Is it best understood as prayer or a place?
The most common New Testament Greek word that is translated into English as prayer is the word proseuche (Gk. προσευχή). When Paul, Luke, and Silas arrived at Philippi in the initial stages of their second missionary journey (Acts 16:13, 16), as was typical, they associated with Jewish people and proselytes at a proseuchē, located outside the city gate and near a river: “On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer” (Gk. προσευχὴν). We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there” (Acts 16:13, 16). In both those verses of chapter 16, the Greek word is translated as a place of prayer. In every other context in which it is used, the New Testament renders that same word as prayer or prayers.
The noun proseuchē emerges as a significant term in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (or LXX), where it is primarily used as a reference to prayer. Only in connection with another noun does it refer to a place. The context of Acts 16:16 would seem to make it clear that the proper word is a place and not an activity such as praying. However, a more expansive linguistic analysis of the word’s use reveals that proseuche is not only a place, but also an activity known as prayer. The related verb proseuchomai (Gk. προσεύχομαι) denotes an active exchange encompasses all the aspects of prayer — submission, confession, petition, supplication (may concern one’s own need), intercession (concerned with the needs of others), praise, and thanksgiving.
So, the verb proseuchomai is understood as to pray, which was used in that sense in classical Greek, but not the noun proseuchē. Analyzing that latter word etymologically, it is a compound word. The word pros carries the meaning of close, up-front, or intimate contact with someone else. The second part of the word proseuche is taken from the word euche, which is an old Greek word that describes a wish, desire, prayer, or vow. Euche was originally used to depict anyone who had made some kind of vow to God because of a particular need or desire in their life. This individual would vow to give something of great value to God in exchange for a favorable answer to their prayer.
When those implications are taken together, the word proseuche establishes that prayer should bring those who pray face to face and into close contact with God. Prayer is meant to be more than a mechanical act or a formula to follow. Instead, prayer in its biblical connotation, is a vehicle to bring those who pray to a place whereby they may enjoy a close, intimate relationship with God.
The idea of sacrifice is also associated with this Greek word for prayer. It portrayed an individual who desired to see their prayers answered so desperately that they were willing to surrender everything they had or owned in exchange for an answer to that prayer. Clearly, this describes an altar of sacrifice and consecration in prayer whereby a believer’s life is yielded entirely to God—a clear allusion to the Eucharist as the ultimate prayer!
Excerpted from Dr. Larry Perkins. moments.nbseminary.com. “What is proseuche?” 9 December 2019.
Nature and dignity 