Categories of Prayer

The Scripture reveals four categories of prayer. There might be more, but generally, any prayer that a believer ever prayed, falls into one or more of these four categories.


Entreating God's Favor, God's Help and God's Power


This is the primary form of prayer and the most common type of prayer. It is calling out or crying out to God. It is opening our needs up to God and asking God to do things for us. Most prayers, including intercessory prayers and supplication are under this category.


1. Elijah's prayer


A good example of a prayer under this category is a prayer that led to Elijah's victory at Mount Carmel where he confronted 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah.


This was the prayer that brought victory to Elijah:


"Lord God of Abrahem, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts back to You again" (1 Kings 18:36, 37, NKJV, emphasis added).


James said, "The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produce its fruit" (James 5:17, emphasis added).


Here are some statements of truth:


1. Elijah was a prophet of God. He was a righteous man with a nature like ours. He had the same weakness and problem as any other person. But he prayed effectively and fervently.


2. Elijah prayed according to the will of God. He hated what God hates and loved what God loves. He detested the prophets of Baal, and so is God. He wanted the people to know that the Lord alone is the God of Israel, and so is God.


3. Elijah was obedient to God and to His Word. He said: "I have done all these things at your word."


4. Elijah's main concern is God's Glory. He said: "... that this people may know that You are the Lord God, ..."


5. Elijah wanted the people who were deceived by the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah to come back to God. And this pleased God.


2. Samuel's Intercession


A good example of entreating God's favor and God's Power by crying out to God can be seen when the Philistines came against Israel at Mizpah, during the time when Samuel was judging Israel (1 Samuel 7:1 - 11). The children of Israel asked Samuel to intercede for them so that the Lord would help them to overcome the Philistines:


"So the children said to Samuel, 'Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.' And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him" (1 Samuel 7:8, 9, emphasis added).


Basically, intercession includes "crying out to the Lord". The next verse says, the Lord brought confusion to the Philistines and they were overcome before Israel.


Transacting Spiritual Authority


God is the source of all Authority. In Christ, all believers are under the Authority of Christ and therefore have authorities to come against any situation according to the will of God. When we command in God, in the Name of Jesus, we are transacting Spiritual Authority. This is the basis of Warfare Prayer in Spiritual Warfare. God willing, my messages on Spiritual Warfare are forthcoming.


Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:18 - 20, NKJV, emphasis added).


Here are some statements of truth:


1. As we take authority (or command) in Him, Jesus exercises the same Spiritual Authority in heaven as we evercise on earth. Notice that the initiative is not with Jesus but with us. Our actions of "binding" and "loosing" on earth change the course of events in heaven.


2. A condition attached to our exercising this authority is given in verse 19 which says, "two of you agree" when they ask or pray in "binding" and "loosing". The Greek word for "to agree" is "sumphoneo" which means, "in symphony" or "in harmony".


We can read verse 19 as: "Again I say to you if two of you can harmonize on earth concerning anything that they ask, ...".


3. Jesus was talking about harmony in the Spirit. It has nothing do with two believers having a casual decision to pray for someone. In other words, in exercising this spiritual authority two or more believers must be in right relationship or rightly related to one another in the Spirit - being united in the Holy Spirit.


4. Verse 20 explains why the believers can exercise this spiritual authority. When believers are brought together in Jesus' Name to fellowship with one another and to pray, Jesus is present with them. It is the presence of the Lord that enables us to exercise the authority of binding and loosing.


I believe when we fulfill the above conditions and take authority on earth, God releases power from heaven into the heavenly realm where Satan dwells. We are actually issuing a legal restraining order against Satan telling his demonic forces that they cannot operate any longer in the unseen realm. And at the same time God releases angelic beings with restraining orders to forbid these demonic forces to operate in any situation that is against us! The Bible is full of examples of angels involved in answers to prayers (Acts 5:18 - 20; Acts 12:5 - 17). Michael, the archangel, is not mentioned in the Scripture except in relationship in Spiritual Warfare. And in every case when he is mentioned people were praying (Daniel 10:11 - 14; Daniel 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7).


The first time the apostles used the authority of the Name of Jesus was when Peter and John were on their way to a prayer meeting in the temple at 3:00 pm one day (Acts 3:1 - 10). At the Gate of Beautiful Peter said to a certain man lame since birth:


"'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength" (Acts 3:6, 7).


Notice that Peter did not ask God to do anything for that man. He did not ask God to heal him, and to give him a good life, or ask God to command him to rise up on his feet!God had already given Peter the authority to use His Name by faith. Peter helped the lame man to get up in order to release his faith.


Tapping Spiritual Secret


This involves sharing our secret with the Lord and the Lord sharing His secret with us. When we pray the Lord confides with us and He reveals His secret to us.


Daniel said, "And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him" (Daniel 2:21, 22, emphasis added).


Daniel said the above because he realized that the key to tapping spiritual secret and to answers to prayer is by fearing God! I believe this is the foundational truth for all believers if they want their prayers to be effective.


The Bible says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10 and Psalm 111:10). This means that if we do not fear the Lord we lack knowledge and wisdom. Because of this lack, our prayer would not be as effective as it should.


The psalmist David was consistent with Daniel when he said:


"The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them" (Psalm 25:14, NIV, emphasis added).


The word "fear" in describing the fear of the Lord means to show reverence and respect to God. Respect is the act of noticing with attention to God. This means showing consideration to God and wanting to please Him. When you reverent God you want to be with Him. And that is what happens when we pray. We want to be close to Him. And because we are close to him He confides with us. We fear God is the sense that we reverent Him but not frighten of Him.


Please read my earlier messages: "Walking in the Fear of the Lord" and "Walking in the promises of God".


Developing Spiritual Love


The only way to develop Spiritual Love is to know God and not just to know about God. To know God is to acquire knowledge about Him through our personal relationship with Him. To know about God is to learn what is written about Him in the Bible. In order to really know God we need to seek Him diligently, to dwell in His presence, to commune with Him, to touch Him with or worship and prayer.


Many of us are seeking things from God under the pretence of seeking God. When we are sick, we seek healing from God. When hard financial times hit us, we seek money from God. The one who truly seeks God expects only one thing - God Himself. He is looking for God, not just the things God can give him. He knows when he has God, he has everything!


Jesus said, in part of His Priestly prayer to the Father, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3, emphasis added).


Jesus' desire is that you and I know God and know Him, and consequently, have eternal life. In other words, if we fail to Him and God, the Father we may not have eternal life!


This is of great spiritual significance concerning our personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Whether we really know God or not, makes the difference between eternal life and eternal death! God makes Himself known not to casual intellectual curiosity, but to passionate thirst.


Great men of God had passionate spiritual love for God:


1. Paul - "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10, emphasis added).


2. Daniel - "... but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits" (Daniel 11:32, emphasis added).


In Hebrew the word "know" is "yada" which means "intimate knowledge". In fact, "yada" represents a high level of knowing - knowledge that is gained only from direct intimate contact. "Yada" speaks more of heart intimacy than it does of head knowledge. The word "strong" means "stand firm and durable" and "exploits" means "bold deeds and daring acts".


If we paraphrase Daneil 11:32 we have, "The people who truly know God intimately shall stand firm and carry out bold deed and daring acts".


3. Joshua - Joshua was an Old Testament hero who knew his God and carried out bold deeds and daring acts (Joshua 5 and 6). When Joshua looked toward the towering Canaanite fortress of Jericho, he was looking at a problem. But suddenly, he saw the Solution - in the form of a Person, the "Commander of the army of the Lord" (Joshua 5:14). It wasn't a strategy or a concept; it wasn't a battle plan but the Person Jesus! Joshua knew he was in the presence of the Lord whom he knew. He did not ask his Commander specifically for a strategic plan to help him to conquer Jericho. He was simply caught up in Jesus. In reverence and awe, flat on his face, he pleaded:


"What message does my Lord have for his servant" (Joshua 5:14, NIV)?


Joshua, no doubt, was waiting for a physical battle plan, but the Lord simply said, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are stading is holy" (Joshua 5:15, NIV).


Instead of a battle plan, a specific spiritual warface strategy was given to Joshua (Joshua 6). The rest is history! Israel's ultimate victory over Jericho was brought about by Joshua's reverence and obedience to the God he truly knew!


The four categories of prayer we have discussed include all types of prayer that believers are expected to pray - all personal and corporate prayers of supplication, intercession, petition, and warfare prayers.