“LORD TEACH US TO PRAY”
LEADERS AFTER GOD’S HEART MINISTRIES, INC
Rev. Lisa Marie Ives
8110 COLE ST, DOWNEY, CA 90242
“LORD, Teach Us To Pray!”
The disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray. They didn’t ask him to give us a prayer, but show us the way to approach the Father. This is because they noticed in Jesus life that when HE prayed HE got the God to move upon a situation therefore having God’s miraculous results. So learning about prayer is learning about our heart, where our heart is healthy and where it need’s tending by the Father who is the Gardener. May you learn through this inspired book about prayer about where you are, and where this place of prayer and intercession with the Gardner will take you as a person. May you yield to the Gardener as he weeds your heart, tills the soil of your heart, and adds elements of His nature to your heart so that your prayers like Jesus’ avail much!
Which Prayer Do I Pray?
Before we begin to explore the subject of prayer we must first understand that all the praying in the world will not bring forth the God answer if it is not prayed from a heart of love for people even ourselves. Love is the first fruit of a born again person and must be the driving force for praying not just so a situation doesn’t bother us anymore. LOVE is the most powerful force in the Universe because GOD IS LOVE!
“Prayer will bring no results without the known will of God revealed to us and the known will of God revealed to us will not come to pass without prayer”
Acts 6:4
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Many pray ignorantly, “If it be thy will?” for every situation, because they don’t know there are different kinds of prayers, so they jumble them all together. They listen to others pray and copy them, or just hit and miss in prayer, sometimes getting results and sometimes left in want.
This does not need to happen if we too will give ourselves continually to prayer and God’s word. We have been given three witnesses on earth to help us overcome in this world. I John 5:8says we have the Spirit of God, who helps us and teaches us how to pray. The water of the Word of God has been given to us as a resource of strategies in prayer. The blood of Jesus, (his very life in us) cleanses our minds of impure thoughts so we think God’s thoughts and pray God’s prayers.
Throughout the Bible there is interwoven many different types of prayers. The intention of this booklet is to cover each one and clarify what they are so as to better help the Body of Christ pray effectively.
The Bible tells us we’re to ask the Father in Jesus Name when we pray. Yet many follow this pattern of prayer and yet don’t understand what the purpose of it is and therefore resort to a religious exercise (vain repetition) as Jesus said in Matthew. When we pray “In Jesus Name” we are releasing our faith in all that His Name means. He is the Saviour of the world, the Deliverer, Healer of all diseases, Redeemer, High Priest, Great Intercessor, Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Pastor, Evangelist and the Yes and Amen to our prayers. He’s God and all that God is!!! To say ‘In Jesus Name” therefore means all that His Name represents; His Divine character, Divine ability, Divine authority. He gave Jesus His name to enforce God’s will on this earth through US!
When the devil hears Jesus Name spoken in faith he doesn’t see us, but he sees Jesus Christ, the LORD of all in us speaking to him and that’s why the devil flees. Praying in the Name of Jesus is like giving someone in need a blank check with the signature of authority on of the Greatest, Strongest, Wealthiest, Possessor of all anyone would ever need PERSON in the world on the check and His Name is JESUS! He tells us what to write on that check according to His will and we cash it in by faith and prayer. That’s how Jesus possessed God’s inheritance while on earth. He continually said It Is Written…He filled in the blank check from heaven, but only as the Father instructed Him. Jesus never overdrew his account by asking too much so as to indulge his flesh, or tried to draw from his heavenly account only to find it was empty because He didn’t trust His Father. He lived in abundant provision and we can too. He’s given us the ability, through prayer, and the authority, through His Name!!! Praise His Name!
Following are a list of different kinds of prayer mentioned in the Bible. They describe how and when to use them. In Ephesians 6:18 we are told to pray with all prayer. Just like different tools are used to bring forth a garden, so to there are different prayers that bring forth God’s will in our lives and the lives He calls us to pray for.
Kinds of Prayer
I. Prayer of Communion: II Corinthians 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, Amen.
Communion means fellowship or intimacy describing a deep understanding and relationship with the Holy Spirit of God. God longs for intimacy with His Creation, for He created us for His pleasure as it says in Revelation 4:8-11. Our fellowship is with the Father directly as we are alone or indirectly when we fellowship with believers. I John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son. So first and foremost prayer was ordained by God so humanity could have a relationship with their Creator. How can a person truly and whole-heartedly trust someone they don’t know? The answer is, they can’t! So until we pursue God in a desire to know all about Him we won’t trust in His ability to answer prayer. Just as we live in a day many have never known their earthly fathers that gave them natural life, many do not know their Heavenly Father that has eternal life to give them.
God has given us a scriptural pattern to follow to learn the ways of praying specifically for the things we need in life. Since we need the LORD’s ability we need to first become a Praiser of the LORD! A Praiser acknowledges with their whole heart God’s Supreme character in all its aspects from their spirit which brings the praise into their voice and which is used to express Praise, and as a result the Praiser is consumed in God’s presence. For where the LORD is welcomed He reveals Himself. He said He inhabits the praises of His people. In Psalm 129:1-4 we see that the devil attempts to plow up the hearts of God’s people. But God uses Praise from our hearts to break the enemy’s plan and praise brings forth God’s blessings back to us. In Hosea 10:11, 12 Judah means Praiser in Hebrew and here we see an example of Praise plowing places the enemy has hardened. Our hearts then become fertile which welcomes God’s presence. Praise brings our hearts to a place they will bow in worship. When a person really is praising the LORD, they are no longer self conscious, but God conscious and only a person who is God conscious can hear from God. Once a person is conscious of the presence of the Lord His holy presence begins to reveal His purpose to the Praiser and they come to the next place of intimacy which is Worship of the LORD. Worship is a believer’s service and work for the LORD not merely bowing down on their face. The more intimate the relationship with our Heavenly Father the more a believer grows in wisdom and understanding therefore being used of God to help humanity come to know Him in a personal relationship as well.
Prayer Example: Lord my soul follows hard after You. I Praise You for all that You are and all that You do. You are my Salvation, Deliverer, Healer, Lord, Comforter, Shepherd… I long for a greater fellowship with You. I long for a deeper intimacy of who You are and what I mean to you as Your child. You made me for Your pleasure and I now welcome You to move into my life with greater understanding of Your character, ability, and authority. I welcome Your very presence right now to move upon my heart and draw me close to YOU!
REMEMBER God the Father is not looking for eloquent words, but a heart that understands the words they are speaking and are sincere in what they are saying.
II. Prayer of Faith: Hebrews 11:6 says Without faith it is impossible to please Him (God). Therefore all of our prayers in life must be mixed with faith in God Himself for something needed now or at a future moment and they KNOW the request has been heard, received by the LORD and sent right on time into our lives. The prayer of faith is always assured. This prayer is only prayed when a person knows the will of God for a situation. For example it’s always the will of God to have eternal life so when a person comes to the place they want eternal life; they pray the prayer of faith, Lord I want to live with you forever as your child and I thank you for giving me eternal life and forgiving me for all my sins in Jesus Name. All prayers we pray to God must come out of a heart filled with faith that God will answer because they are founded on His Word. Any other type of prayer is either a prayer of hope, or doubt and unbelief, or anxiety. And these types of prayers bring confusion and create havoc in our souls which matters worse, because they are inspired from the carnal soul that has not been renewed by the Word of God. Romans 12:2 says And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Therefore our minds must go through a change of thinking to the way God thinks.
The only answer then is for a person to meditate on God’s Word of truth until confidence rises in our hearts. This means we are to think upon the very thing we want not what we don’t want. Meditating on what we don’t want will give us just what we DON’T WANT.
Prayer Example: Lord I believe Your word and Your word declares Your will is that I have ______(a healthy body). Therefore, I believe I receive ______right now in the Name of Jesus.
III. Prayer of Supplication-to extend an olive branch; a specific fervent request or petition. It is petitioning God the Father in prayer specifically for His promise of Peace in any area of our lives to come to pass. Example Psalm 142 David’s prayer, I Kings 8:44-61 Solomon’s prayer; John 17 Jesus prayer for believers
We live in a day when we’re approached by people at the Post Office or the market, to sign a petition. The petition states a specific matter the person is passionate about, and what the result is that they want. We are to be specific with God, not wishy washy, as they say of, “whatever you want Lord”, when He’s given us His word so we can know what he wants. He says in Philippians 4 we are to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we’re to make our requests known to Him. Here we see different prayers working together to bring the result of peace in our lives.
Prayer Example: Heavenly Father, I come before your throne of grace in the name of Jesus and I need help now!!! In ______area of my life. You are my only hope. As you were with Moses and my forefathers be with me, Oh God! You’re not a respecter of persons Lord so I put my trust in you alone.
IV. Prayer of Agreement-Matthew 18:18 When two of you agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask, it shall be done of my Father which is in heaven. The word agree is a musical term symphoneo. In a symphony there is the conductor and many different instruments each playing their specific notes and harmonizing with each other to make a beautiful sound understood by the hearers. Agreement is when two or more believers each bring their belief together before the Lord of a specific request. Many times a Christian will ask for the prayer of agreement to help break through a resistant situation. Just like two people pushing against a stone can move it better than one if they work together agreeing in prayer with another believer, they can move situations into the will of God. Our agreement is to only be with the known will of God on any matter. Our agreement is with God and His will not our wants, and longings, unless they are truly God’s will. If someone calls for prayer of agreement that God will heal them if it’s the will of God than they have violated the way to pray this prayer because it’s always God’s will to be healed.
To be most effective with the prayer of agreement is to know the will of God first, then have the Holy Spirit lead us to ask someone specifically to agree with us. To just randomly pick someone is an immature approach to this powerful prayer. For the person we choose must agree with God’s will on the matter, otherwise there is no agreement. Just like in the medical profession there are believers that specialize in having strong faith in certain areas so if we know this then we should call those spiritual specialists. The goal should be to grow in faith to excel in faith for the whole counsel of God.
Prayer Example: Lord ______and I come into agreement for Your wisdom being brought forth concerning my business. We believe all resistance is being broken through and Your specific way to approach this new work is being revealed to me right now in the Name of Jesus.
V. Prayer of Repentance- I John 1:9If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is a prayer we pray when we have sinned (gone the wrong way). To confess means to say from our heart what God says about what we did not just “I’m sorry”. It literally means to turn from the wrong way and back to faith in God and doing His will. Say you are worrying about any aspect of your life. Worry is sin according to Philippians 4:6Be anxious for nothing… because when we worry we are not trusting in God’s promises of providing our every need. So we go to God and say,
Prayer Example: Father I admit I didn’t trust you about providing ______in my life and I now acknowledge that worry is sin. I release the care and admit YOU are my provider and NOW trust you that my need of a job is fully brought forth to me NOW!
VI. Prayer of Consecration and Dedication- This prayer is a prayer only we alone can pray to God the Father for our life call from Him. No one can pour out our hearts for us in this prayer, but they can stand on our behalf in prayer through intercession to know the will of God. This prayer of consecration and dedication is a 100 % yielding of our heart to the will and way God wants to use us. Luke 22:42 is an example of Jesus praying this prayer and using “not my will your will Lord” for his own life call. We are always in need of knowing God’s direction for our life call and must stay in that place of humility of “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” and wait to hear as others we find in the Bible did. In Acts 9:6 the Apostle Paul prayed this prayer and the Holy Spirit of God said “Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. This was Paul’s first time hearing the way of God by his own seeking of the Lord in prayer. And we too can hear if we want to hear the Lord speaking to us.
Prayer Example: “Lord I come to You in the name of Jesus and surrender my life to Your will for my life. I allow You to use every gift and talent You have given me for Your glory. What would You have me do?” (wait and listen for His instruction)
This prayer is a daily prayer for the believer that wants to live for God 100%
VII. Prayer of Intercession-Many people jumble their prayers together because they don’t have a working knowledge of the word of God. They may pray in tongues a little, then a few words in their understanding and many times to no avail. Prayer of intercession is a standing on behalf of someone else to bring the known will of God into their lives. It involves, first the leading of the Holy Spirit, a willingness to take upon oneself the assignment as it may be a short or long season of standing for the one they are praying. It involves the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they are needed along the way. We in our humanness are limited in our understanding without the help of the Spirit of God’s revelations. When we are walking by God’s power and His supernatural knowledge about someone else we can then specifically pray for them or a situation that needs to change. We must get God’s mind on the matter and pray His mind to see the results God wants.