Prayer
Different Kinds of Prayer
“Just do it” is a motto I live by.
Keira has that same mentality. We were unloading a trailer of “fill dirt,” when Keira found her shovel and joined us. Because her shovel was too big and she didn’t know how to use it, instead of using the shovel as a tool to get the job done, she picked the dirt up by the handfuls and dropped it onto the shovel.
She’ll learned!
So often I “JUST DO IT!” I know how it’s supposed to be done, I just dive it. And while I have accomplished a lot by diving in and just doing it, I have also discovered there are benefits that come with increased knowledge.
Even with Prayer
As a little girl I didn’t know anything about prayer, I just talked to God relationally. I prayed for my dad. I prayed about school. I just did it. I talked to God like I would my best friend. It was conversational. It was precious time that shaped my life. And I will never stop doing that! It is an important part of my prayer life.
I pray over little things, big ones and everything in between.
As I read my Bible
I learned about prayer in the Bible. I discovered examples and clues in Scripture that enriched my prayer time. My prayer was still relational, but I realized there are different kinds of prayer.
I still talk with God about everything, but I also enjoy other kinds of prayer too.
Different Kinds of Prayer
Often, different types of prayer get all rolled up into one group like a pot of soup; causing us to miss the benefits that are derived from savoring the unique and distinct flavors of different types of prayer.
What?
Let me explain. Most of us know a lot about asking God for things, that’s the “Prayer of Petition.” The Bible gives us a firm foundation for asking boldly and expecting results. But that’s only one kind of prayer.
There’s more.
And like a cook that is given an unfamiliar spice, we struggle with how to use different types. Without embracing and practicing the different kinds of prayer, our prayer time can lack depth and scope. My intention is not to merely put a name on a type of prayer, but enrich your prayer life to include different types of prayer, so you will operate in them with authority, confidence and boldness.
Prayer is important.
Jesus prayed…it sounds to me like He prayed a lot!
When Jesus taught his followers about prayer, Jesus didn’t say, “Well, just in case you want to pray sometime.”
No, He said, “When you pray.”
Prayer is a right and a responsibility of every believer.
It is a privilege to pray.
As His child you can enjoy all the benefits of belonging to God’s family. You have access into the very presence of God. That’s a life changing truth! We have access not because we earned it, but because Jesus paid the price for our sins.
Also a Responsibility
We are instructed to pray for our needs and also the needs of others. “1 Timothy 2:1 NIV I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone–”
Prayer of Intercession
The prayer of intercession is intense prayer that bombards heaven for someone else. Often intercession feels heavy and intense. Sometimes it is prolonged. Sometimes the feeling that you need to pray will continue until you feel a release in your spirit. Until you sense that you have touched heaven or sometimes until the answer arrives.
We get a glimpse of intercession in the story of the widow woman and the unjust judge in Luke 18:9-14.
She wanted to save her son, so she interceded, begging the judge to release her son. But the judge didn’t care what happened to him, because he wasn’t his son.
When you realize you have a stake in the situation, you’ll intercede.
As believers, our heart is moved by the needs of other, we care about the results. We genuinely care about the needs of others, so we take the need to our Father in prayer.
Let me explain with a story
from Bruce Wilkerson’s powerful book “Beyond Jabez.” He tells about going into a stadium arena early for a Promise Keepers event where he found a small group praying.
The presence of God was so real that he slipped into a seat behind the group and waited until they finished. They explained that they were a part of a group of churches in that city that had been praying every Friday night for a hour and a half for the last year for this event.
But why?
Why did they pray so hard for so long?
It wasn’t their event!
They weren’t speaking.
It wasn’t held in their church.
They weren’t getting paid.
Two reasons:
- They cared.
- They understood the power of persist prayer.
They prayed because they cared.
They cared because they connected with God.
In that connection they began to care about the things God cares about.
They saw God’s heart. They saw a glimpse of what God wanted to do with an upcoming men’s event in their city. They got it.
God’s vision rubbed off on them. They began to partner with God through prayer for His will to be done.
James 4:2b “And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it.”
Ask God to stretch your vision to include others.
Ask God to stretch your faith.
Maybe that stretch will be gradual, but keep hanging out with God.
Keep praying your relational prayers.
Keep asking God to meet your needs, but then pause long enough to expand your prayer to include, “Father, who do you want me to pray for?”
Listen…and pray!