Summary of the Prayers in Genesis

We have explored, studied, and prayed the prayers in Genesis. These prayers show a lot of variety: five blessings, five petitions, two intercessions, two vows, and one each of a thanksgiving, a lament, and a curse.

This variety is not in the types of prayers, it is among the people who offer them: men and women, old and young, noble and common, and even believers and non-believers. The form and structure of the prayers are also diverse. Some are short, others quite long; some are formal, while others are quite informal; some are complex, some are simple. Even the circumstances of the prayers vary: birth, marriage, death, danger, suffering, celebration, and success. That is, the areas of life which touch us all in some way. What richness of prayer we find—and we have only studied the first book of the Bible!

Five of these prayers are blessings: prayers offered to God asking him to bless someone. The people who offer such prayers are Noah, a pagan priest, an Israelite slave, parents of a young girl, an old father who offers the blessing because he has been deceived, and an old patriarch. Who are these blessings bestowed upon? Four of the five are blessings upon children by parents. Noah, Isaac, and Jacob bless their sons before they die, and Rebekah’s parents bless her before she gets married. Maybe those of us who are parents should practice this more often and with more intention.

Five petitions match the five blessings. A slave asks God to lead him to the right wife for his master; wives pray for children; and a man on a journey, kicked out of his home, prays for safety and protection.

There are two intercessions: one is on behalf of an unbeliever that nothing bad will happen to him. The other is a prayer for children as they go off on a dangerous journey. 

Vows are mentioned twice; both are by the same man. Once, when he is young and selfish, he makes a vow to God to worship him if God will take care of him. As an older man, he promises to that he will do whatever God requires of him.

There is only one thanksgiving in Genesis, though we will see many more of these in other books of the Bible. This one is offered by a servant who has succeeded in the task given to him by his master.

There is also one lament: a parent to cries out to God as she and her child are dying in the desert. Along with the blessings is one curse—also from a parent to a child who dishonored the parent.

If the first fourteen prayers of the Bible show a great richness in type, should that richness not also show in our own prayer lives? 

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