The prayer was written near the end of the first century.

Scripture is full of prayers from front to cover, but after the final page of Revelation, how did the early Christians pray to God?

The oldest known Christian prayer outside of the Bible can be found in the works of St. Clement of Rome, the fourth pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He held the office of Successor of St. Peter from 88 to 99, and is said to have been consecrated a bishop by St. Peter himself.

He wrote a prayer that historian A. Hamman, O.F.M. calls a “Prayer for All Needs.” It is a beautiful prayer, rich in symbolism and firmly rooted in the Gospel message. Below is an except of this ancient prayer (which is quite lengthy). For the full prayer, check out Early Christian Prayers.

You alone watch over the interests of spiritual beings, you are the God of all flesh. You gaze into the depths, you watch what men are doing. You are our help in danger, you save the despairing, Creator and Keeper of all that is spiritual. You give increase to the peoples of the earth, and from them all you chose us out to love you, through Jesus Christ, your dear Child, who brought us instruction, holiness and honor.We beg you, Lord, to help and defend us. Deliver the oppressed, pity the insignificant, raise the fallen, show yourself to the needy, heal the sick, bring back those of your people who have gone astray, feed the hungry, lift up the weak, take off the prisoners’ chains. May every nation come to know that you alone are God, that Jesus Christ is your Child, that we are your people, the sheep that you pasture.You have shown by what you have made and done how the world has been planned from eternity. The earth is your creation, Lord, yours that are true to every generation, just when you judge, your strength and splendour a marvel. Such competence yours in creating, such skill in setting firm the things you make, your goodness apparent in this world to see. You are loyal to those who trust you, merciful, compassionate. Forgive us our sins, our injustice, Our falls, our jarring deeds.

An arson investigation is under way after fire destroyed a historic church in South Los Angeles early Sunday, authorities said.

The blaze at Victory Baptist Church broke out shortly before 2:30 a.m. and quickly grew to major emergency status, said Nicholas Prange, a spokesperson with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Two firefighters were hospitalized with mild to moderate injuries after battling the flames, Prange said. One became trapped by a collapsing ceiling before being rescued, he said.

The Los Angeles Times said Victory Baptist has played a major role in the spiritual and political history of South LA.

Founded in a local storefront on Easter Sunday in 1943, the church moved into its current building on McKinley Ave a year later. In the 1950s, its Sunday night services were broadcast on television nationally.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the church in 1964.

An arson team with the House of Worship Task Force was part of the investigation, officials said.

Health issues, job losses, death of loved ones, ongoing stressful circumstances — all these things can make a believer struggle with unbelief. We start to doubt if God is working in the situation or question His goodness.

Oftentimes, we can become so focused on the challenging situation that we lose sight of God and His ability. In those moments, we need help to bolster our faith.

Jesus can help us overcome our unbelief when we cry out to Him. Just as He did for the father of the demon-possessed boy, Jesus can help us see our weakness, demonstrate His power, and redirect our focus to Him. He faithfully helps us in our unbelief and patiently shows us that He is trustworthy.

Biblical Context and Background

Directly after the event of the Transfiguration, Jesus and the “inner circle” of disciples descended the mountain and found the rest of the disciples unable to heal a demon-possessed boy (Mark 9:2-14).

Experts in the law were arguing with the disciples, and the boy’s father was overwhelmed (Mark 9:14,17-18).

Commenting on the disciples’ lack of faith, Jesus requested that the boy be brought to Him (Mark 9:19). The father explained the condition of his son: “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:22).

Based on the father’s reply, his experience with the disciples has caused him to doubt Jesus’ ability. Christ repeated the father’s words: “‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes’” (Mark 9:23).

After Jesus’ corrective statement, the man cried out, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

Although he believed in Jesus, he also struggled with doubts and weakness in his faith. Jesus immediately demanded that the demon leave the boy and heals him of the painful possession (Mark 9:25-27).

In this conversation between the Lord and the boy’s father, we learn how Jesus helped the man overcome unbelief. By noticing these aspects of the conversation, we can note how Christ helps us with our doubts and questions.

He Points Out Areas of Weakness

In their conversation, Jesus started by pointing out the father’s struggle with doubt. The man had asked Jesus for help but doubted the Lord’s ability: “If you can” (Mark 9:22). Jesus answers this doubt by reminding the man that anything is possible for the one who believes (Mark 9:23).

The problem was that the man was focusing on the challenging circumstance instead of God. He witnessed the disciples’ inability to heal his son and was overwhelmed by the seriousness of his situation.

The man’s son was suffering, and he questioned if Jesus could free his son from the demon. Jesus’ reply allowed the man to see the weakness of his faith, which was the first step in overcoming his doubts.

Like the father of the demon-possessed boy, we often focus on challenging situations and forget the truth of Jesus’ strength.

These circumstances can discourage us, but they can also reveal areas of doubt in our life. Jesus uses these situations to help us recognize our weaknesses, so we can start focusing on His strength.

He Patiently Demonstrates His Power

Christ demonstrated His authority over the spiritual world that day and showed the boy’s father His ability and trustworthiness. Both the disciples and the boy’s father displayed weakness of faith and doubts.

Jesus bemoaned their lack of faith when He said, “’You unbelieving generation,’” … “‘how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?’” (Mark 9:19). He addressed both the crowd and the disciples.

The disciples had repeatedly witnessed Jesus’ miracles that demonstrated His divinity and power. He had power over the elements (Mark 4:41), power over demons (Mark 1:25), and even power over death (Mark 5:41-42).

All these signs served as proof of His identity as the Messiah and Son of God (John 30-31). Similarly, Jesus showed the boy’s father that He is powerful and capable by driving out the demon from the boy.

Importantly, Jesus also dealt with Thomas in a similar way. Thomas was skeptical of the other disciples’ claims that Jesus was resurrected.

He claimed, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe” (John 20:25, BSB).

When Christ appeared to Thomas, He took care to show the disciple His hands, feet, and side. As He told Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).

In His patience with our doubts and questions, Jesus willingly gets down to our level. He shows us His strength and power so that we can overcome our unbelief.

Today, Christians have the complete Word of God. By reading Scripture and seeing Jesus’ faithfulness as our Lord and Savior, we can grow in our faith.

He ensured that the disciples would record His words and deeds for them and future generations of people who would place faith in Him because of the disciples’ testimony (John 14:26; 17:20). Thus, one of the ways Jesus shows us His power today is through His Word.

He Redirects Our Focus on Him

Driving out the demon from the boy, Jesus showed that He is powerful and capable. However, his words to the boy’s father show that the one who has faith trusts that God is capable and willing.

As John D. Grassmick notes in his commentary, “Faith sets no limits on God’s power and submits itself to His will” (“Mark,” Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament Edition).

Jesus knew that He could and would heal the boy despite the faith of the father. Yet, in most instances in the gospel accounts, Jesus focuses on the individual’s faith in Him.

He was just as concerned with a person’s spiritual life as He was with their physical ailments (John 5:13-14; 9:35-41). Our Lord cared about the boy’s physical oppression by a demon and the father’s struggle with unbelief.

Instead of focusing on doubts and the assumed “strength” of our own faith, we must focus on God and His strength. Followers of Christ are not immune from hardships that shake their faith. Paul struggled with a “thorn in the flesh” that made him feel weak.

The Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our weakness and struggle with faith point us back to our need for Jesus because our strength and faith come from Him.

When we experience unbelief, Jesus brings our focus back on Himself instead of focusing on the situation or our perceived ability.

Why Does This Matter?

In the moments when we experience unbelief, Jesus helps us understand our need for Him. He shows us our weakness in contrast to His power. All our self-sufficiency and perceived strength fade away, and we are left fully aware of our neediness.

Scripture reminds us that “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). Despite our weakness and doubts, Jesus continues to stay faithful. He helps us overcome our unbelief by reminding us of our need for Him and redirecting our focus on Him.

This is something we should all think about.

In a message addressed to the king of Tyre, but obviously meant for Satan, we have these words, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty… You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God… You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

And in Isaiah, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!… For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will be like the Most High'” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Satan was the highest of the created beings. As such, he is extraordinarily powerful. He is also subtle, deceitful, vile, and hateful beyond imagination. Jesus called him the “prince of this earth” and the “father of lies.” (See John 8:44)

His name Lucifer means “the light one.” His name Satan means the “adversary.” His name Beelzebub, according to some, means the “lord of the flies” or the “restless lord.” His name Apollyon means “destroyer.” (See Unger’s Bible Handbook, Chicago: Moody Press, 1966, p. 520-521.) The apostle Peter said that he is like a roaring lion going to and fro seeking whom he may devour (see 1 Peter 5:8).

Christians must remember that Satan appears as “an angel of light” — very beautiful, very seductive, very appealing (2 Corinthians 11:14). His initial appearance is not that of some hideously deformed creature. That view comes later. Satan’s guile and power notwithstanding, every Christian has the power, in the name of Jesus, to resist him and to overcome him. Jesus gave His disciples authority over all the power of the enemy (see 1 John 3:8, Luke 10:19, and James 4:7).

Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life’s Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson. 

In November 1946, as the sun slowly rose over the Judean Desert, three Bedouin cousins went looking for a lost goat in the hills close to the Dead Sea. Intent on finding the animal, they stumbled instead on some of the most important religious texts in the ancient world—the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some 100,000 fragments from around 900 manuscripts, found in 11 caves, have been discovered to date, and new scroll fragments continue to be found to this day. 

Written on animal parchment and papyrus, most of the manuscripts are sectarian, though about 100 of them are biblical text, providing insight into the Bible and shedding light on the histories of Judaism and Christianity. Every book of the Hebrew canon—the Christian Old Testament—are among the texts (except Esther). They also contain previously unknown prayers, hymns, mystical formulas, and the earliest version of the Ten Commandments.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are estimated to be 2,000 years old. While their authenticity is not in doubt, what remains a mystery is their authorship. In this ancient whodunnit, here are some possibilities.

First theories 

The Essenes, a monastic Jewish sect that lived in a nearby desert complex known in Arabic as Khirbet Qumran (ruins of Qumran), is the most common answer among scholars. This notion was set forth by Roland de Vaux, a French archaeologist who, with an international team, excavated Qumran between 1952 and 1957. He came to this conclusion in a couple of ways.

Flavius Josephus, a first-century Romano-Jewish historian who would have known the Essenes, wrote about them in his book, The History of the Jews. Millenia later, De Vaux matched Josephus’ descriptions with those of the region’s inhabitants written in the newly discovered scrolls. Similarities include communal living, wearing linen shifts, and ritual bathing.

Josephus wrote, for example, that at the fifth hour, after “they have clothed themselves in white veils, they then bathe their bodies in cold water.” And indeed, de Vaux and his team excavated a number of mikva’ot (the plural of the Hebrew word mikveh) on the site. These ritual baths would contain around 85 gallons of mostly “living water”—rain or seawater that had not been stored—enabling members to immerse themselves at set times of the day. These common rituals surely confirmed the Essenes and the locals were one and the same, no?

Furthermore, Josephus wrote the Essenes “take great pains in studying the writings of the ancients, and choose out of them what is most for the advantage of their soul and body.” That must be a reference to the sea scrolls, right?

De Vaux concluded the scrolls’ authors had lived in Qumran, since 11 scrolls were discovered close to the site. And, since the Essenes had lived in Qumran, they and the scroll authors appeared to be one and the same.

Debating identities

And yet, many scholars contest the identification of the Qumran community as Essene. For example, many devoutly observant Jews, not just the Essenes, practiced ritual immersion in mikva’ot. In addition, Josephus describes the Essenes as an urban phenomenon rather than a community of hermits in the desert. The Jewish philosopher Philo seems to agree, writing that the Essenes lived “in many cities of Judea and in many villages and grouped in great societies of many members.”

Furthermore, a growing number of scholars have suggested that the people who hid the scrolls around Khirbet Qumran may not be the same people who wrote the scrolls. In fact, given that the Dead Sea Scrolls encompass nearly the full range of the Hebrew Bible, some historians believe that it is almost impossible for a remote, small group of scribes to have written such a large corpus.

Jerusalem origins? 

Some scholars argue it is far more likely that many—if not all of the scrolls—were written by professional scribes working in the Temple in Jerusalem. This so-called “Jerusalem Origin Theory” was first advanced in 1960 by the German theologian Karl Heinrich Rengstorf, who argued that the scrolls must have formed part of an extensive library maintained at the Temple.

The American scholar Norman Golb took this a step further and suggested that the scrolls were evacuated from a number of libraries in Jerusalem and Judea at large as the Roman army under General Titus approached Jerusalem around 70 A.D.

New technology, including artificial intelligence–based analysis of handwriting conducted at the Netherland’s University of Groningen in 2021, bolsters this theory. For example, the research found that different forms of script, and the varying biomechanical behaviour of wielding a pen, show that more than one scribe may have worked on the same Great Isaiah Scroll. Careful analysis of the text has also identified subtle changes in the style of Hebrew, or in the Aramaic, Greek, or even Nabatean of other documents.

Another question is the presence of many duplicates of certain biblical books; why copy more than one version if the scroll was only for local use? The fact that the scrolls represent a near-complete collection of Hebrew Scripture also seems to suggest a more prominent source than a remote breakaway sect.

Reaching compromises  

Some modern archaeologists believe the Essenes authored some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but not all. Recent evidence suggests that during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, when the Temple and much of the city was destroyed, Jews may have escaped to safety through sewers. Researchers have found artefacts, including pottery and coins, in the sewers dating from this time of siege—sewers that lead to the Valley of Kidron, a short distance from the Dead Sea … and Qumran. Perhaps some of the Dead Sea Scrolls travelled this way as well.

Another clue to the compromise theory is the pottery in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. According to Jan Gunneweg of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, like DNA, no clay on Earth has the exact chemical composition so the specific area in which pottery was made can be determined. Her conclusion: Only half of the pottery that held Dead Sea Scrolls is local to Qumran.

Gaining new insights

Modern scientific testing has added to the debate. In recent years, the scrolls have also been analysed by linguistic experts, who proposed a date range from 225 B.C. to A.D. 50, based on the style of writing as well as the size and variability of the characters. This appears to roughly match the later carbon dating of the inks, which were made of carbon soot from oil lamps mixed with olive oil and honey or water.

These tests produced a date range between 385 B.C. and A.D. 80, which would extend the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls well beyond the estimated occupation of the Qumran settlement.

The bottom line: Research is still ongoing and the debates continue to fly. What’s not debated is that the Dead Sea Scrolls provide a rare glimpse into the first-century Jewish world, whoever their authors were.