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What Is Prayer?
Many people desire to pray but don’t really what it is or how to do it. Prayer is
simply "communion with God", a form of communication, a way of talking to God. Therefore, we must first believe in the
one to whom we are praying and talking to. We must believe that He is a personal being, a person who can be addressed and
one who responds. We must believe that God knows us, cares for us and loves us – even more than we love ourselves. Prayer is not primarily as asking God for something, it is
much more than that. And although there are many prayer books on the market it is neither a half-hearted ritual nor reciting
of words. Those books including one compiled by me is only a guide of how to pray. Prayer is an outpouring of the heart,
spending time with God, communicating with Him like you would a good friend or someone you love. Our prayer life is actually an indication of the quality of our relationship with God. For
example thinking of your best friend or spouse your relationship grew to where it is today because you spent time getting
to know each other. You were in constant communion with each other, learning about each other, doing things together, and
sharing with each other. This is exactly how our relationship to our Father God should be. Prayer is one of the greatest and most powerful tools the Christian
has. It is exciting getting to know God. Once you discover that you can actually trust and depend on him it is an awesome
relief to know that when you ask God the Father for something He comes through. Not when you want and not every time for some
things are not according to His will or His word. Elijah was a great man of prayer, yet
sometimes God said "No" for an answer to even him. Sometimes God said "No" to Paul a man of great faith who wrote two
thirds of the New Testament (II Corinthians 12:8-9). God has many reasons, his reasons, why He sometimes delays an answer or says no, but whatever He does we can know that
all things work together for our good because we love Him and He
loves us (Romans 8:28). Now just because God's sometime delays
are not denials sometimes He says "wait", then sometime He times answers "before we call" (Isaiah 65:24). My dad was a heroin addict who blamed
God for everything wrong in his life. I gave him a Bible once and he took it and threw it across the room saying, “I
don’t want anything to do with your God”. Hallelujah, before my dad died he accepted the forgiveness and love
of Christ. I went to see him a year before he died and he let me know with his own mouth that he had accepted Christ and was
fully overjoyed at the love he had found in God and that he never wanted to do anything that would affect his relationship
with God again. He said, “I’ve never felt so good, so free, and so loved. He had such a wonderful glow about him
and his words seemed so sincere. I am telling you I was filled with so much joy all I could was cry. God had answered my prayer
after all those years! Another point I want to make is that prayer does not have to be long
and drawn out. We are told by Jesus not to make meaningless repetitions of words when
we pray. (Mathew 6:7). In fact, the shortest prayer recorded in the Bible is the prayer of Moses when he discovered
that his beloved sister Miriam had been afflicted with leprosy. He cried out to God from the depths of his being "please,
Lord, heal her now”. Moses’ prayer was short and simple, yet intense. It revealed his anguish and his complete
faith in God that his prayer can and will be answered and it was. Prayer brings the power of God into our situation and opens up new
possibilities allowing God to work in our lives and in the lives of others because of our prayers. God is our Father and we are His children, He wants us to communicate with Him. I believe He enjoys spending time with his children as any parent would. As a Blood bought child of God we can freely go right up to the
throne of God with our concerns, thoughts, desires, hurts and needs knowing that He is a loving Father who wants to hear
from us, who wants to comfort us. So whether we are praying for others (intercession), for ourselves (petition), or whether
we have nothing to ask but that God would hear our heartfelt thanks and praise, prayer is being with God. There are approximately around 650 examples of prayer in
the Bible, which is an indication of just how important prayer is. Matthew 6:9-13 is where we find Jesus’ famous teaching on prayer known today as the “Lord’s Prayer” where He instructs
us to follow His example and pray. In Matthew 5:44 we are told to even pray for our enemies. Another scripture command concerning
prayer is "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Many situations we find ourselves in are the result of a lack of prayer. This is why the Apostle Paul reminds us of Jesus’
command in his letters to the church of Body of Christ to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). All of these passages imply that prayer is not just a request or suggestion but a command. It is necessary for men to invite God to act in salvation. God gave the earth to Adam and his descendants. Adam lost
his dominion to the god of this world Satan through his rebellion (2nd Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, now we must invite God to work here. If no one invites God to work here, Satan
will dominate the affairs of men and eventually the judgment of God will come. By inviting God often and specifically, multitudes
can be saved that would otherwise be lost. This is the primary mission of Saved My Loved Ones Prayer Ministries International
to stand in the gap for the lost. Types of Prayer Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving The Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving is simply expressing gratitude
for God's protection, His provision, His blessings, and most of all for His Son. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Even when things are not going well
in our lives and we do not feel like praying let alone giving thanks, we are commanded to give thanks anyway. If you ever
have a problem doing this just look around you, visit the ICU unit in a hospital or prison, you will find a something to be
thankful for. God does not command us to give thanks because He is arrogant or a showboat or anything like that. He knows
that our worship and praise confuses the enemy so that
his attacks against us become ineffective and self-destructive. When we sacrificially praise Him, offer up thanksgiving
for His goodness, His mercy, His grace, His healing, His favor, His blessing, His love, His friendship, His sacrifice of his
Son, His power over all releases the storehouses of heaven
on our behalf. A "sacrifice of praise" is a concept that hard for a person who does
not know God to conceive. Their way is to worry, complain and fear and rightly so since they are of their father the devil.
I mean think about it if your goal is to kill, steal and destroy and a sacrificial praise to God meant you were defeated, had no power or effect what would do? Well you would do everything
in your power to make sure that God’s children worried, complained and walked in fear. Often during times
of battle, the Lord had Israel send out the praisers first. When Paul and Silas were in prison, they praised the Lord and
the prison doors miraculously opened. One of my favorite examples of the
power of praise is found in 2nd Chronicles 20 when the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites,
and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “a vast army from Edom
is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news, begged the LORD for guidance,
and ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. Jehoshaphat stood before the people and prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of
all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out
those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of
your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. They said, ‘Whenever we are
faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your
name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’ “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir
are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not
destroy them. Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance.
O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know
what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, the Spirit of the Lord
came upon one of the men standing there named was Jahaziel. He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem!
Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Do not
be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march out against them. However,
you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s
victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for
the Lord is with you!” Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And
all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. Then
the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the
God of Israel, with a very loud shout. Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness
of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in
the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets,
and you will succeed.” After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk
ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor.
This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures
forever!” At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.
The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed
the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness,
all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. (2 Chronicles 20 NLT) Can you see how powerful prayer and praise is? When we praise God in
the mist of negative situations we are affirming our faith in Him, confusing Satan and disarming the two most deadly weapons
to our Christian walk; unbelief and fear. Praise is so powerful the scriptures call it a two edged sword (Psalm 149: 4-9). Prayer of Supplication or Petition The Prayer of Supplication or Petition means to entreat or ask
God for the things we need, or think we need in our life trusting Him to provide. God wants His children to seek Him and depend on His daily provision just as your
children depend on you for their provision. All Christians should pray this prayer regularly. This
type prayer is fueled by a passionate zeal or hunger. Be specific when praying this type prayer, pray in details and not in
generalities. Ask God to give you a hunger to seek his face. The Prevailing
or Breakthrough Prayer is
fervent, insistent and consistent with the expectation until breakthrough comes. This can be a prayer for us, our families, or for someone else. An
example would believe for emotional or physical healing. Sometimes called “Love On Its Knees”, intercession
is pleading on behalf of the needs of others. Standing in the gap, praying prayers of repentance, etc., identifying yourself
with the sins of those for which you are in prayer. God wants us to ask, even urgently pray for others. The Bible has many cases of people standing in the gap for others
before God. Abraham prayed on behalf of his neighbors in Sodom and its area. He saw them as God’s children and even
though he knew Sodom was thoroughly wicked, and he knew how furious God was he cared enough to stand up for them. We see here
that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Although God did destroy Sodom, Abraham’s relative
Lot was miraculously delivered. All believers should have this same compassion for sinners and should earnestly pray for them,
for just as God saved my father, and Abraham’s relative he will save yours. Daniel interceded in Daniel 9 for his people who had turned away from God. Nehemiah identified with the sins of his people, praying prayers of repentance,
asking the Lord to have mercy on them and forgive them and raise them up once again. Jesus Christ is the ultimate intercessor in the New Testament.
He was the greatest mediator (intercessor) that ever lived. Because Of Him, we can now intercede in prayer on behalf of other
Christians, or for the lost, asking God to grant them repentance according to His will. 1 Timothy 2:5 says "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus". Romans 8:34 states, "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also makes intercession for us". Some may think that those who offer up intercessory prayers are
super-Christians this is untrue. The Bible is clear that ALL Christians are called to be intercessors. All Christians have
the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and, just as He intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will, we are to intercede
for one another. This is not a privilege limited to an exclusive Christian elite; this is the command to all. In fact, not
to offer up intercession for others is sin. “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing
to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23). Do you have a heart that really loves the Lord and cares about
the things God cares about? Now that you see how powerful of intercessory prayer is why not join our prayer team or at least
send in the names of your unsaved relatives that we may stand in gap for their salvation. Click here to join us or here to submit a prayer request. The Prayer of Agreement The prayer of agreement is what we pray often here at Save My Loved
Ones. It is when two or more people come together and agree with one another and with the Word of God that something specific
will be done. When choosing a prayer of agreement partner you always want to choose
someone whose basic viewpoints are the same as yours. One who agrees with you on spiritual matters. You will always find
those who say, "Oh yes, I'll agree with you for healing”, but make sure they really believe it is god’s will. Make sure the believe Isaiah 53:5". You want to your prayer partner believes the same as we are regarding the scriptures. That's
one of the reasons the Bible says that we are to fellowship with like-minded believers. God has given power and authority to the Church and when we stand together
in unity we can see more of God's power released. Unity is standing together with one purpose, sharing a joint vision and
trusting God's Word to be fulfilled. We need to appreciate the power of unity if we are to see God's power released. Prayer of
Faith The prayer
of faith is rooted in a confident, knowing of God's will, praying it and receiving it from Him. The woman with the issue of
blood (Matthew 9) knew that touching Jesus would get her healed. Her faith gave her the strength to press through the crowd. In addition to the various types of prayer, there are also several
styles. Formal is self-explanatory: reciting or reading an already composed
prayer, like a church congregation repeating the Lord’s Prayer as part of their worship service. Conversational is the style many people are most familiar
with—you are speaking to God almost as if He were just another person, talking things over like you would with any good
friend, whether it’s praising, thanking, confessing, or asking. The devotional or scriptural style plays a role in many types
of prayer. Many people choose to begin a prayer session by reading a Bible verse or passage. Others will use a verse or passage
as a point to launch their waiting upon the Lord, as in meditative prayer, for example. In addition, sometimes that Bible
verse or passage becomes the prayer itself as you focus entirely on the words and their meaning for you. Prayer walking is a style often used by intercessors especially
those who may be praying for a particular neighborhood as they actually walk through it or even walking in an appropriate
setting, like a forest or a meadow. Spontaneous prayer is one of my favorite styles. It is not just
make it up as you go along but comes out of heart and love for God and a knowing and confidence in His word. It rises unannounced
usually in response to something God has done, or something that has happened. Preparing to pray You must first begin a relationship with God. Imagine some guy
named James decides to ask you to co-sign a car loan for him. However, if that your daughter asked you to co-sign a car loan
for her, it would be no problem. Relationship matters to God. When the person is actually a child of God, when the person
belongs to God, he knows them and hears their prayers. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know
me...my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no
one can snatch them out of my hand." Do you really know God
and does he know you? Is God pretty much just a concept in your life, or someone of something you’ve heard about but
never taken the time to get to know him? Do you have a relationship with him that warrants God answering your prayers? It’s
not about devoting yourself to unselfish, good or religious deeds? It doesn’t matter if you don’t steal, don’t
drink, do drugs whatever it is that make you think you are a good person it does not give you a relationship with God. You
cannot become a better person so that God will accept you? No none of that will give you a relationship with God. God has
made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him. If you do not know, God here is how you can begin a relationship with
him right now: Get to know God
Watch
the following video for some key steps on how to pray:
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Scripture
references: Luke 2:36-38, Philippians 4:6-7, Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3, Luke 11: 9 - 13, James 5: 17-18, 1 kings 8: 37-40, 54 - 55; Nehemiah 1:3 – 10; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 28: 16-20, Mark 11:12 - 14, Mark 11: 20 - 25, Luke 7: 1 - 10, James 5: 13 - 18, Matthew 9: 18 - 26.
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