).png)
Prayer can be frustrating if we don’t understand God’s Word and His ways. Most Christians aren’t aware that there are several types of prayer discussed in God's Word, and if you use one type when you should be using another, it won’t work. You would be applying the wrong spiritual tool to your needs or request.
God has provided each type of prayer for a specific purpose. Though you may use more than one at any given time, it is important to be clear about which type you are using and why, and to be aware of its limitations. If you follow the examples in the Bible, you'll be sure to use them properly. When you pray in faith, God immediately gives you what you prayed for: in the spirit realm. But in the natural world, due to a number of factors, it may take time for the answer to manifest itself. God answers prayers, and He will answer your specific prayer in line with His Word, but it is your faith that brings that answer out of the spiritual world and into the physical world. The persistent intercessory prayer opens the door to bring about deliverance and deeper growth. As you actively speak against the enemy’s designs, stand on the promises of God, and remind God of His Word. The enemy’s attacks are thwarted. Light flows into areas where there was previously darkness (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). So, don’t give up even when the answer is not yet visible.
Prayer of Adoration an Reverence for God (Praising God):
Adoration (Latin) is respect, reverence, strong admiration or devotion in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin “adōrātiō”, meaning “to give homage or worship to someone or something”. Adoration is one of the most natural things that we do as humans. When we can take a moment to adore God, a transformation happens. We are no longer held captive by the concerns of this life. Our hearts are lifted to that timeless place where God is.
A prayer of acknowledgement of God’s awesome greatness. Prayers of adoration and blessing shows great reverence, awe, and respect for God’s unending goodness, grace and mercy. This type of blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer which is an encounter between God and man. In blessing God’s gift and man’s acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other.
Prayer of Repentance (Asking for God’s Forgiveness):
Prayers for contrition can be an important part of our relationship with God, which is instituted by our Lord for the forgiveness of sins and transgressions. Prayer of confession of sin will help to keep us from remain in the right fellowship with the Lord. If we fail to confess our sin and our unrighteousness, the discipline of the Lord is sure to come until we do confess it. As stated previously, our sins are forgiven at salvation (positional forgiveness), but our daily fellowship with God needs to stay in good standing (relational forgiveness). Proper fellowship with God cannot happen with unconfessed sin in our lives. Asking God to forgive your sins is an important process. It is important that you admit what you did wrong and truly feel sorry that you did it. You must come to God, pray using scripture, and ask Him to forgive you. Then you must believe that he has. After you are forgiven, work on leaving sin behind and living a new life.
Prayer of Intercession:
The chief principle of intercession is merely to tell God what He tells us to tell Him as the means of releasing His power. He tells us what to pray in His Word. We can pray the Bible. It is profoundly unsure which is God’s intense strategy for including the saints in ruling with Him in power. Its mystery is in its weakness, simplicity, humility, and accessibility to all. God has chosen intercession as the primary means in which He releases His power now and forever. The prayer of intercession is about petitioning or interceding for someone else. A wonderful model of intercessory prayer is found in Daniel 9. It has all the elements of true intercessory prayer. It is in response to the Word (v. 2); characterized by fervency (v. 3) and self-denial (v. 4); identified unselfishly with God’s people (v. 5); reinforced by confession (v. 5-15); reliant on on God’s character (vv. 4, 7, 9, 15); and has as its goal God’s glory (vv. 16-19). The Word of God says, all Christians to be intercessors. It is God’s desire that every believer be active in intercessory prayer. What a wonderful and exalted privilege we have in being able to come boldly before the throne of Almighty God with our prayers and requests.
Prayer of Supplication:
The prayer of supplication is about petitioning the Heavenly Father for a need. The Hebrew and Greek words most often translated “supplication” in the Bible mean literally “a request or petition,” so a prayer of supplication is asking God for something. Unlike the prayer of petition, which is praying on behalf of others, the prayer of supplication is generally a request for the person praying.
The Bible includes many prayers of supplication. Numerous examples are found in the Psalms. The Book of Psalms is filled with many prayers by the
Psalmist David: supplication for mercy in Psalm 4:1, for leading in Psalm 5:8, for deliverance in Psalm 6:4 and for
salvation from persecution in Psalm 7:1, just to name a few. When Daniel learned that King Darius had issued an edict
prohibiting prayer to any god but the king, Daniel continued to pray to God with prayers of thanksgiving as well as prayers of supplication for His help in this dire situation. Another crucial aspect of the prayer of supplication; the necessity of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who belong to Christ also have the indwelling Holy Spirit who intercedes on our behalf. Because we often don’t know what or how to pray when we approach God, the Spirit intercedes and prays for us, interpreting our supplications so that, when we are
overwhelmed by trials and the cares of life, He comes alongside to lend assistance with our prayers of supplication as He sustains us before the throne of grace (Romans 8:26).
Prayer of Thanksgiving (Showing God gratitude):
Thanksgiving is a great way for us as Christians to take steps into worship. Psalm 100 exhorts this and us: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His spirits with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name” (Psalm 100:4-5). The prayer of thanksgiving for showing God gratitude for all His benefits and blessings. A prayer of thanksgiving is one that acknowledges God’s many gifts with a profound spirit of gratitude toward God, Himself. Prayers of thanksgiving are proclaimed throughout the Bible.
Prayers of giving thanks are indeed important as we all have reasons to be
grateful, which we should extend thanksgiving unto the Lord for all His benefits and blessings.
We can be thankful for who God is and for the opportunity He gives us to trust in Him over all situations, the good, the bad and the indifferent. God has always there for us, since our earnest prayers let Him know that we are appreciative to the Lord for His sacrifice. Prayers of thanksgiving should be a continuous part of our everyday lives.
Lastly, praying for deliverance from sin and entry into eternal life, is always within the will of God. In the same way that the Apostle Paul spoke about in Ephesians, he prayed that the church there would “have power, together with all of the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Those are mighty prayers that can transform the very foundations of a person’s heart and soul. They are prayers that we can pray with supreme confidence, because we have a faithful God, a God of love, and a God who listens to every one of our prayers. One of the biggest challenges here is turning every blessing He pours into our lives back into praise. One way we can do this is through gratitude. On numerous occasions God has graciously answered our prayers and we can have full faith that God is a God who listens to everything we pray,
and God is a God who is currently at work in the world. When we pray we ask the Lord of all to change reality on behalf. May we treat that task with the full gravity and seriousness that it deserves. May we learn to pray better, may what we pray be in God’s will and may we pray boldly with confidence.