THE DEFINITION OF PRAYER

PRAYER

Prayer is the third part of the basic battle plan. Here is a detailed outline to assist you in studying about prayer:

THE DEFINITION OF PRAYER:

Prayer is communion with God. It takes different forms, but basically it occurs when man talks

with God and God talks with man.  Prayer is described as:

Calling upon the name of the Lord: Genesis 12:8 Crying unto God: Psalms 27:7; 34:6 Drawing near to God: Psalms 73:28; Hebrews 10:22 Looking up: Psalms 5:3 Lifting up the soul: Psalms 25:1 Lifting up the heart: Lamentations 3:41 Pouring out the heart: Psalms 62:8 Pouring out the soul: I Samuel 1:15 Crying to Heaven: II Chronicles 32:20 Beseeching the Lord: Exodus 32:11 Seeking God: Job 8:5 Seeking the face of the Lord: Psalms 27:8 Making supplication: Job 8:5; Jeremiah 36:7

THE PRAYER LIFE OF JESUS:

Prayer was an important strategy of the Lord Jesus:

Jesus made prayer a priority:

• He prayed any time of the day or night:  Luke 6:12-13 • Prayer took priority over eating:  John 4:31-32 • Prayer took priority over business:  John 4:31-32

Prayer accompanied any event of importance:  

• At His baptism:  Luke 3:21-22 • During the first ministry tour:  Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16 • Before the choice of the disciples:  Luke 6:12-13 • Before and after the feeding of the 5,000:  Matthew 14:19,23; Mark 6:41,46; John 6:11,14-15 • At the feeding of the 4,000: Matthew 15:36; Mark 8:6,7 • Before the confession of Peter: Luke 9:18 • Before the transfiguration: Luke 9:28,29 • At the return of the seventy: Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21 • At the grave of Lazarus: John 11:41-42 • At the blessing of the children: Matthew 19:13 • At the coming of certain Greeks: John 12:27-28 • Before the hour of His greatest anguish: Matthew 26:26-27; Mark 14:22-23; Luke 22:17- 19 • For Peter:  Luke 22:32 • For the giving of the Holy Spirit: John 14:1-6 • On the road to Emmaus: Luke 24:30-31

• Prior to His ascension: Luke 24:50-53 • For His followers: John 17 • The prayer Jesus taught is recorded in Matthew 6:9-13.

KINDS OF PRAYER:

Paul calls for believers to pray always with "all prayer" (Ephesians 6:18).  Another translation of the Bible reads "praying with every kind of prayer" (Goodpseed Translation). This refers to the various levels and types of prayer.

LEVELS OF PRAYER:

There are three levels of intensity in prayer:  Asking, seeking, and knocking:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  (Matthew 7:7-8)

Asking is the first level of prayer.  It is simply presenting a request to God and receiving an immediate answer.  In order to receive, the condition is to ask:

 ...ye have not, because ye ask not.  (James 4:2)

We have the powerful spiritual weapon of prayer, and yet many do not use it.  They do not ask, and because of this, they do not receive.

Seeking is a deeper level of prayer.  This is the level of prayer where answers are not as immediate as at the asking level.  The 120 gathered in the upper room where they "continued" in prayer is an example of seeking.  These men and women sought fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit and continued "seeking" until the answer came. (Acts l-2)

Knocking is a deeper level yet.  It is prayer that is persistent when answers are longer in coming. It is illustrated by the parable Jesus told in Luke 11:5-10.  The knocking level is the most intense level of spiritual warfare in prayer. It is illustrated by the persistence of Daniel who continued to knock despite the fact he saw no visible results as Satan hindered the answer from God. (Daniel 10)

TYPES OF PRAYER:

There are various types of prayer illustrated in the model prayer given by the Lord (Matthew 6:9-13).  Types of prayer include:

1.  Worship and praise:

You enter into God's presence with worship and praise:

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name.  (Psalms 100:4)

Worship is the giving of honor and devotion.  Praise is thanksgiving and an expression of gratitude not only for  what God has done but for what He is.  You are to worship God in spirit and in truth:

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth:  for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.

God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  (John 4:23-24)

Praise and worship can be with:

Singing: Psalms 9:2,11; 40:3; Mark 14:26 Audible praise: Psalms 103:1 Shouting: Psalms 47:1 Lifting up of the hands: Psalms 63:4; 134:2; I Timothy 2:8 Clapping: Psalms 47:1 Musical instruments: Psalms 150:3-5 Standing: II Chronicles 20:19 Bowing: Psalms 95:6 Dancing: Psalms 149:3 Kneeling: Psalms 95:6 Lying down: Psalms 149:5

The warrior of God in the spirit world is shown with...

...the high praises of God...in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand.  (Psalms 149:6)

2.  Commitment:

This is prayer committing your life and will to God.  It includes prayers of consecration and dedication.

3.  Petition:

Prayers of petition are requests.  Requests must be made according to the will of God as revealed in His written Word.  Petitions may be at the levels of asking, seeking, or knocking. Supplication is another word for this type of prayer.  The word supplication means "beseeching God or strongly appealing to Him in behalf of a need."

4.  Confession and repentance:

A prayer of confession is repenting and asking forgiveness for sin:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (I John 1:9)

5.  Intercession:

Intercession is prayer for others.  An intercessor is one who takes the place of another or pleads another's case.  The Bible records that at one time God looked on the earth and saw there was no intercessor:

And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor:  therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him.  (Isaiah 59:16)

When God saw there was no intercessor He supplied the need.  He sent Jesus:

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.  (I Timothy 2:5)

...It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession  for us.  (Romans 8:34)

Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to  make intercession for them.  (Hebrews 7:25)

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.  (I John 2:1)

An advocate in a court of justice is a legal assistant or counselor who pleads another's cause. Intercession in spiritual warfare is prayer to God on behalf of another person.  Sometimes this intercession is made with understanding.  You intercede in your own native language:

I exhort therefore, that first of  all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For kings, and for all that are in authority... (I Timothy 2:1-2)

At other times, intercession is made by the Holy Spirit.  It may be with groanings resulting from a heavy spiritual burden. It may be in an unknown tongue.  It may be intercession for another or the Holy Spirit making intercession for you.  When this happens, the Holy Spirit speaks through you praying directly to God and according to the will of God.  You do not understand this type of intercession:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  (Romans 8:26)

This is the deepest level of intercessory prayer and the most effective in spiritual warfare.

THE MODEL PRAYER:

During the earthly ministry of Jesus His disciples once came to Him with an interesting request:

... one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray... (Luke 11:1)

The disciples did not ask how to preach or perform miracles.  They did not seek lessons on how to build lasting relationships.   They did not inquire regarding the wonders of physical healing. They asked to be taught how to pray. 

What created this desire?  It was the visible effects of prayer in the life and ministry of Jesus. The disciples had witnessed the powerful results of this spiritual strategy in action. 

Read the model prayer and observe the various types of prayer we have discussed:

Our Father, which art in Heaven, Praise and worship Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Commitment

Give us this day our daily bread. Petition

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Confession and Intercession

And lead us not into temptation, Petition but deliver us from evil;

For thine is the Kingdom, and the power Praise and worship and the glory, forever.  Amen. (Matthew  6:9-13)

HOW TO PRAY:

Look up each of the following references in your Bible to learn how you should pray:

• Prayer is to be made to God:  Psalms 5:2 • Empty repetition is forbidden, but earnest repetition is not: Matthew 6:7; Daniel 6:10; Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8 • You sin by neglecting to pray for others:  I Samuel 12:23 • Pray with understanding (in a known tongue):  Ephesians 6:18 • Pray in the Spirit:  Romans 8:26; Jude 20 • Pray according to the will of God:  I John 5:14-15 • Pray in secret:  Matthew 6:6 • Quality rather than quantity is stressed.  Prayer is not successful because of "much speaking": Matthew 6:7 • Pray always:  Luke 21:36; Ephesians 6:18 • Pray continually: Romans 12:12 • Pray without ceasing:  I Thessalonians 5:17 • Pray to the Father in the name of Jesus:  John 15:16 • With a watchful attitude:  I Peter 4:7 • Pray according to the example of the model prayer:  Matthew 6:9-13 • Pray with a forgiving spirit: Mark 11:25 • Pray with humility:  Matthew 6:7 • Sometimes accompany prayer with fasting: Matthew 17:21 • Pray fervently:  James 5:16; Colossians 4:12 • Pray with submission to God:  Luke 22:42 • Use the strategies of binding and loosing in prayer:  Matthew 16:19

WHAT YOU SHOULD PRAY FOR:

• The peace of Jerusalem:  Psalms 122:6 • Laborers in the harvest:  Matthew 9:38 • That you enter not into temptation:  Luke 22:40-46 • Them that despitefully use you (your enemies):  Luke 6:28 • All the saints:  Ephesians 6:18 • The sick:  James 5:14 • One for another (bearing each others burdens):  James 5:16 • For all men, kings, and those in authority:  I Timothy 2:1-4 • For daily needs:  Matthew 6:11 • For wisdom:  James 1:5 • For healing:  James 5:14-15 • For forgiveness:  Matthew 6:12 • For God's will and Kingdom to be established: Matthew 6:10 • For relief from affliction:  James 5:13

PRAY THE PROMISES:

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.  (James 4:3)

God answers prayer according to His promises.  When you do not ask on the basis of these promises, your prayer is not answered.  It is similar to how a father relates to his children.  No parent commits to give his youngsters anything they want or ask for.  He makes it clear that he will do certain things and not do other things. Within these limits the father answers his child's requests. 

It is the same way with God.  He has given promises and they form the proper basis for prayer. Learn what God has promised and pray according to the promises of God.  One way to do this is to go through the Bible and mark all the promises God has made.  Use your Bible as you pray and base your prayers upon these promises.

HINDRANCES TO PRAYER:

• Sin of any kind: Isaiah 59:1-2;  Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 1:15; Proverbs 28:9 • Idols in the heart: Ezekiel 14:1-3  • An unforgiving spirit: Mark 11:25;  Matthew 5:23 • Selfishness, wrong motives: Proverbs 21:13; James 4:3  • Power hungry, manipulative prayers:  James 4:2-3 • Wrong treatment of marriage partner:  I Peter 3:7     • Self-righteousness: Luke 18:10-14   • Unbelief: James 1:6-7     • Not abiding in Christ and His Word:  John 15:7       • Lack of compassion: Proverbs 21:13\ • Hypocrisy, pride, meaningless repetition:  Matthew 6:5; Job 35:12-13 • Not asking according to the will of God:  James 4:2-3 • Not asking in Jesus' name:  John 16:24 • Satanic demonic hindrances:  Daniel 10:10-13; Ephesians 6:12 • Not seeking first the Kingdom: It is only when you seek first the Kingdom of God that you are promised the "other things":  Matthew 6:33 • God has a higher purpose in denying your request:  II Corinthians 12:8-9 • When you do not know how to pray as you should, prayer is hindered.  This is why it is important to let the Holy Spirit pray through you:  Romans 8:26