A profound study about the biblical prayer was published in the form of a video by the Facebook site IMS SDA GC on May 27, 2024, as a Q & A session organized by the International Missionary Society (IMS): https://www.facebook.com/imssdarmgc/videos/936869801529065. Pastor Douglas Francis, General Conference Advisor at the IMS, was the moderator of the event and Pastor Tzvetan Petkov, General Conference President at the IMS, presented the main biblical aspects of the prayer as the means of communication with God.

Pastor Tzvetan Petkov underlined the biblical fact that the prayer, including the Lord’s prayer as a model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), was one of the three components of God’s will for us revealed in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and mentioned the essential and mighty help of the Holy Spirit Who supports us and teaches us how to pray (Romans 8:26). In addition, Pastor Tzvetan Petkov explained the difference between the public prayer with its characteristics (shortness and aspiration to edify and to strengthen the faith of the others – Matthew 6:7; John 11:42) and the private prayer with its features (entrance into the inner room of the heart and such a duration which is needed – Matthew 6:6; Luke 6:12). Furthermore, Pastor Tzvetan Petkov emphasized that the usual biblical position for a prayer was to kneel down (Ephesians 3:14), and that, however, other positions were also possible when it was not possible to bend the knee (Matthew 14:30; Luke 23:42), apart from the position to fall on his face in urgent situations (Matthew 26:39; 1 Corinthians 14:25).

Finally, Pastor Tzvetan Petkov specified the biblical advice that the prayer in other languages should be accompanied by an interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:13-19) and that evil speaking against brethren, included in a prayer, would be an offense against God, because the evil speaking was a deed of the flesh and had nothing to do with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20).

Pastor Tzvetan Petkov praying for a soul before the baptism; a photo from the personal archive of Pastor Tzvetan Petkov.

Written by Margarit Zhekov