Praying always with all [kinds of] prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:18
There are different kinds of prayer; different strokes for different folks, as they say. There are different types of prayers that must be used for different types of situations. In this life, you will experience a wide variety of situations. Thankfully, God has provided us with a wide variety of prayer types. Let us consider a few of these.
The Prayer of Consecration
In this type of prayer you offer yourself to the Lord for His perfect will to be done. God loves children who want His will to be done.
If you pray this prayer of consecration, God will be more likely to listen to your other prayers. Some people know only “Give me, give me, give me” prayers. There are times God is not interested in answering such prayers. He wants to hear a prayer of consecration.
Learn to spend hours asking the Lord for His will to be done. Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane for three hours. He had only one prayer topic. He did not pray about seventeen different things.
…and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Matthew 26:39
Every Christian must have the prayer of consecration as one of his prayer topics. Pray that God will perform His will in your life. This
prayer topic puts all other prayer topics in their right perspective.
That is why I mentioned it as the first type of prayer that you need to pray.
Praying in the Spirit
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Jude 20
What is praying in the Spirit? The answer is in the Bible.
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
1 Corinthians 14:2
Every Christian can speak to God in mysteries. Praying in tongues is praying in the Spirit. God wants you to pray in tongues. A large percentage of my prayer is prayer “in the Spirit”. I can give you many reasons why you should pray in tongues. One reason is that when you pray in the Spirit, God directs your prayer Himself. He leads you to ask Him for what is necessary. In Acts 2, the Bible says that the Spirit gave them utterance when they spake in tongues. When the Spirit gives you utterance, it means the Spirit is giving you the words to say. What better deal could you have?
Another important reason why you should pray in the Spirit is that it builds you up. 1 Corinthians 14:4 tells us that he who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself. The word edify speaks of charging up in the way a car battery is charged. We all need that regular spiritual charge up.
The Prayer of Faith
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick…
James 5:15
The prayer of faith is a prayer which has a great expression of faith.
In Mark 11:24, the Bible teaches us to believe that we have already received what we prayed for. Believing that you have already received is different from believing that you will receive it one day.
The Prayer of Confession of Sins
It is important for us to confess our sins on a regular basis. Prayer, which does not include prayer for forgiveness, is insufficient. We must always ask for mercy. We must pray for it! If we say that we are perfect, we are foolishly deceived.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8
The Short and Powerful Prayer
And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:36-39
In this Scripture, Jesus found Himself in a crisis situation. He and His disciples were caught up in the middle of a very dangerous storm, and their very lives were being threatened. There was no time to
find a quiet place to pray for the hand of God to move on their behalf. He just prayed a short but powerful prayer and the storm ceased!
Also in John 11:41-42, Jesus encountered another situation that demanded an immediate response. He needed a miracle for his family friends. His old pal Lazarus had been dead for four days.
Everyone was looking up to him. Could he go away and pray for three hours? The answer is no! He had to pray a short prayer and He needed results immediately. Listen to His prayer:
…And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 11:41-42
These types of prayers come in handy when you are faced with a crisis situation. There is no time to retreat and pray. Pray a short and powerful prayer when you need to and believe that God has heard you. After the short and powerful prayer, act boldly just like Jesus did! You will have one hundred per cent results.
The Long Prayer
There are times that it is important to spend a long time in prayer.
Jesus did this very often.
And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:12
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Mark 1:35
You will notice that in both cases Jesus spent long hours praying. A great while is a long time. All night is also a long time. Develop the art of praying for several hours. Start with one hour and graduate to three hours. Then progress to five and seven hours!
Learn to pray all day and all night long. You will experience one hundred per cent answers to your prayers. There are times you need to spend many hours in prayer. If Jesus had to, then you will also have to. There are times you do not have to change the prayer topic. You can pray on the same topic for hours. Jesus did it! It is not useless repetition, it is praying like Jesus did.
Loud Prayers
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard that in he feared;
Hebrews 5:7
Jesus prayed with strong cries and so can you. There is a difference between meditation and prayer. Some people claim to pray in their minds. What is the difference between praying in your mind and meditation? I think there is no difference! I am not saying that you must always shout when you pray. Ninety per cent of the time you cannot hear me when I am praying. I usually pray very quietly. But there are times I pray with strong cries and tears. It is a dimension you must get into. There are some things that will only happen in your life when you pray like Jesus did.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
God wants us to give thanks. Apart from the usual “Give me, give me, give me” prayers, God would love to hear some other types of prayers. He would love to hear you say “Thank you”. Discover the power of thanking the Lord. As you thank Him you will experience many breakthroughs.
Paul and Silas were in jail but they prayed and sang praises at midnight. They gave thanks to God at midnight. Suddenly, there was an earthquake and their chains were broken. This is the power of the prayer of thanksgiving. Even in the midnight of your life, a prayer of thanksgiving is appropriate. There are times in which it will be the most powerful type of prayer you can offer. It is the prayer that leads to earthquakes and broken bands. Move into this type of prayer and experience God’s breakthrough for your life.
There is no darkness that can keep you down. There is no “midnight”
that can keep you bound.
I see God setting you free! I see you experiencing one hundred per cent answers to all your prayers!
There shall be a performance of all that the Lord has said!
It is my prayer that your prayer life will rise into the realm of 100%
answered prayer. God is your Father in Heaven. He has to answer your prayers. In fact, He loves to answer your prayers! This is your hour for answers to all your prayers. Indeed, there shall be a performance of all that God has said.
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