When You've Tried Everything Else . . .

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, 

that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Luke 18:1

Prayer is a vital part of the basic battle plan of the believer. It is prayer that helps to sustain us.  However, we often pray amiss and become discouraged when our prayers go unanswered.  

The definition of prayer is, simply put, communion with God. It takes different forms, but basically it occurs when man communes with God and God communes with man. Prayer is described as:

          Calling upon the name of the Lord:                          Genesis 12:8

          Crying unto God:                                                          Psalms 27:7; 34:6

          Drawing near to God:                                                  Psalms 73:28; Hebrews 10:22

          Looking up:                                                                   Psalms 5:3

          Lifting up the soul:                                                       Psalms 25:1

          Lifting up the heart:                                                     Lamentations 3:41

          Pouring out the heart:                                                 Psalms 62:8

          Pouring out the soul:                                                   1 Samuel 1:15

          Crying to Heaven:                                                        2 Chronicles 32:20

          Beseeching the Lord:                                                   Exodus 32:11

          Seeking God:                                                                 Job 8:5

          Seeking the face of the Lord:                                     Psalms 27:8

          Making supplication:                                                  Job 8:5; Jeremiah 36:7

Prayer was an important strategy of the Lord Jesus.  Jesus made prayer a priority:

·                     He prayed any time of the day or night:   Luke 6:12-13

·                     Prayer took priority over eating:                John 4:31-32

·                     Prayer took priority over business:            John 4:31-32

Prayer accompanied any event of importance:

-  At His baptism:                                                       Luke 3:21-22

-  During the first ministry tour:                             Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16

-  Before the choice of the disciples:                      Luke 6:12-13

-  Before and after the feeding of the 5,000:        Matthew 14:19,23; Mark 6:41,46;

John 6:11,14-15

-  At the feeding of the 4,000:                                 Matthew 15:36; Mark 8:6,7

-  Before the confession of Peter:                            Luke 9:18

-  Before the transfiguration:                                   Luke 9:28,29

-  At the return of the seventy:                                Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21

-  At the grave of Lazarus:                                        John 11:41-42

-  At the blessing of the children:                            Matthew 19:13

-  At the coming of certain Greeks:                        John 12:27-28

-  Before the hour of His greatest anguish:           Matthew 26:26-27; Mark 14:22-23;

Luke 22:17-19

-  For Peter:                                                                 Luke 22:32

-  For the giving of the Holy Spirit:                        John 14:1-6

-  On the road to Emmaus:                                      Luke 24:30-31

-  Prior to His ascension:                                          Luke 24:50-53

-  For His followers:                                                  John 17

-  The prayer Jesus taught is recorded in              Matthew 6:9-13.

Kinds of prayer:

Paul calls for believers to pray always with "all prayer": 

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.  (Ephesians 6:18)

Another translation of the Bible reads "praying with every kind of prayer" (Godspeed Translation). This refers to the various levels and types of prayer.

There are three levels of intensity in prayer: Asking, seeking, and knocking:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

Asking is the first level of prayer. It is simply presenting a request to God and receiving an immediate answer. In order to receive, the condition is to ask:

. . . ye have not, because ye ask not. (James 4:2)

We have the powerful spiritual weapon of prayer, and yet many do not use it. They do not ask, and because of this, they do not receive.

Seeking is a deeper level of prayer. This is the level of prayer where answers are not as immediate as at the asking level. The 120 gathered in the upper room where they "continued" in prayer is an example of seeking. These men and women sought fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit and continued "seeking" until the answer came. (Acts 1,2)  

Knocking is a deeper level yet. It is prayer that is persistent when answers are longer in coming. It is illustrated by the parable Jesus told in Luke 11:5-10. The knocking level is the most intense level of spiritual warfare in prayer. It is illustrated by the persistence of Daniel who continued to knock despite the fact he saw no visible results as Satan hindered the answer from God. (Daniel 10)

There are various types of prayer illustrated in the model prayer given by the Lord (Matthew 6:9-13). Types of prayer include:

1.         Worship and praise:

You enter into God's presence with worship and praise:

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name. (Psalms 100:4)

Worship is the giving of honor and devotion. Praise is thanksgiving and an expression of gratitude not only for what God has done but for what and who He is. You are to worship God in spirit and in truth:

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)

Praise and worship can be with:

Singing:                                                                        Psalms 9:2,11; 40:3; Mark 14:26

Audible praise:                                                          Psalms 103:1

Shouting:                                                                     Psalms 47:1

Lifting up of the hands:                                            Psalms 63:4; 134:2; I Timothy 2:8

Clapping:                                                                     Psalms 47:1

Musical instruments:                                                Psalms 150:3-5

Standing:                                                                     2 Chronicles 20:19

Bowing:                                                                        Psalms 95:6

Dancing:                                                                      Psalms 149:3

Kneeling:                                                                     Psalms 95:6

Lying down:                                                                Psalms 149:5

The warrior of God in the spirit world is shown with...

. . . the high praises of God...in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand.  (Psalms 149:6)

2.        Commitment:

This is prayer committing your life and will to God. It includes prayers of consecration and dedication.

3.        Petition:

Prayers of petition are requests. Requests must be made according to the will of God as revealed in His written Word. Petitions may be at the levels of asking, seeking, or knocking. Supplication is another word for this type of prayer. The word supplication means "beseeching God or strongly appealing to Him in behalf of a need."

4.        Confession and repentance:

A prayer of confession is repenting and asking forgiveness for sin:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation . . .   (2 Corinthians 7:10)

5.        Intercession:

Intercession is prayer for others. An intercessor is one who takes the place of another or pleads another's case. The Bible records that at one time God looked on the earth and saw there was no intercessor:

And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him.  (Isaiah 59:16)

When God saw there was no intercessor He supplied the need. He sent Jesus:

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

. . . It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.   (1 John 2:1)

        

An advocate in a court of justice is a legal assistant or counselor who pleads another's cause. Intercession in spiritual warfare is prayer to God on behalf of another person. Sometimes this intercession is made with understanding. You intercede in your own native language:

I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For kings, and for all that are in authority. . . (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

At other times, intercession is made by the Holy Spirit. It may be with groanings resulting from a heavy spiritual burden. It may be in an unknown tongue. It may be intercession for another or the Holy Spirit making intercession for you. When this happens, the Holy Spirit speaks through you praying directly to God and according to the will of God. You do not understand this type of intercession:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:26)

This is the deepest level of intercessory prayer and the most effective in spiritual warfare.

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