10 Types of Prayer That Can Change Your Life
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord. Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Israel, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. [1 Chronicles 16:9-13]
As we are going through our 21-days of fasting and prayer we have a lot of great teaching. This is one of the teachings again from Pastor Ted Shuttlesworth. Were you aware that there are many types of prayers? Each type of prayer has a distinct purpose and a specific blessing.
PRAYER OF SALVATION/PRAYER OF REPENTANCE: this is the foundational prayer in order for any other prayers to be heard by God, you have to be a child of God. If you have not prayed this prayer, click here for the prayer! It’s simply recognizing that God has given us a gift to reconcile our relationship with Him. We are a person with a sinful nature, therefore we need to repent of our sins, when we do this, then we will be forgiven, and we become a child of God. This is the beginning of the relationship. (Welcome to the family of God).
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil. [1 Peter 3:12]
PRAYER OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING: 😊 This activates God’s power and additional blessings. In the time of prayer with God, we can give praise and thanksgiving to God. Praise and thanksgiving are like a ripple effect; we don’t know who will be affected from these prayers. Coming to God with praise and thanksgiving is the quickest access to His presence and power. I just love this message in Acts about Paul and Silas praising and praying while in prison; look what the power of God did for them!
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here! The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? [Acts 16:25-30]
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION: This could also be the prayer of sanctification or the prayer of living sacrifice. For some its one of the hardest prayers to pray as it also is a mature prayer for any believer to pray. This is the most unselfish prayer to pray, in humility and with meekness. Basically, this pray is saying: whatever YOU Lord want me to do with my life – I will do it. I am yours; I am YOUR servant. I am not just a child of God; I am His willing servant. I want to hear EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO. I desire to be what God called me to be. Your will be done Lord, in my life. We will never go through an experience like Jesus did, but this prayer in Matthew was the epitome of a prayer of consecration. Like always, whenever we are not sure what to do, we can look to Jesus as the one who will always set the perfect example.
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. [Matthew 26:39]
PRAYER OF INQUIRY: in some ways, it’s attached to the prayer of consecration. This prayer is inquiring of the Lord for supernatural direction. We as believers have the ability to be led by the Spirit directly. We don’t need a priest or a pastor to intercede on our behalf. We should want to be led by the Holy Spirit. We don’t want to do something that God is NOT involved with. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, Lord speak to us… the blessing of the Lord always comes with God’s leading. God will never lead us where we dimmish or are destroyed. Seek earnestly what the Holy Spirit wants us to do.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. [Romans 8:14]
PRAYER OF FAITH: This should be Plan A! Pray before paying for a doctor visit! Pray before complaining that you have a sore throat. Pray before you stock up on pills, potions, and drugs. Prayer of faith has the power to deliver perfect healing. The Word tells us that every believer is called to lay their hands upon the sick and they WILL be healed. Continue to build faith by hearing God’s Word. We have the power within us to heal ourselves and others. Thank you, Lord!!
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. [James 5:13-15]
PRAYER IN THE HOLY SPIRIT: multiple things happen when you pray in the Spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit is speaking from the spirit directly to God. Nothing more powerful than this type of prayer. This type of prayer, in the Lord is encouraging and edifying to ourselves. Our heavenly prayer language is one that no one else will understand except God, because this type of prayer is ONLY for and to God. Praying in the Holy Spirit will stir up your faith 😊 It opens up your Spirit man and yields to the Holy Spirit in prayer. We begin to pray for things that we don’t know how to pray for, which will position us for God’s all mighty movement!
For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. [1 Corinthians 14:2]
PRAYER FOR GOD’S KINGDOM: This is another powerful pray as we are praying for God’s plan on the earth to be done. We are praying for the things that God wants to accomplish, will not be hindered. When praying for God’s Kingdom we need to pray against whatever is trying to stop God’s movement. Pray that those that are causing hindrance or deceit are exposed and scattered; this includes enemies in our nations, churches, families, businesses, and ministries. May all people come to know the Lord, as this is God’s ultimate desire.
Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies. Let those who hate God run for their lives. Blow them away like smoke. Melt them like wax in a fire. Let the wicked perish in the presence of God. But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy [Psalm 68:1-3]
PRAYER OF INTERCESSION: This is time to stand in the gap and pray for other people. All our friends, family, and people that we love and people that we don’t even like. Pray for health, restoration, prosperity, transformation, and salvation and more! Pray against addictions, bondage, deception, false doctrine, and any form of evil. It’s easy to pray for an hour or more when we are interceding for others on their behalf.
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. [1 Timothy 2:1-4]
PRAYER OF AGREEMENT/CORPORATE PRAYER: praying with the body of believers consistently in agreement in a physical church.
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. During this time, when about 120 believers were together in one place, Peter stood up and addressed them [Acts 1:14-15]
PRAYER OF SUPPLICATION: This is the prayer where you make YOUR requests known to God. Be very specific on what YOU want God to do. Faith is not vague, faith is specific. You need to be specific so that a scripture can be used in conjunction with this prayer. If you are praying for healing scripture on land transfer isn’t going to work, therefore prayers need to be specific to match with scripture. Don’t be afraid to ask God for big things as He is GOD!
Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [Philippians 4:5-6]