreaming and or hearing evil ruachs, and diseases and illnesses that comes from living a wicked lifestyle, etc.
When YAH gives gifts it is because we are allowing Him to fulfill His will in us and we are exercising the fruits of His RUACH, which are agapℇ, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility (meekness), and temperance (Gal 5:22-23).
2 Cor 1:20-21, “Now the Alohim of peace, that brought again from the dead our Master Yahshua, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting Covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Yahshua Mashiach; to whom be honor for ever and ever. Aman.”
Heb 10:36, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of Alohim, you may receive what was promised.”
When people pray incorrectly, most pray for the wrong things.
James 4:3, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your desires.” 
The manner in which we pray and the things we ask for are usually outside of YAH’s will for us (See my article, “Loving the MOST HIGH” for more info on YAH’s will).
I can sincerely say that when I stopped praying amiss and began asking for the Father’s will to be performed in my life (as anything He has in store for me is a million times better than I could have ever asked for), it (my life) began to change in amazing ways. Reflective, intentionally, directed prayer slays! So let’s get to the heart of the matter.
What is Prayer?
We are now aware of what prayer is not. It is not repetitive, incessant begging until we get what we want or think we need. What does it mean, “to pray?” First let’s take a look at the Hebrew word for prayer which is tefilah/tephillah (H8605 a noun). Tefilah is a time when we should all be in self inspection, self evaluation, and self judgement. Which brings us to our next point, as tefilah comes from the root word palel/palal (H6419 a verb). Palel means “to judge, to intervene.” Therefore the Hebrew concept for “prayer,” is threefold.
1. Palel – to judge
2. Tefilah – self inspection/evaluation, self judgement
3. However to actually engage in tefilah (prayer) is reflection. Thus we have the conjunction, l’hit (also written in the English as le’hit) forming the word, l’hit’palel.
How should we pray?
When we engage in l’hit’palel, we are to palel (judge) ourselves by reflecting on our actions, to effect positive change within ourselves. In addition, when we make a request before our Creator, we must first reflect on that request. We must ask, “Is this something I truly need?” We must then evaluate by asking, “If I receive my request, how can I use it to fulfill Father’s will in my life or in the lives of others?
Before we set our lips to utter anything to our Creator, we must first perform self reflection and judgement. If our hearts are not right we should not come before the Throne of YAH.
Some Good I’hit’palel Examples
Hannah
Hannah was barren and had no children. She was vexed sore by her husband’s other wife who had sons and daughters.
1 Sam 1:8-11, “Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weep thou? and why eat thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Ali (Eli) the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the Temple of YHVH.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and palel (prayed) unto YHVH, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O YHVH of Hosts, if thou will indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but will give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto YHVH all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.”
Hannah did not fall on her knees, weep hysterically and beg the Father for children. Instead she went through the process of l’hit’palel.
A. Hannah reflected on her situation and judged herself.
-I am barren
-YAH has forgotten His handmaid. Why has YAH not granted me children?
-I want children; perhaps I want them for the wrong reasons.
B. Hannah made her request before our Creator, but before she did so, she first reflected on that request.
-Is my request needed? Yes, I don’t want to be barren. To be without children is to be without the gift of the MOST HIGH (Ps 127:3)
-I specifically want a male child.
-This is why I want a son, if I receive my petition and you give him to me, I vow that I will in-turn give him back to You. He will serve You and dedicate his life to You YAH, as a Nazarite all his days.
Hannah kept her vow to the MOST HIGH and her son Samual (Samuel) went on to serve YAH with both the favor of YAH and men. Hannah in-turn went on to give birth to 3 more sons and 2 daughters. The barren woman was barren no more.
Dani ‘al (Daniel)
Dani ‘al 9:3-19, “And I set my face unto YHVH Alohim, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4 And I palel (prayed) unto YHVH my Alohim, and made my confession, and said, O YHVH, the Great and Awesome Alohim, keeping the Covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His Commandments;
5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O YHVH, righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us shame of faces, as at this day; to the men of Yahudah, and to the inhabitants of Yerushalam, and unto all Yashar’al (Yisrael), that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou has driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8 O YHVH, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9 To YHVH our Alohim belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of YHVH our Alohim, to walk in His Torah (Instructions), which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Yashar’al have transgressed thy Torah, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Torah of Moses the servant of Alohim, because we have sinned against Him.
12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done upon Yerushalam.
13 As it is written in the Torah of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the YHVH our Alohim, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy Truth.
14 Therefore has YHVH watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for YHVH our Alohim is righteous in all His works which He does: for we obeyed not His voice.
15 And now, O YHVH our Alohim, that has brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and has gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O YHVH, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Yerushalam, thy (set apart) mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Yerushalam and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our Alohim, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for YHVH’s sake.
18 O my Alohim, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies.
19 O YHVH, hear; O YHVH, forgive; O YHVH, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my Alohim: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”
A. Dani‘al not only reflected on his situation but the situation of his entire nation and judged their actions accordingly.
-verse 5, “We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled,..”
-verse 6, “ Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets..”
-verse 11, “Yea, all Yashar’al have transgressed thy Torah, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice..”
-verse 15, “…we have sinned, we have done wickedly”
–Daniel confesses that the entire nation disobeyed YAH’s voice, so YAH confirmed His words previously spoken, and all evil had come upon them. Verse 12, “He has confirmed His words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done upon Yerushalam.”
B. Dani’al made his request before our Creator, but before he did so, he first reflected on that request.
-Is my request needed? Yes! Why? YAH, your people are suffering and I, Dani ‘al will make supplication for the nation as we have yet to do so, even though all this evil has befallen us because of our disobedience. Verse 13, “.. all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the YHVH our Alohim, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy Truth.
-Will YAH hear my palel? Yes! Why? Although mankind can be evil, YAH is merciful and righteous and we are suffering. Verse 16, “O YHVH, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee..” Verse 18, “O my Alohim, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies.”
-Dani‘al was specific, verse 16, “..let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Yerushalam, thy qadosh (set apart) mountain:..”
-YAH this is why I want you to hear my petition; it is for Your name sake. Verse 17, “Now therefore, O our Alohim, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for YHVH’s sake.” Verse 19, “O YHVH, hear; O YHVH, forgive; O YHVH, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my Alohim: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”
I’ve saved the best example for last.
King Yahshua Ha’Mashiach
Matt 5:9-13, “Our Father which art in heaven, Consecrated be thy name.
10 Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the honor, forever. Aman.”
A. Yahshua l’hit’palel like “the Boss” that he is! Yahshua’s reflection is on the Father and His will, point blank, period (see verse 10 above)!
B. Yahshua is direct with his request before our Creator,
-Verse 11, give us our daily portion sufficient for us
-Verse 12, forgive us our debts, why?
-Verse 13, Because we first forgive our debtors
-Verse 13, Lead us not into temptation
-Verse 13, deliver us from evil
Did YAH hear Yahshua’s request? Yes! Why? Verse 13, it is YAH’s will to lead us from temptation, deliver us from evil and to give us the Kingdom. Yahshua knows that it is YAH’s delight to open the gates of His Kingdom unto His children that hear AND obey Him.
Lucas (Luke) 12:31-37, “But rather seek ye the Kingdom of Alohim; and all these things shall be added unto you.32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupts.34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding; that when he comes and knocks, they may open unto him immediately.
37 Beruk are those servants, whom the master when he comes shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”
Yahshua, Hannah and Dani‘al nailed l’hit’palel! What stands out greatly to me in both Yahshua’s and Dani‘al’s palel (prayer) is the initial extreme reverence and honor they spoke before the MOST HIGH prior to fixing their lips to utter anything else (Dan 9:4, Matt 6:9). We are not privy to whether Hannah did the same. However, she did do so after she was granted her petition. Further, she kept her vow by offering up her first born son to the service of YAH once he was weaned (1 Sam 2:1-10). When people go before earthly kings or queens prior to events commencing, they always first pay homage. The homage we owe our heavenly Father YAH, far exceeds (without number sufficient to express) that owed to earthy kings and queens. We should always first remember to give Him His due reverence prior to uttering our palel.
Summary
Prayer is not the action of going before our Creator begging and asking for a lot of nonsense. True prayer involves
1. Acknowledging whom we are coming before and praising YAH
2. Palel – judging ourselves and or the situation
3. Tefilah – performing thorough self inspection/eval, self judgement
4. Reflectively engaging in tefilah (prayer) – firmly stating our request
I have but one thing to add, just as Yahshua specifically asks for YAH’s will to be done, we must do the same. We must always remember that no matter what we believe or think is best, YAH’s will for us far exceeds anything we could ever will for ourselves. Therefore it is crucial that we include in our l’hit’palel process, “Father, if I have asked amiss, thy perfect will be done in all things.”