Into god's presence: Prayer in the new testament

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Mar 2003 by Longenecker, Richard N

Into God's Presence: Prayer in the New Testament. Edited by Richard N. Longenecker. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001, 292 pp., $28.00 paper.

This is the fifth volume in the McMaster New Testament Studies series. The essays were first presented at the H. H. Bingham Colloquium in New Testament at McMaster Divinity College on June 21-22, 1999. There are 12 essays by as many authors.

Part I ("The Setting") includes four essays: "Prayer in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible," by Christopher R. Seitz (pp. 3-22); "Prayer in the Greco-Roman World," by David E. Aune (pp. 23-42); "Prayer in Jewish Life of the First Century as Background to Early Christianity," by Asher Finkel (pp. 43-65); "Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls," by Eileen M. Schuller (pp. 66-88).

Part II ("Jesus and the Gospels") also includes four essays: "The Canticles of Luke's Infancy Narrative: The Appropriation of a Biblical Tradition," by Stephen Farris (pp. 91-112); "Jesus - Example and Teacher of Prayer in the Synoptic Gospels," by I. Howard Marshall (pp. 113-31); "The Lord's Prayer as a Paradigm of Christian Prayer," by N. T. Wright (pp. 132-54); "God's Name, Jesus' Name, and Prayer in the Fourth Gospel," by Andrew T. Lincoln (pp. 155-80).

Part III ("Acts Through the Apocalypse") contains four essays: "Persevering Together in Prayer: The Significance of Prayer in the Acts of the Apostles," by Joel B. Green (pp. 183-202); "Prayer in the Pauline Letters," by Richard N. Longenecker (pp. 203-27); "Finding Yourself an Intercessor: New Testament Prayer from Hebrews to Jude," by J. Ramsey Michaels (pp. 228-51); "Prayer in the Book of Revelation," by Richard Bauckham (pp. 252-70).

The volume concludes with indexes of modern subjects, authors, and Scripture, and other ancient literature.