THE APPOINTED TIMES

FOR PRAYER!

Have you ever felt guilty about praying to Yahweh? Like when you are laying down in bed trying to pray and you cannot concentrate. How about because you just don’t make time to pray like you know you should? How about the fact that you really do not know how to pray? Or, you do know how to pray but you only pray when you are in need of something? If you have answered any of the questions with a yes, you are not alone. In fact, out of all the tenets of our faith, prayer is probably the most complex. So much so that even though all religions have it as part of their faith, all of them teach it differently. For example, many of the eastern religions offer repeated and chanted prayers to their gods; Islam teaches that one must pray five times a day. Even the common day Jews have many Hebrew prayers which they repeat at certain festivals. We are all familiar with the Wailing Wall where we see many men standing in front of the wall while bouncing their heads back and forth in prayer. Many of us parents teach our kids to pray when they are just babies and we continue to teach them through adolescence.

So how does one pray? Is there a way to pray which pleases Yahweh and is there an appointed time for prayer? This study hopes to answer some of the questions that you might have. The goal of this study is to help you improve your relationship and your communication with our Father Yahweh.

The fact is that Yahweh has definitely set an appointed time for prayer. Much like a judge sets a time to hear a case, Yahweh has arranged a time for which we are to come before him. This is not to say that the times that we will be studying in this article are the only times for prayer. In fact Yahweh is happy to hear our petitions during any time of the day and/or night; however he has set aside a time in which he has asked us to come before him (daily); to stand/kneel before him and to give attention to his presence.

Before we begin our study let us review two pivotal words. They are Boqer (morning-sunrise) and Ereb (evening-sunset) Strong number’s 1242 and 6153 respectively. These two words are critical for our study because they are the appointed times which Yahweh established as our times for our daily prayers.

Morning (Sunrise)

OT:1242 boqer (bo'-ker); from OT:1239; properly, dawn (as the break of day); generally, morning: KJV - (+)day, early, morning, morrow.

OT:1239baqar (baw-kar); a primitive root; properly, to plough, or (generally) break forth, i.e. (figuratively) to inspect, admire, care for, consider:KJV - (make) inquire (-ry), (make) search, seek out.

Evening(Sunset)

OT:6153 `ereb (eh'-reb); from OT:6150; dusk: KJV - + day, even (-ing, tide), night.

OT:6150 `arab (aw-rab'); a primitive root [identical with OT:6148 through the idea of covering with a texture]; to grow dusky at sundown: KJV - be darkened, (toward) evening.

The appointed time for sacrifices mentioned at creation

Many things were established at the time of creation. One of these things were the times for the appointed sacrifices that would later be mentioned in the Second Book of Moshe (Moses) (Exodus). Notice what we are told in the First Book of Moshe:

Gen 1:5

5 Elohim called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening⁶¹⁵³, and there was morning¹²⁴²--the first day.

A pattern of praises were established through the daily ritual sacrifices which were to occur in the morning (sunrise) and the evening (sunset):

Amongst the many rules, laws and precepts that Yahweh gave Moshe (Moses) regarding the animal sacrifices, He made it perfectly clear that on two occasions, sunrise and sunset, the priests were to make mandated offerings.

Ex 29:38-41

38 "This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer one in the morning¹²⁴²and the other at twilight⁶¹⁵³. 40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning--a pleasing aroma, an offering made to Yahweh by fire.

Lev 6:19-21

19 Yahweh also said to Moshe, 20 "This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to Yahweh on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning¹²⁴² and half in the evening⁶¹⁵³.

1 Chron 16:40

40 to present burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning¹²⁴² and evening⁶¹⁵³, in accordance with everything written in the Law of Yahweh, which he had given Yisrael.

2 Chron 2:4

4 Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of Yahweh my Elohim and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning¹²⁴² and evening⁶¹⁵³ and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of Yahweh our Elohim. This is a lasting ordinance for Yisrael.

2 Chron 13:11-12

11 Every morning¹²⁴² and evening⁶¹⁵³ they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to Yahweh. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of Yahweh our Elohim. But you have forsaken him.

Ezra 3:2-3

3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, both the morning¹²⁴² and evening⁶¹⁵³ sacrifices.

The appointed time for sacrifices

The next verse makes it perfectly clear that these sacrifices were appointed times; the word used here is #4150 Mowed, which is the same word describing the Set-Apart Days of Yahweh.

Num 28:1-5

28:1 Yahweh said to Moshe, 2 "Give this command to the Yisraelites and say to them: 'See that you present to me at the appointed time^{4150 mowed} the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.' 3 Say to them: 'This is the offering made by fire that you are to present to Yahweh: two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day. 4 Prepare one lamb in the morning¹²⁴² and the other at twilight⁶¹⁵³,

Lev 23:2

2 Speak unto the children of Yisrael, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts^{4150 mowed} of Yahweh, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts^{4150 mowed} .

Prayer test proposed by Eliyah at the time of the evening sacrifice:

We see here an example of how Eliyah understood the importance of this appointed time (sunset) in that he allowed the priests of Baal to make fools of themselves until the time that Yahweh appointed. Then precisely at Yahweh’s appointed time, Eliyah called out to Him and He answered by performing His miracle:

1 Kings 18:26-38

26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made…..they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. ….36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O YHWH, Elohim of Abraham, Yisaac and Yisrael, let it be known today that you are Elohim in Yisrael and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. …38 Then the fire of Yahweh fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

Prayer offered in the morning (#1242 Sunrise):

There are many verses in the Scriptures that point to the morning (sunrise) as an important time for prayer. In all of these verses, the word ‘morning’ refers to #1242 which means sunrise:

Ps 5:1-3

Give ear to my words, O YHWH, consider my sighing. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my Elohim, for to you I pray. 3 In the morning¹²⁴², O YHWH, you hear my voice; in the morning¹²⁴² I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Ps 88:13-14

13 But I cry to you for help, O YHWH; in the morning¹²⁴² my prayer comes before you. 14 Why, O YHWH, do you reject me and hide your face from me?

Ps 143:8

8 Let the morning¹²⁴² bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Isa 33:2

2 O YHWH, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning¹²⁴², our salvation in time of distress.

Evening (#6153 Sunset)

It is possible that the patriarchs were aware of the appointed times of prayer; notice that Yisaac (Isaac) was on his way to pray during the time of the evening Sacrifice. We are well aware that this occurred long before Yahweh spoke to Moshe:

Gen 24:63

63 And Yisaac went out to meditate [pray] in the field at the eventide⁶¹⁵³: ….

We see here in the book of Ezra that when he was told that the priests had sinned, he waited until the time of the evening sacrifice. Upon that time he then begin to pray and to call out to Yahweh:

Ezra 9:4-5

4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the Elohim of Yisrael, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening⁶¹⁵³ sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto YHWH my Elohim.

David understood the importance of prayer during this time. Since he could not perform the required sacrifice, he requested that Yahweh accept this prayer as the evening sacrifice:

Ps 141:2-3

2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening⁶¹⁵³ sacrifice.3 Set a watch, O YHWH, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

We see in the next verse that the hand of Yahweh was upon Ezekiel in the evening; the set apart time for prayer:

Ezek 33:22

22 Now the hand of YHWH was upon me in the evening⁶¹⁵³, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.

David Prayed three times a day in the morning, noon and evening:

Notice that David added the noontime as a time to pray, however he kept in line with the appointed times (sunrise and sunset).

Ps 55:17

17 Evening⁶¹⁵³, morning¹²⁴² and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

Daniel’s example of prayer:

In Daniel Chapter 6 we are told that he prayed three times a day. It is very likely that he prayed during the times that are mentioned in the above Psalm (55:17). The interesting point about Daniel is that he was in exile. In other words he could not perform the prescribed sacrifices that Yahweh had commanded Moshe. But in obedience to those times, Daniel instead gave attention to Yahweh in prayer. We see many examples throughout his writings that Yahweh heard his prayers. Notice the next verse which makes clear that Daniel was in obedience to the appointed times of prayer:

Dan 9:21

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening⁶¹⁵³ oblation.

Our bodies have replaced the animal sacrifices and drink offerings:

Both in the Old and New Testament, the assertion is made that our bodies are to be offered as spiritual sacrifices. The New Testament however clarifies this because of the fact that we no longer have to offer animal sacrifices.

Rom 12:1-2

12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Elohim's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Elohim-this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Elohim's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Phil 2:17-18

17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Prayer from the lips is likened to an offering:

Hos 14:2

Take words with you and return to Yahweh. Say to him: "Forgive all our sins

and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

What about the New Testament:

One of the difficulties about this teaching is that it does not appear to be taught in the New Testament. On the surface we find the same dilemma with this teaching that we do with the Sabbath and the Feast Days. However, if we do a deep search and think like a Yisraelite instead of a Grecian; and if we take into account the Scriptures already mentioned in the Old Testament we can find harmonious continuity within the Scriptures. Take for example the story of Cornelius, we are told that he prayed to Elohim always. If we read his story very carefully we get the idea that he thought like a Yisraelite would have. We also notice that he pleased Yahweh with his prayers. Since Yahweh had commanded the hour of sacrifice/prayer, one can confidently assume that Cornelius prayed daily during those times and therefore Yahweh was pleased. In addition we see that Yahweh was pleased with the fact that Cornelius had a good heart.:

Acts 10:1-6

10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared Elohim with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to Elohim always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of Elohim coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!" 4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, master?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before Elohim. 5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.

The following Scriptures do not give us a time in which Paul was praying, however it is probable that being an Yisraelite he would have been aware of the times that Yahweh had established. We know for example that he kept all of the Commanded Feast days even though the New Testament doesn’t necessarily tell us so. Still one can strongly assume that he prayed continuously during the times allocated and probably at other times. Paul’s comment of “pray without ceasing” could very well be a reference to the fact that praying every day twice a day would be a form of “pray without ceasing.”

Rom 1:9-11

9 For Elohim is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of Elohim to come to you.

Rom 12:9-19 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving Yahweh; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

Eph 1:15-18

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in Yahshua and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the Elohim of our Master Yahshua Ha Mashiach, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

Col 1:9-10

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

1 Thess 3:6-10

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you-- 7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in Yahweh. 9 For what thanks can we render to Elohim for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our Elohim, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?

1 Thess 5:12-22

12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in Yahweh and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of Elohim in Mashiach Yahshua for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

1 Tim 5:3-6

3 Honor widows who are really widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before Elohim. 5 Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in Elohim and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

2 Tim 1:3-4

3 I thank Elohim, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,

What about Yahshua?

We see many instances in which Yahshua prayed…in fact he even taught the disciples how to pray properly (Matt 6:9). A safe assumption with regard to Yahshua and prayer is that he would have also been aware of what Yahweh required. Yahshua would have also been aware of the morning and evening sacrifices and of the practices of those men that prayed during these times. It is possible that Yahshua was referring to the allocated times when he gave his advice for prayer in the following verses. Notice also he advises us not to babble and to watch what we say as this allotted times are very serious.

Matt 6:6-8

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The following verse makes it clear that prayer during this allotted times is very serious:

Eccl 5:2-3

2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before Elohim. Elohim is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

Looking at some loose Scriptures

I identify loose scriptures as scriptures that make more sense when you put them in perspective with the allotted times of prayer. Take for instance the verse that warns against letting the sun go down on your anger. When one comes before Yahweh during the evening prayer, one must be right in his/her heart. Therefore one must deal with their problems before they stand/kneel before Him. It turns into a win-win situation. When we deal with our anger we are happier and we can experience more peace in our lives, relationships and marriages.

Eph 4:26-27

26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

One of the other loose Scriptures that makes more sense is when Yahweh gave the laws of purity. He certainly declared that a person would be unclean until sunset; this is because sunset is the end and start of the day but also because a sacrificial sin offering would be offered at that time. Being in presence and prayer with Yahweh is a step in the right direction towards being purified.

Lev 11:24-25

24 "'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening⁶¹⁵³. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening⁶¹⁵³.

Similarly we see that Yahweh commanded that nobody would be hung on a tree after sunset. It is obvious that these allotted times for sacrifice/prayer are important to Yahweh.

Josh 8:29

29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.

Another one of our loose Scriptures is the one that I find most intriguing. It has been a costum for many people that keep Atonement to call the people that they have offended and apologize so that they can fast with a clear conscience. Although this practice is a good one, it is evident to me that the verse which people use to support this practice has a better application when used with the appointed times of prayer.

Matt 5:23-24

23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

When we apply the above scripture to the appointed times for prayer, one of the things that we must do is to sort out any unresolved issues that we have with our brethren. The result is that we address our issues immediately instead of just before Atonement. Many studies have proven that resolving conflict early on is much healthier for us. Not to mention the fact that practicing conflict resolution with the brethren is one of the pathways to unity. If you have two brethren that keep the appointed times of prayer and they understand the significance of standing before Yahweh with a clear conscience then we can see that they will ensure that they stand before Yahweh with a clear conscience. In other words they will address whatever issues they have before them and then go before Yahweh in prayer:

1 Peter 3:12

12 For the eyes of YHWH are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of YHWH is against those who do evil."

Some Possible arguments:

One of the arguments that people would have against this tenet is that these times could be restricting and binding. The truth however is that we must look at them as we do the Sabbath. Yahweh established the Sabbath as a day of rest and a time for reflection on His word. To some people the Sabbath is binding and restricting, but to those who understand the purpose for the Sabbath. They see it as a time of freedom and blessing. The appointed times of prayer that Yahweh established are not restricting. They are a time in which we have the freedom to stand/kneel before him and commune with him.

Another argument that we might hear regarding these times of prayer is that Yahshua did away with them because he did away with the sacrifices. We know and understand that Yahshua did do away with the sacrifices, however, he did not do away with the “appointed times” that Yahweh established. What about the argument that praying twice a day is too ritualistic and that it might take away from the faith in Yahweh? The reality is that having rituals in which Yahweh is the cornerstone cannot be bad. On the contrary, as we establish and practice the times of prayer, we are united by the fact that there would be many like-minded people speaking to Yahweh with one voice and in many instances, at the same time.

What about the argument that this tenet is not supported in the New Testament therefore we don’t have to do it? It is true that this tenet is not clearly spelled out in the New Testament. However, we know that the New Testament brethren did not use the New Testament writings to establish doctrines. The reason for that is that during their time there was no such thing. It didn’t come to be known as such till almost four hundred years later. The fact is that these brethren would have exclusively used the Old Testament; thus they would have been aware of the fact that Yahweh appointed two times for sacrifices. Furthermore, they would have also seen the examples of prayer offered by the individuals that we have noted in this study.

The argument that I would agree with is that this tenet just like all the rest requires a change of heart and a change of life style. Instead of sleeping in, one would have to make time to pray in the morning. They would also have to make time in the evening. And, of course, just like all of the tenets this would be a life-long commitment. I must admit that when I first started doing this it took some time to get in the habit of it. On many occasions I would be busy doing other things during the sunset prayer that I would forget to pray. I know that Yahweh is forgiving and full of grace and I am sure that he overlooks these times of adjustment. Even now I am having to rearrange my life so that I can meet the morning time for prayer. I make arrangements to pull over and pray if I am on the road during either of these two times. The adjustment has been positive for my family and I have found myself being more in tune with prayer as I reach-out to Yahweh and Yahshua on a daily basis.

Summary:

It is obvious by the aforementioned Scriptures that the daily prayer times should be added to the tenets of our faith. Not only do we see the command from Yahweh to offer sacrifices at sunrise and sunset but we also have examples of men that were not sacrificing but were spending those times in prayer. Yahshua did not come to do away with the appointed times, he only came to fulfill the animal sacrifices and to establish a new and more spiritual roadway to Yahweh. We need to honor these times during our lives and stand/kneel before Yahweh under His (Yahshua’s) authority. Imagine the benefits to having both our day and evening start with our being in community with Yahweh. Already I have seen many blessings and you will too!

It is commonly understood that when the Yisraelites were in the desert, they would step outside of their tents and face the tabernacle during the times of the evening and morning sacrifice. Twice a day they would come in his presence; similarly we as believers should stand/kneel before him twice a day and attend to him in prayer. Practicing this tenet along with the many other ones, adds to our intent to live our lives as Yahweh and Yahshua centered. As mentioned earlier, this is not to say that we should not pray to Yahweh at any other times of the day or night. We have examples where both David and Daniel prayed at noon and it seems that the disciples also prayed at other times. The important thing however is to recognize the fact that Yahweh, our Father, established His appointed times for prayer! All we can do as humble servants is to obey and to trust that He established them for a greater purpose. HalleluYah!

(Questions or comments can be sent to: in_his_name@insightbb.com)

Elder Hector Castillo