Prayer X

In the first article, I wrote on definitions on prayer, when prayer starts and some of the components of prayer. While in the second article I finished my brief exegesis on components of prayer. The third article is centered on those who should pray. The fourth is on some of the reasons why talk (pray) to our heavenly father. The fifth article is on places of prayer while the sixth and seventh centered on occasions that move men to pray unto God. The eight article is on period (time) that men can pray. The last article focuses on how we should be praying in this article.

In this article I will want us to see some of the types of prayer that we have in the christian fold.

As it has been shown us from the earlier articles that prayer is conversation with God, this I believe should be made without ceasing unto him because we also yearn to hear our children, and other people who are subject to us to speak to us every time about those things that are confusing unto them. With this behind the back of our minds I want to tell us that God also does not expect from us anything less. (Amos 3:3 & 7)

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amo 3:3 & 7)

When we are in agreement and love with someone we shall desire to see him daily to talk with him ceaselessly, even the minutest things which some would think are not important the person who is in love with another person would discuss that with his partner. It is the same with prayer. God desires us to talk with him daily, interacting with him every time because we are walking together and he assuredly would also let us into some of the secrets of the world, our lives and others.

Although, sometimes, prayer can be frustrating, and we shall be thinking which kind of mess have we put ourselves? Why not go the ways of the heathen to get this done? This often happens because we do not understand God and his ways, as Job and his friends have not understood God, His words and his ways.

However, to overcome this, it is imperative for us to know that when we use a type of prayer and it seems as if things are not changing, then we could “shift to alternative channels” of talking to our heavenly father.

How do I mean? To understand what I am saying here, we can consider a person who is in love with someone else. When this lover discovers that his partner is always busy during the daytime, she or he would change the time of discussing with his partner, because she would want his maximum concentration when talking to him, especially when the issue is crucial. She or he could create new time for their discussion, maybe midnight, or before the person leaves for office.

Prayer could also be viewed in this light. When we see that a prayer type is not working well, that is according to our thought, we can change to another prayer type to talk with our father.

Let us therefore see some of those prayer types.

This is the first type of prayer that I shall be writing about, prayer of thanksgiving. We need to know that this is not a prayer of intercession neither any other ones at that, while on this type of prayer, one won’t ask for anything from God except giving him thanks.

In the book of first Timothy 2 verse 1, we discover that the three Greek words used for prayer are mentioned in this verse.

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;” (1 Ti 2:1)

We shall see in this verse that the author talks about three different types of prayer here which are supplication, intercession and giving of thanks.

Greek word for giving of thanks here is “εὐχαριστία”, Romanized form is eucharistia (pronounced as yoo-khar-is-tee'-ah) which means gratitude, grateful language to God, thankfulness.

When things are smooth or not smooth for us.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil 4:6)

Some of the uses of this kind of prayer are:

When we use grateful language to bless God, we show him that our faith in him is not shaken come what may, irrespective of what we are passing through.

Giving him thanks ushers us into his presence as the bible says in the book of Psalms that he inhabits the praises of Israel.

“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” (Psa 22:3)

Hebrew word used for inhabit here is “ישׁב”, Romanized form is yâshab (pronounced as yaw-shab') which means to sit down, to dwell, to remain, tarry, establish.

While Hebrew word for praise is “תּהלּה”, Romanized form is t^ehillâh (pronounced as teh-hil-law') which implies laudation, singing hymn.

The author of the book of Psalms in this chapter makes us know that Yahweh establishes himself when the people of Israel are praising him or singing hymns and other wonderfully melodious songs to praise his name.

Someone may say that the place addresses the physical Israel and it has no direct relationship with us. I therefore want us to know that this place also affects us because we are the spiritual Israel as apostle Paul says to the Galatians in his epistle to them.

“And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” (Gal 6:16)

As Israel of God when we are praising the Lord, he dwells in our praises too, he sits down there, establishing himself there as he has been doing for the physical Israelites.

One of the things that the devil usually uses for our christian faith, and our prayers is unbelief, but when we give praises to God, he loses ground on this wise in our lives.

As a hymn says,

When we are giving thanks to God, we have with us a two-edged sword of God to pull down the kingdom of darkness. (I Tim 2:1; Ps 95; 100;116; I Thes 5:15-19; Acts 16:16-34)

When we give thanks to Him, he becomes moved, coming into the midst of our praises, dwelling there because we are Israel of God in the spirit. We should cultivate the habit of giving thanks to him.

I shall continue with other types of prayer in the next article.