THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER
Written by Evangelist Michael Bowen
INTRODUCTION
Prayer is the most instrumental part of the Christian life. It is the link between the physical realm of our existence and the spiritual realm of the throne room of God. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. (NKJV ~ Hebrews 10:19) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (NKJV ~ John 4:24) Prayer in Jesus Christ is the only access that we have to the spiritual realm of God’s Kingdom from the physical realm in which we live. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (NKJV ~ Ephesians 2:18) The only way that we have to communicate with God is through prayer so it stands to reason that prayer is the most essential aspect of a Christian’s life and a priority to prayer is something that all of us must incorporate into our everyday walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Paul’s epistle or letter to the Ephesians, he tells us to pray continually. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (KJV ~ Ephesians 6:18) In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus came to His disciples and saw them sleeping and rebuked them for not staying awake and praying. Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (NKJV ~ Matthew 26:41)
When we decide in our lives to walk with Jesus and follow Him we too become His disciples. If we are to follow Jesus Christ then we must be able to hear His voice as He guides us into the Father’s will so that we can live out our Heavenly Father’s purpose for our lives in Jesus Christ. Jesus came into this world not to condemn the world but to save the world. Once we ask Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior we must then follow Him to fulfill the will of God which is for all His lost children to be saved by believing in His son. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (NKJV ~ John 3:16-17) We are called to become witnesses of Christ and to do the Father’s will through the power of the Holy Spirit to execute that will here on earth. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (NKJV ~ Acts 1:8)
God has chosen us, His children, followers of Jesus Christ to manifest His purpose in this world and to cooperate with Him to spread His Word to the lost and help bring them back to Him. As coworkers with each other and laborers for God we must have an open running dialogue with our Heavenly Father so He can direct us in our ways so we can be useful and effective operators working out His purpose in this world. He gave each of us gifts to be used to advance His Kingdom from Heaven here on earth and we must be able to hear Him so He can instruct us on how to use those gifts. God gave us His Word as an instruction manual on how to live our lives to show others that we are Children of God and we are called to be obedient to that Word. We must obey the commands of God written in His Word. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (NKJV ~ 1 John 5:1-3)
Through prayer we can allow God to manifest His Word through us by giving us direction. Through prayer we can go to God to ask Him questions about His Word and how we can apply it to our lives. Through prayer we can pray for others as well as our own needs. Through prayer we can come into agreement with others and enforce what God has already done in the spiritual realm so it can be manifested in the physical realm where we are living out our lives. Prayer is the single most important aspect of being a Christian following Jesus Christ and helping God Advance His Kingdom here on earth. Prayer allows for us to enter into a two-way intimate relationship of love and obedience with God sharing ourselves with Him and He sharing Himself with us in Jesus Christ.
“What I love most about being a Christian is that it isn’t about dead religious rituals and dogmas. It is a personal relationship with God. Nowhere is this more real than in prayer. I’m not talking about prayer that is obligatory and boring. I’m talking about a dynamic prayer life that bonds our hearts to God, nourishes our souls, and produces real results.” (Evans Pg. 93)
Prayer, I believe, is everything to God and Jesus taught us this by making it a priority in His own life. He went to the Father early in the morning, all through the day and late at night. Jesus prayed whenever He was faced with adversity and whenever He needed instruction. In the Holy Scriptures, we are instructed to pray without ceasing. (NKJV – 1 Thessalonians 5:17) This is a directive from God made known to us by Jesus Christ and we are to be obedient to this Word and do it in our lives. We must make prayer our number one priority to be able to enter into an intimate relationship with God to be able to execute His purpose and plan for our lives.
I. The Priority of Prayer in The Life of Jesus
When we read the gospels and get glimpses into Jesus’ life we are able to see the priority He placed on prayer. He did this for several reasons and one of them was to be an example to His followers about its importance. He also prayed because it was part of His childhood upbringing as a Jew, which in the Jewish religion, prayer was paramount. For observant Jews, prayer was a continual part of their day. Prayer for the Jew is a look into one’s self seeing their role in the universe and their relationship to God. The men wrap themselves in a prayer shawl called a “tillit” and communicate with God daily. Jews have different prayers that they recite throughout the day for specific events or happenings. For example, they have a prayer for before they eat and another prayer they recite before performing a commandment or “mitzvah”. They have special prayers that they recite when they see something good happen or when a good or bad thing happens to them. Prayer was an integral part of their religion so it was engrained into Jesus as a child during His upbringing in the Jewish faith taught to Him by His parents and Rabbis or “teachers”.
Jesus’ purpose was to come and save the lost who have been separated from God through sin and provide them a way back to the Father by becoming a sin offering for all. Sin came into the world by one-man Adam through his disobedience and a deception perpetrated by Satan. Jesus came to destroy this work of the devil. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (NKJV ~ 1 John 3:8) In this Jesus was introducing us to the Father as He was the express image of the Father incarnate. Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father (NKJV ~ John 14:9) Jesus in His ministry knew what His purpose was and He prayed daily to the Father to get guidance from Him to execute that purpose. Jesus often retreated from the crowds and the disciples to go and have private prayer time with God. However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So, He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (NKJV ~ Luke 5:16) This is an example to us that we can apply prayer to our daily often hectic lives to help bring us a calmness and peace and to get recharged. Jesus showed us the importance of one on one time with the Father.
Apart from praying alone, Jesus also prayed with others. It is through corporate prayer that we can loose the Holy Spirit into our circumstances with others and the Power of God can be revealed with miraculous effectiveness to change things for the good. “Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. (NKJV ~ Luke 9:28-29) In this instance Jesus prayed with some of His disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration where Moses and Elijah appeared in glory to tell Jesus of the events to come in Jerusalem which led to His death, burial and resurrection. The disciples that were with Jesus also heard God the Father tell them that Jesus was His son and that they should listen to Him.
Jesus often prayed to the Father for others asking the Father to bless those that the Father had given to Jesus and those that were called to be disciples and the ones that would become His church. In this Jesus is acting as intercessor to the Father for us on our behalf. Once we make Jesus our Lord and Savior and believe on Him, He becomes our High Priest forever making intercession to the Father for us and we have direct access to the Father in this arrangement. “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” (NKJV ~ John 17:6-9)
We also see Jesus praying alone in nature and retreating to a place of solitude to commune with the Father for periods of time. Jesus did not just say short prayers when He needed an answer from God or when He wanted to ask God a question or to be made aware of His will. Jesus took it upon himself to depart to a solitary place like a mountain or a garden to pray for long periods and enter into a dialogue with the Father. Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (NKJV ~ Luke 9:12) We can learn from Jesus here by following Him in the way of extended prayers that through their duration can bring us closer to God and in that closeness allow for God to reveal Himself to us in new unique and deeper ways. At one point, I was part of a prayer ministry at the church I was going to and twice a week we met in the prayer room and prayed without ceasing from 11:00 pm to 4:00 am in the morning. During these times of extended prayer, I have realized a benefit from it in a new closeness to God that incorporates and follows the prayer time. It takes practice and fasting to be able to encounter God in prayers of duration. With fasting we bring the flesh into subjection to the Holy Spirit to be able to solely focus on the Lord and to maintain that focus for long periods of time. We must practice at quieting our minds, disciplining our flesh and listening for God’s still soft voice. Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (NKJV ~ 1 Kings 19:11-13)
The most important prayer in my opinion that Jesus prayed was when He prayed for the will of the Father. In doing this ourselves, we can be directed by God to be able to fulfill His purpose through us. It is when I am realizing God’s purpose in my own life and doing His will rather than my own that I find the most peace, serenity, fulfillment, happiness and joy. Jesus showed us an example of this when He went into the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went off with His disciples to the garden and then had them wait outside while He went in to pray. Jesus knew that he was about to be offered up as a sacrifice for all men and be tortured and murdered on the cross and He has a conversation with the Father crying out to Him three times to see if there was an easier path but ended the prayer each time that He would fulfill the will of the father and not His own will. In Jesus’ humanness He did not want to have to suffer the extreme violence as any man would also not wish to have to endure such abuse. Jesus however denied His own human God-given free will and accepted the will of the Father. He did this selflessly so we would not have to die in our own sins. He knew the will of the Father was to give His own Son as a sacrifice for those that would come to believe what the Father had the Son do for us which would grant us eternal life with the Father. In this obedience to God’s will Jesus set all of us who would come to follow Him free from sin and the death that sin produces. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (NKJV ~ Matthew 26:36-39) Jesus’ prayer life consisted of Him talking to God and keeping a running dialogue with Him daily. He prayed before making important decisions. He prayed for guidance on fulfilling the will of God. He prayed for strength and for the welfare of His disciples. Jesus did not insert prayer into His life; Jesus’ life was a life of prayer where He was totally dependent on His Father for all His needs and direction. His life was a life of relationship with His Father.
II. The Model Prayer
We understand by reading the scriptures that prayer was the most important part of Jesus’ everyday life. We also know that He asked men to become His disciples and to follow Him. As these men followed Him, He taught them many things and most importantly, He taught them God’s Word. The disciples took these lessons and recorded them in writing and their testimonies of their time spent with Jesus would become what we now call the Gospels in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. It is in these Holy Scriptures that God has chosen to reveal the teachings of Jesus Christ to us. As we read and study God’s Word, we learn who Jesus is, why He came and all that He accomplished for the Father during His life. As it relates to prayer, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. In the scriptures, the prayer that Jesus taught them as an example is called the Lord’s Prayer. With this example, Jesus was giving us an outline on how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is a model to frame all our prayers after, not just in the verbatim reciting of the Lord’s Prayer that is recorded in the scriptures. This is important to understand as we can use this model prayer throughout our many different types of prayers and structure them to follow this format. Jesus taught us: And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (NKJV ~ Matthew 6:5-13)
In this model prayer Jesus first teaches us that we should pray in private. God wants one on one time and intimacy with each of us. It is also the best practice to be able to hear from God by being in a quiet secluded place alone without any distractions. Jesus also teaches us to pray with a purpose and to focus on whatever we are praying for and not just to repeat ourselves over and over to try to impress God with a multitude of words. Furthermore, Jesus tells us that God already knows our needs before we ask Him so keep it simple and to the point. We must remember that we are engaging God in a conversation like one we would have with a friend. We are in a relationship with God and He hears us as we speak to Him. He is not afar off, He is right there with us when we pray.
We begin with our Father in Heaven, which is stating who we are praying to, the one who we are addressing. The next part is hallowed be thy name, which we are saying that we worship His holiness and we are praising His greatness. We are thankful that we can approach His holiness. The next part is Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven which is surrendering to God’s authority and accepting His will for our lives as He fulfills His purpose here on earth from His throne in heaven. It is giving our lives over to Him to direct and use us in the earth to establish His Kingdom here. Give us this day our daily bread comes next and this is our daily provision from God. Our bread is the Word of God, His instructions for how we are to live our lives in Jesus Christ and the blessings that come from obedience to His Word. This is believing and trusting that God will provide for us each day and not questioning that provision realizing that God will meet all our needs. This says that we can bring all our needs to God who already knows what they are before we ask Him. Following is the statement to forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors which deals with forgiveness. Unforgiveness is the thing that can hinder our prayer lives the most. Unforgiveness puts a wedge between us and God and obstructs the power of prayer to become realized in our lives and for it to be fulfilled. God commands us to forgive others so we can be forgiven. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (NKJV ~ Matthew 6:14) We are forgiven by God for our sins by grace because of what Jesus did at the cross. We need to extend that same grace to others who have wronged us. We can only receive the amount of grace that we extend to others. This keeps things in balance and justified.
The next segment of the Lord’s Prayer is lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, which deals with our sinful nature and propensity to fall into sinful acts. We are asking God to lead us and guide us in His way following Him and not falling under the control of Satan who is the one who tempts us to sin. When we actively sin after we are tempted we follow Satan and His ways and are led in our flesh down the path of destruction. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (NKJV ~ 1 Peter 5:8) The enemy of our souls is constantly trying to capture our attention through imitation and deception to lead us away from God and tempt us into following the desires of our flesh. This part of the prayer is addressing our need for protection and guidance from God so we do not fall back into the sin that we have been delivered from as believers.
Finally, at the end of this model prayer, it states for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen. This once again is stating God’s supremeness, holiness and greatness which is an act of worship and praise. This completes the prayer in worship and praise the same way that it is started. This is the sandwich technique where we sandwich prayer between thankfulness, worship and praise. This is to put God always in His proper place of holiness, preeminence and sovereignty. It is also to bring God into the prayer and keep Him there because God inhabits our praises and where there is praise for Him, He is there. But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. (NKJV ~ Psalm 22:3)
The Lord’s Prayer is the model we are to follow in all of our prayers. It is a good prayer to pray on its own but we should apply the structure of this prayer to all of our prayers to be able to pray with authority and confidence following the teachings of Jesus.
III. Prayer of Petition
The prayer of petition is a type of prayer that we pray when we request a specific need and entreaty to God to meet that need. It is a formal request to God that we are asking Him to fulfill. The prayer of petition has to be asked in faith. Jesus teaches us to believe we receive what we ask for when we are praying for it and it will be done. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (NKJV ~ Mark 11:24) We must also ask in Jesus name.
“When you demand something due you in the Name of Jesus, you are not demanding anything of God. God isn’t hindering you; Satan is. You are exercising your authority over the devil in Jesus’ Name. You are simply standing in your position of authority against Satan in the Name of Jesus.” (Hagin Pg. 159)
This is a powerful statement by Kenneth Hagin that tells us to pray to enforce the authority and dominion of the Name of Jesus over our situation and ask God to help. An effective prayer of petition I believe will begin; Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus. Praying the prayer of petition in faith, believing you receive what you pray for, addressing the Father and enforcing the Name of Jesus will have this prayer answered in your favor. The main purpose of the prayer of petition is not to get the things you are praying for. The primary function of this type of prayer is to establish and cultivate a relationship with God. It is a situation where God can display His love for us and we can show Him we trust Him and His Word with all our needs no matter the outcome. In this type of prayer, we are not praying for God’s will be done. We are petitioning God to meet our needs which opens up the opportunity for Him to show us that he loves us. It also allows us to execute and hold steadfast to our faith. When we receive what we pray for, it becomes a relationship builder where we draw closer to God and in that closeness, He is able to reveal more of Himself to us. One thing to keep in mind here is that God will always do what is in your best interest and the thing that will protect you, guide you, grow you and benefit you in your purpose in Him. For example, if I pray for God in the Name of Jesus to heal me of a certain physical infirmity believing I receive that healing as I pray and yet He does not heal me, that does not mean His Word is not true. His Word is always true and His promises are always kept. If I do not get healed right away or not at all it is because it is in my best interest to keep the physical infirmity for His purpose, a purpose I don’t always see or understand. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) The scripture is not clear what that thorn is in Paul’s flesh, but many biblical scholars believe it is a physical infirmity. In this instance, Paul prayed a prayer of petition three times to have the thorn removed and God did not respond because God knows that the infirmity will make Paul stronger in Jesus Christ and will humble him to be an effective servant of the Most-High.
IV. Prayer of Consecration
The prayer of consecration is when we submit and dedicate ourselves to the will of God. Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (NIV ~ Joshua 3:5) It is a prayer where we are setting apart or dedicating something or someone to God including ourselves. This prayer is all about our attitude towards God and yielding to His will. This is a foundational prayer showing God that we believe His way is better for us than our own way and we trust in His Word. We are basing our lives on what His Word says and giving ourselves over to Him to have His way in us. We are taking God at His Word and practicing it in our lives. We are being obedient. The prayer of consecration is a turning point where we surrender to God and it is the beginning of God fulfilling His work in us changing us into the likeness of His Son as He establishes His purpose through us here on earth. The prayer of consecration is also associated with fasting. When combined with fasting the prayer of consecration becomes a powerful weapon. Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. (NKJV ~ Joel 1:14) We cry out in prayer giving ourselves over fully to our master to have His way in us. When we consecrate ourselves to God, we make ourselves fully available to Him allowing for Him to move us into our calling or divine purpose.
V. Prayer of Worship
The prayer of worship is best described as ministering unto the Lord. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (NKJV ~ Acts 13:2) In this type of prayer we are not petitioning God for anything or praying for others, in this prayer we are focusing on the Lord and praising Him for His greatness, His goodness, His majesty, His beauty, His kindness, His faithfulness and all the innumerable attributes that attempt to describe Him with our limited words. When we minister unto the Lord it often requires for us to wait upon Him as the prayer opens us up to the ability to hear His voice as we see happen in Acts 13:2 when the Holy Spirit spoke as they ministered unto the Lord.
God made us in His own image to have fellowship with Him. When we enter into a prayerful communion of worship and praise it is our turn to give ourselves to God. As we give our praises to Him they come to Him as a sweet aroma that permeates the spiritual atmosphere. In this act of worship, we are pouring ourselves out to God for His pleasure and in this we must be willing to give Him time and allow for Him to enjoy our displays of love and affection without expecting anything in return. It is in this act of selfless giving of worship and praise that open us up to the capacity to receive the miracles of God. We must present our worship and praise with a joyful heart of thanksgiving and allow the Father to receive and savor the beautiful bouquet of our affection towards Him and wait upon Him to respond in his due time. We must not rush this process and allow God to enjoy us as we bring Him pleasure because it is for this reason we were created. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. (NKJV ~ Colossians 1:16) This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. (NKJV ~ Isaiah 43:21)
We know from Psalm 22:3 that God inhabits the praises of His children so when we enter into this type of prayer, the environment ripens for a manifestation of His presence. The more we worship and the longer we shout praises unto God the more satiated the atmosphere becomes with His Holy Spirit. This climate becomes an incubator for the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit to produce miracles, signs and wonders and for all within this realm of worship to experience those outcomes. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. (NKJV ~ Acts 16:23-26) This is an example of the Holy Spirit manifesting a supernatural miracle brought upon by the worship and praise of God’s faithful. We can also enter into a realm of worship and praise that is so pleasing to God that he sends the Holy Spirit to perform miracles. Healings, revelations, tongues, prophecy and other gifts can and will be seen and heard when we bring the prayer of worship to our Heavenly Father.
The act of worship as a prayer to God is the environment of God’s throne room in Heaven. God has chosen to manifest His Kingdom of Heaven through us here and establish it upon this earth. In order for us to bring His Kingdom here, we need to do here in the physical realm of earth what they are doing continually in spiritual realm of Heaven which is the praise and worship of God. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in God’s throne room in Heaven where the four creatures and the twenty-four elders worship God continually. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (NKJV ~ Revelations 4:8-11)
VI. United Prayer
The united prayer is corporate prayer where several people come together speaking the same words at the same time lifting their voices together to the Lord. So, when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them. (NKJV ~ Acts 4:24) This type of prayer releases power when all are of one accord and all are praying in faith. By coming together and speaking the prayer in unity out loud, the prayer bonds the group together and gives the prayer what we can relate to as a turbo boost. At the end of Acts Chapter 4 verse 31, we see the result of people coming together in the united prayer earlier in verse 24 when the place where they were praying was shaken. This is the display of power brought about by a turbo-charged united prayer. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (NKJV ~ Acts 4:31)
“We need more united praying. We need vocal praying, or praying out loud in one accord, in the church too. Let us avail ourselves of the power that is in united prayer, so that we do not miss out on any good thing the Lord has made available for us today. Let’s pray the kind of united prayer that will shake things for the Kingdom of God!” (Hagin Pg. 66)
VII. Prayer of Agreement
When we pray the prayer of agreement we come into agreement with one or more other believers and we immediately invoke God’s Word that was spoken by Jesus on the subject. “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. (NKJV ~ Matthew 18:19) When we come into agreement with another believer, the power of that prayer increases exponentially and a multiplication factor takes place. Studies have shown that a single draft horse can pull about 8,000 pounds, so you might assume that two draft horses harnessed together as a team would be able to pull double that weight at 16,00 pounds. This assumption is incorrect. In actuality, two draft horses harnessed together as a team can actually pull three times the weight of one draft horse at 24,000 pounds. Further study showed that when two draft horses worked together and trained with one another over time as a team, they could eventually pull four times the weight of one draft horse at 32,000 ponds. This is a great example of what happens in the spiritual realm when we use our collective spiritual muscle praying together in agreement.
Agreeing is more than just saying the same thing. Agreeing is when two or more persons both agree and also believe what the Word of God says. Their belief is that if God said it in His Word, then it is true and He will honor it. The only way that this type of prayer works is when the prayer is prayed in steadfast faith and the ones praying eliminate all unbelief and doubt when they pray. The believers praying have to control their thoughts and do not let any doubt come into their minds. The enemy will do everything in his power to hinder prayers of agreement because He knows what God’s Word says about it and He knows how destructive it can be to his plans to disrupt the advancement of the Kingdom of God. I believe the prayer of agreement is one of the most effective and powerful prayers believers can pray to battle against the schemes of the devil. Strength in numbers, power in agreement and believers in one accord makes for a strong forceful prayer initiative. We can see this at work in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (NKJV ~ Acts 2:1-4) I believe the upper room experience was the greatest prayer of agreement ever prayed.
VIII. Prayer of Commitment
The prayer of commitment is done when we bind ourselves to the Lord and we cast our cares upon Him. We commit to trusting Him making Him our Lord. It is unloading our burdens, anxieties, fears and worries on the Lord. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (NKJV ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7) Jesus Christ asks us to take this step by inviting us to come to Him and give Him our troubles and heavy burdens. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (NKJV ~ Matthew 11:28-30) Jesus wants for us to come to Him and unload our problems and stresses. He came to save us not to condemn us and the saving not only includes our souls from death but also save us from the difficulties of living this life without Him and without the Holy Spirit which we receive when we have the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. It is Jesus by the Holy Spirit that can and will take our cares as we cast them upon Him and He will carry our burdens and help us through the struggles of this life. Just as a team of oxen puts a yoke on their necks to pull a heavy plow through the hard soil, those of us without Jesus put the heavy yoke of this world to pull a plow though the hard difficulties of our lives in this fallen world. Jesus has a different yoke for us and He is telling us to take the heavy worldly yoke off our necks and to put His yoke upon us because His yoke is easy and light compared to the worlds and His yoke will give us rest. In the prayer of commitment, we are saying to the Lord that we bind ourselves to the course of action of giving Him all our troubles and coming under His Lordship.
IV. Prayer of Intercession
The prayer of intercession is when a believer stands in place for another person in prayer. When we intercede for someone, we go on their behalf and offer up prayers for them standing in the gap as an intermediary. The most prevalent form of intercessory prayer is when we pray for the lost. We pray for them because they are lost and do not yet have the full knowledge and understanding of the gospel and cannot pray for themselves. They more often than not, don’t even know they are lost. They have no idea that they need to be rescued by a savior. We as believers can be effective intercessors for non-believers just as Jesus Christ is an intercessor for those who believe. Jesus intercedes for us to the Father because we cannot approach the Father for ourselves because of our sinful nature. With Jesus as our intercessor, we can come to the throne room of God and offer up our prayers in and through Him. Unbelievers cannot come to the throne room of God because they have not made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior and most likely have no knowledge that there is even a throne room to make petitions to God. It is in this arrangement that we can stand in the gap and pray for those and be assured that God will hear our prayers that will help the lost be found and then God can move on their behalf and they can have the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel given to them.
We as believers are called to be a royal priesthood. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9) We are a royal priesthood called to intercede for others just as Jesus was called by the Father to intercede for us being our High Priest forever. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 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. (NKJV ~ Hebrews 7:24-25) When we as believers pray the prayer of intercession, we are mirroring Jesus Christ as He is our intercessor and we are exhibiting his likeness and God is pleased. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18)
X. Imprecatory Prayers
Imprecatory prayers are prayers of judgment against the wicked and God’s enemies that were commonly prayed in the Old Testament. These prayers invoke evil upon or curse one’s enemies. During the time before Jesus, these prayers were needed for protection from the wicked and a judgment to those that did evil to the children of God. This type of prayer is not a common prayer today because we are under a new covenant, the covenant of Jesus Christ, where God pours out His grace and mercy upon us. Jesus dealt with all sin and wickedness at the cross so the judgment was put on Him for all the sin and wickedness of the world. Jesus also commands us to love our enemies. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:44-45). Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14) There is no need for this type of prayer today and we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ should stay away from praying them. In the dispensation of Jesus Christ this type of prayer is not necessary and is actually an act of disobedience.
Conclusion
The priority of prayer should be the primary component in our spiritual lives. Throughout the Old and New Testament, we are shown the need for prayer and we see its results. We read in the scriptures the importance of prayer and how people that prayed had miraculous results living out their purpose in God. Prayer is our access to our Creator from the physical realm where we live into the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of Heaven. When sin entered into the world and we were corrupted by it we became separated from God. Prayer is now our only bridge of communication where we can reconnect with God. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can approach God in prayer without condemnation for our sin and cross the bridge to the Father. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (NKJV ~ Roman 8:1) Prayer opens up a dialogue with God that develops a relationship with Him which is the reason why we were created. Prayer allows us to go to God with our petitions, needs, desires, hurts and struggles we have in this fallen world and to develop trust that is one of the most important factors in all relationships. A famous quote on trust is by Scott Weiss which states, “Trust leads to approachability and open communications”. Earthly relationships are built on trust and so is the one with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is an open line of communication between us and God and trust opens the door so we can talk to God and listen to Him to find out His purpose for our lives. We were created to be in a relationship with God and to share in His love and when we do this it pleases Him. Through prayer we can unleash the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth and cooperate with God on advancing that Kingdom. Prayer allows for God to use us to pray for the salvation of others. When we open up our hearts to prayer we open up Heaven and we can help God facilitate His miracles, signs and wonders that He uses to draw the lost back to him. I believe that prayer is paramount to God and we should honor our Father in Heaven by engaging Him in unceasing prayer as told to us in the scriptures. I believe God does not want us to have a prayer life but more accurately to have a life of prayer. Each type of prayer discussed has its specific purpose and should be used when applicable to the different situations that arise in our lives as believers. We should pray for others and intercede for them. We should petition God to meet our needs. We should worship and praise God in prayer to bring Him good pleasure and unleash the power of the Holy Spirit. We should pray united prayers to be forceful and have strength in numbers and we should utilize the guaranteed promise of the prayer of agreement to help us overcome. All prayers are good when we come to God with an open heart and with good intent. They are effective when we come in full faith absent of doubt and unbelief. They are honored when we have eliminated unforgiveness. The only bad prayers are the ones left unsaid, the ones that are never created and the ones that we are too busy doing other things to perform. To take on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to live the Christian Life is to say to God that we believe His Word and we trust Him and want Him to change us into the likeness of His son. When Jesus was here on this earth in the flesh, He had a life of prayer and was in constant communication with His Father. By giving ourselves to Jesus Christ we become His disciples which by definition means we are to be the followers or students of a teacher, leader, or philosopher. Jesus is our teacher and we are His followers or students and He teaches us how to pray through Him to the Father and we ought to make it a priority to be good followers and good students and take Him at His Word to never stop praying. I believe unceasing prayer is everything to God! I believe our life of prayer is a priority to be able to serve God effectively and to be in relationship with Him bringing Him good pleasure.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hagin, E. Kenneth. Bible Prayer Study Course. Copyright © 1974, 1992 Rhema Bible Church AKA Kenneth Hagan Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. First Edition 1974. Second Edition 1992. Printed in USA.
Evans, Jimmy. Ten Steps Toward Christ. Amarillo, Texas. Published by Trinity Fellowship Church. Copyright © 2011 by Jimmy Evans
Scripture references marked NKJV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW KING JAMES VERSION ®. NKJV ®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.