Simeon’s prayer attracts me because it contains so much significance. There are a couple of parts here I would like to look at and the first one is what some have called his prayer for release.

“Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,
    and you may let your servant go in peace.
 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,
     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:
 A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles
    and bring glory to your people Israel.” – Luke 2:29-32 GNT

It was a prayer that came from a place of joy and filled with thanksgiving as he celebrated God fulfilling His word.

Who is Simeon anyway?

At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s promised Messiah. Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required. – Luke 2:25-27 GNT

He was a good man – translated that means he was righteous, honest, upright, sincere, reliable, truthful and a man of integrity. He was one well qualified to pray effectively.

He was one who could be led by the Holy Spirit for he was Spirit-filled. Another necessary qualification to pray effectively.

What do I learn from Simeon’s prayer? It starts with worship, with adoration, with thanksgiving.

Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God. – Luke 2:28 GNT

It acknowledges the Lordship of God recognizing His greatness and authority and that he was only His servant.

It recognized that God was working. It came through His promise and now that what he was waiting for had arrived he was ready to go and there was no fear in that declaration but rather peace.

There was a portion of submission – understanding that our times are in God’s hands. It came with an attitude of humility – one who waited to do the will of His master.

It was a prayer that declared the true nature of salvation. It was not a creed, system or denomination – it is a Person. It was a prepared salvation, in the plan from a long time ago that was meant for everyone to receive.

I love the part of the prayer where he understood and discerned that it was the Jewish nation that was called to impart light to the Gentiles and in so doing they would be glorified.

Compare this great prayer to Eliphaz, Job’s friend and decide who would you rather have on your prayer team.

Empty words, Job! Empty words!
 No one who is wise would talk the way you do
    or defend himself with such meaningless words.
 If you had your way, no one would fear God;
    no one would pray to him.
 Your wickedness is evident by what you say;
    you are trying to hide behind clever words.
 There is no need for me to condemn you;
    you are condemned by every word you speak. – Job 15:1-6 GNT

Eliphaz really missed the mark when he wrongly judged Job. He could not see Job’s secret prayer life or that Job was a man of piety and prayer to which we had been given insight.

Really, “no one would pray to him.”

If we want to talk about why people do not pray, think about these points that Spurgeon shared.

• they do not pray often or regularly
• they do not prepare their hearts properly to pray.
• they do not consider who they are praying to, the way their prayer should be made, that they are a sinner, what they should be presenting to God, asking for and thankful for
• they pray with so much formality that they never pour out their heart to God
• they pray with little faith and too much unbelief

The Psalms were not prayed by people trying to understand themselves. They are not the record of people searching for the meaning of life. They were prayed by people who understood that God had everything to do with them. God, not their feelings, was the center. God, not their souls, was the issue. God, not the meaning of life, was critical. Feelings, souls, and meanings were not excluded — they are very much in evidence — but they are not the reason for the prayers. Human experiences might provoke the prayers, but they do not condition them . . . It is not simply a belief in [God] that conditions these prayers . . . but a doctrine of God. . . . We would rather pray by exploring our own deep spiritual capacities, with God as background music . . . without bothering with the tedium and complexity of the Scriptures . . . [But] if we elect the Psalms to train us in prayer, these are the conditions in which we will be working. – Eugene Peterson