Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary says of “prayer,” “an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought.” Originally, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve conversed directly with God (Genesis 3:9). After the fall and expulsion from the Garden, man never again enjoyed the same relationship with God. From that time, with occasional exceptions, mankind has not had the opportunity to converse directly with God, and man’s address to God has been through the vehicle we call “prayer.”
Most students of the Bible believe that the Book of Job is the oldest Bible book. Whereas the Book of Genesis chronicles the creation forward for thousands of years, it was probably penned later than the Book of Job. Both the Book of Genesis and the Book of Job concern the religious period known as Patriarchy. The word “prayer” first appears in our English Bibles in Job 16:17, “Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.” However, the earliest reference to prayer in Genesis is comparatively soon after the fall of man; “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26). Since Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve and Seth’s son, Enos, was the grandson of Adam and Eve, the reference to prayer in Genesis 4:26 probably predates the Book of Job. The McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia observes:
That prayer was coeval with the fallen race we cannot doubt, and it was in all probability associated with the first sacrifice. The first definite account of its public observance occurs in the remarkable expression recorded in the lifetime of Enos, the son of Seth: “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord” (Gen 4:26). From that time, a life of prayer evidently marked the distinction between the pious and the wicked. The habit was maintained in the chosen family of Abraham, as is evident from frequent instances in the history of the Hebrew patriarchs.
It is reasonable to conclude that “prayer” began and continued as a means of communication with God from the time mankind lost the opportunity in the Garden of Eden to talk directly with God.
Works Cited
McClintock, John, and John Strong. McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 2000.
Mish, Frederick C. Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 1993.
