Different Types of Prayer (1)

'Pray...with all [manner of] prayer.' Ephesians 6:18 AMP

In Scripture there are many different kinds of prayer. Let’s look at some of them and see what we can learn:


(1) The prayer of surrender. When Paul met Christ on the Damascus Road he prayed, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ (Acts 9:6 NKJV) That’s like signing your name to a blank check and saying, ‘Here I am, Lord, do with me as You please. I hope I like what You choose, but even if I don’t, I’ll do it anyway; Your will be done, not mine.’ You’re deciding to voluntarily follow God rather than trying to get Him to follow you. As a result He will do the work that needs to be done in you, so that He can do the work He desires to do through you.


(2) The prayer of commitment. The Bible says, ‘Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him.’ (1 Peter 5:7 AMP) As long as you keep trying to control everything, your stress levels will keep mounting. But once you learn to hand things over to God, you’ll wonder why you spent even a single day worrying.


(3) The prayer of intercession. The prophet Ezekiel writes, ‘I looked for someone…who would…stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.’ (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV) ‘The gap’ is the distance between what is— and what can be. And when there’s a ‘gap’ in someone’s relationship with God due to a particular sin, as a believer you have the privilege (and responsibility) of placing yourself in that gap and praying for them. You are Loved!