I'm Praying, Not Drunk

Eli mistook Hannah's silent prayer for drunken babbling.

Hannah and Elkanah had Samuel as an answer to her prayer.

Prayer of Revenge

After Samson was pestered into confessing the source of his great strength to Delilah, the Philistines captures him and poked out his eyes.

In response, Samson prayed to be given super-human strength to kill thousands of people, even while killing himself.

Samson

Samson's miraculous birth was announced unsolicited.

But his father, Manoah, prayed for the return of the Lord's angel to ask how to raise their special child.

Moses v. Pharaoh

Moses prays on behalf of Pharaoh several times throughout the plagues.

It is interesting that another early model of prayer is intercessory, not directly from the sinner to God.

Prayer and Fasting

The words prayer and fasting only occur together 8 times in the NIV. That's less than I was expecting.

Nameless Servant

Abraham's head servant prayed for a sign before meeting Rebekah, Isaac's future wife.

First Prayer

I was surprised to find that the word "pray" doesn't appear until Genesis 20.

Abimelech was tricked into taking Abraham's wife, Sarah, into his harem. God appears to Abimelech in a dream and threatens his whole household with death if he doesn't return Sarah to Abraham.

Abimelech agrees to these terms but states his innocence. God agrees, but tells Abimelech that Abraham will pray for his forgiveness.

This places much more of the process of forgiveness on an intermediary than I'd expect.