An Exposition on Prayer in the Bible: Igniting the Fuel to Flame Our Communication with God
Overview
An Exposition on Prayer is the lifework of Dr. Jim Rosscup. For the past fifteen years of an incredible fifty years of teaching, Dr. Jim Rosscup has been laboring on his “magnum opus” and is ready to pass on his wealth of knowledge in, and experience with prayer to future generations in this comprehensive five volume set. Dr. Jim Rosscup presents a pre-millennial perspective on prophetical passages and has been careful to cordially address those areas where Bible students might doctrinally or topically disagree with one another, making this monumental work an excellent tool that can be utilized by a wide range of readers. His goal was to surge “right to the point, seeking to be crystal clear, and helping readers see the truth yet be refreshed and motivated to worship God in ceaseless tenacity.” The focus of this treatise is, therefore, not on ivory tower idealism in academic heaviness, but on life and dynamism, stated in such a way that is faithful to each text. A leading feature of this exposition is to show how prayer is not only relevant to the biblical episodes, but to the myriad scenarios of our own lives. Pastors, teachers, and laypersons can use the powerful information in this resource to create a catalyst to prime a transforming life-walk anchored to biblical principle. This is an exposition of prayer that confirms what God teaches us in the true flow of Scripture for situations that impact our lives and help us grow in our relationship with Him. Those who seek to fuel the flame of communication with God will find this an extremely useful resource. Key concepts are embedded within the exposition, such as how prayer relates to intercessions, petitions, questions, affirmations, vows and oaths, trials, and prophecies and their fulfillment. The exposition concludes each passage of prayer with a set of clear principles, gleaned from the text, to help in practical applications for the reader. It must be noted that, due to the vast number of prayers in Psalms, the author has selected to focus on 21 key psalms. An extensive index shows each prayer in the exact context in which it occurs in the Bible, and allows for careful cross referencing to make the search almost effortless in locating just about any topic related to prayer. Logos is proud to offer Dr. Jim Rosscup’s lucid, encyclopedic exposition on prayer. Written with clarity and directness, careful interpretation and diligent choice of words, this exposition boldly captures the Scriptural flow about prayer and the rich truth it conveys. The Bible refers to the word prayer or expresses a prayer in 61 of its 66 books, making close to 1,100 distinct references to and about prayer. Beginning with Genesis, Rosscup identifies each prayer with an introduction and a title that corresponds to its message. He offers clarification of the author, date, theme and background, provides an expositional outline, with numerous details under each heading, and a brief synopsis of the role that prayer plays in that particular passage or book. Here are pertinent introductions to Bible books, key aspects in settings and customs, flowing outlines and expositions that highlight the relevancy of almost every Scripture verse on prayer, and practical principles to fan a life of prayer. Those passages that contain more crucial teaching on prayer receive additional deliberation. Paul exhorts us to devote ourselves to prayer (Col 4:2) and to pray without ceasing (1 Thess.5:17). He relied on the prayers of those to whom he wrote, thankful for their supplications to God on his behalf. We know the importance of prayer, that it is more than just asking God for things. Prayer teaches us God’s will. In reading the Bible, we see that prayer is saturated within God’s Word. It impacts important events, interweaving with God’s sovereign plan in history. How do we tap into this deep well of knowledge about prayer in the Scriptures? How can we best communicate with the Creator of the universe?
Top Highlights
“His call for Israel to obey (4, 5). The positive side is to ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command.…’ God had made known in Deuteronomy the curses for disobeying and the blessings in obeying (27:26). Advantages in obeying were in the hearers living as God’s people, knowing Him as their God, and having Him fulfill His promise to give them the covenant land.” (Page 1177)
“Guidelines relevant to prayer surface here. First, men should not be evasive about sin before God, but forthrightly acknowledge it and turn obediently to Him. Second, the way we deal with God about sin may expose a servant spirit, and even be one thing that gives proper confidence that we really are His people.” (Page 21)
“When Adam and Eve commit sin, they feel convicted of their unstrung relationship with God, and He confronts them about the sin. He talks with them, and they talk with Him. This is in essence a kind of prayer in that they react to His words and respond in conversation with Him.” (Page 12)
“The passage readily suggests principles related to prayer. First, confessing sin is a step forward—to God and with God. It is best to go all the way in this closure of the heart with Him, deal with the guilt squarely and fully, and not shift the blame to someone else. Second, when we confess frankly to put sins behind us, we find the Lord more willing than we are that things be right between us. For as the revelation about God mounts in Scripture, we now gather that He has great mercy to forgive (Exod. 34; Ps. 103), and through the sacrifice system and later the sacrifice of Christ has made full provision to take away sins (cf. Jn. 1:29; Heb. 9–10).” (Page 17)
- Title: An Exposition on Prayer in the Bible: Igniting the Fuel to Flame Our Communication with God
- Author: James E. Rosscup
- Series: An Exposition on Prayer in the Bible
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Print Publication Date: 2008
- Logos Release Date: 2008
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Prayer; Bible › Commentaries
- Resource ID: LLS:EXPPRAYROSSCUP
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T07:17:07Z
Reviews
3 ratings
Christopher B
2/7/2024
At over 2800 pages in length, this book is not for the faint of heart. I decided to read through it in a year (Monday-Friday) by automatically creating a reading schedule in Logos. So far, I'm about ten per cent of the way through, and in my opinion Dr. Rosscup's work is already yielding ample rewards for my efforts. It's a survey type commentary of every explicit and implicit instance of prayer to the Lord that Dr. Rosscup has found in the pages of Scripture. The attention to the detail of the Bible's wording is careful but certainly not excessively technical, and at the end of each prayer instance considered, Dr. Rosscup takes the trouble to spell out the principles he sees in operation for each instance of prayer he covers. Dr. Rosscup explicitly avoids repetition wherever possible (especially when dealing with parallel passages), his tone is warmly devotional, and the focus throughout is on practical lessons the reader can profitably apply to opportunities for personal and (to a lesser extent) corporate prayer in daily Christian life. Notwithstanding the occasional (and perhaps inevitable) typo, I recommend this resource very highly to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding and application of the importance, principles, and practice of prayer as set out in the Bible.
NB.Mick
7/28/2019
I won't comment in detail on the books content and value (but you are getting a - topically focused - great commentary on basically all of scripture). But: At the time of this review, the book goes for $260 - however, the book's content is available as four individual books being sold for $50 each, and sometimes there are rebates (such as Logos Twitter Deal of the Day). This should rather be a bundle and be sold at a price lower than the four volumes combined, and then offer dynamic pricing.
