Prayer Explained!

SUMMARY:

Our theme for April and May is Prayer and Fellowship. Fellowship with the Father is the foundation of prayer! God wants to have a personal relationship with you. God wants you to hear and to listen to His voice. The title of last week’s message was: “PRAYER, FELLOWSHIP AND LOVE!” I said to you that love makes prayer successful. I said to you that there are different kinds of prayer we read about in the Bible.

 

SCRIPTUE READING:

Ephesians 6:13-18 MSG
(13)  Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. (14)  Truth, righteousness, (15)  peace, (16)  faith, (17)  and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. (18)  In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.

Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open.

Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

 

TEXT VERSE:

Ephesians 6:18 NIV
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Efesiërs 6:18 AOV
terwyl julle met alle gebed en smeking by elke geleentheid bid in die Gees, en juis daartoe waak met alle volharding en smeking vir al die heiliges

 

INTRODUCTION:

God has commanded us to pray. If we are to be obedient to His will, then prayer must be part of our daily life. There are several passages in the Bible that tells us to pray:

• “Pray for those who persecute you” – Matthew 5:44
• “And when you pray …” – Matthew 6:5
• “This, then, is how you should pray …” – Matthew 6:9
• “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12
• “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
• – Ephesians 6:18
• “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6
• “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” – Colossians 4:2
• “Pray continually” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
• “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone …” – 1 Timothy 2:1

Prayer is an act of obedience. God calls us to pray and we must respond.

 

DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRAYER:

So prayer is of the utmost importance for us as believers! Let us look a bit closer at the different kind of prayers that we read about in the Bible.

Ephesians 6:18 NIV
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

The Amplified Bible: ‘…all manner of prayer…’

New King James Version: ‘…all prayer…’

Good speed’s Translation: ‘…every kind of prayer and entreaty…’

Remember, the Bible teaches several kinds of prayer and the different laws governing them. Many prayers are not working because people are using the wrong rules and laws.

1. the prayer of faith:

The prayer of faith can also be a prayer of petition. It is a prayer to change things.

The prayer of faith is rooted in our faith and confidence in the Word of God.

When you are sure that what you are praying for is God’s will for you, the prayer of faith can be employed. The prayer of faith is knowing God’s will, praying it and receiving it from Him. Unforgiveness and doubting are the two greatest hindrances to prayers of faith.

Matthew 21:22 NLT
You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.

If you can believe, you can receive!

2. the prayer of consecration:

The prayer of consecration, dedication and surrender of submitting our lives and ourselves to the will of God, to be used by God, to go anywhere and do anything God wants us to do. This is exactly the kind of prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this prayer we pray “If it be thy will.”

Luke 22:42 AB
…Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.

3. the prayer of commitment:

The Prayer of Commitment is a prayer of dedication.

Without commitment, we are unstable in our walk with God.

We must be committed to Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.

 

Galatians 5:1 MSG
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

The Prayer of Commitment engages your will and makes you stand on the Word of God in spite of what may be happening all around you.

It is an anchor to your faith for your body and your soul.

 

4. the prayer of agreement:

Matthew 18:19-20 NKJV
(19) “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (20) For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The principles that govern this kind of prayer are:

• 2, 3 or more must be present in the Name of Jesus – He is in their midst.
• They must ask.
• Then agree together – a heart to heart connection in faith.

 

5. the prayer of supplication:

Supplication means to petition or entreat someone for something. It is a prepared and official request. It is much more heartfelt than a casual request. The word ‘supplication’ means a humble, earnest entreaty or request.

 Philippians 4:6 NKJV
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

6. intercessory prayer:

To intercede means to plead or mediate on behalf of another person. Intercessory prayer means praying earnestly for the needs of others, and seeking God’s will for their life.

Psalms 106:23 MSG
Fed up, God decided to get rid of them– and except for Moses, his chosen, he would have. But Moses stood in the gap and deflected God’s anger, prevented it from destroying them utterly.

We must intercede for others, just as Jesus is interceding for us today!

Hebrews 7:25 NKJV
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

7. Prayer in the Spirit:

Praying in tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 NLT
(14) For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. (15) Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.

8. united prayer:

United prayer is when a group of believers unitedly pray in a focused manner for an extended length of time, for a specific objective or when a group of believers offers short prayers on a specific theme as prompted by one of the group, then going on to pray short prayers on another theme, then another, etc.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV:
“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Another good example of united prayer can be found in Acts 4:23-31; where the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. Unity is of the utmost importance.

 

CONCLUSION:

The purpose of defining these prayers is not to limit prayer to a set of rules, but to give a better understanding of what the Word of God teaches about each type of prayer.

When you know and understand these principles regarding prayer, you can cooperate more effectively with the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit always works in conjunction with the Word. Many people have lost the true spirit of prayer by becoming legalistic and clinical in their prayer life. The most important prayer you can pray is the prayer that the Holy Spirit leeds you to pray.