"This book resulted from a research project in the Department of New Testament Studies at the Norwegian School of Theology (MF), Oslo. Some international and mostly national colleagues participated in the two workshops held in Oslo autumn 2011 and 2012, where submitted papers were presented and discussed."--Preface.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Early Christian prayer and identity formation : introducing the project / Reidar Hvalvik and Karl Olav Sandnes -- Identity and prayer / Mikael Tellbe -- The place of Jesus in earliest Christian prayer and its import for early Christian identity / Larry Hurtado -- Praying with outstretched hands : nonverbal aspects of early Christian prayer and the question of identity / Reidar Hvalvik -- Prayer, 'othering' and the construction of early Christian identity in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke / Geir Otto Holm s -- Prayer and social identity formation in the Letter to the Ephesians / Mikael Tellbe -- Prayer in Acts and the Pastoral Epistles : intersections of gender and class / Anna Rebecca Solev g -- With our eyes fixed on Jesus : the prayers of Jesus and his followers in Hebrews / Ole Jacob Filtvedt -- Heavenly prayer and Christian identity in the Book of Revelation / Craig R. Koester -- "The First Prayer" : Pater Noster in the early church / Karl Olav Sandnes -- The Lord's Prayer and the eucharist prayers in the Didache / Hans Kvalbein -- "What point is there for me in other people hearing my confessions?" Prayer and Christian identity in Augustine's Confessions / Reidar Aasgaard -- Christians praying in a Graeco-Egyptian context : intimations of Christian identity in Greek papyrus prayers / Anastasia Maravela -- Prayer in the Valentinian Apolytrosis : a case study on Gnostic identity / Niclas F|rster -- "Bring now, O Zeus, what difficulty thou wilt." Prayer and identity formation in the stoic philosopher Epictetus / Glenn Wehus -- Prayer and identity formation : attempts at a synthesis / Reidar Hvalvik and Karl Olav Sandnes.