Its a HUGE question and will take a bit to answer, this typically refers to one who is in earnest, desperation and has reached the limits of their own capacity in a given circumstance. When a person is in this desperation, its typically the result of having not listened to Lord along the way. The reason I say this is because Gods process while were in the waiting stages for the manifestation of a prayer, is to send peace, but you can’t receive if you have not been listening and responsive along the way.
1 Corinthians 14:33
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”.
Philippians 4:7
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
But one can only experience this peace if they are in a relationship with God that requires an exchange.
You ask God for something, He answers and you respond, God tells you to do something and you do it or not. Praying to God is not a one way street, but contrary to popular belief, there are rules in the way we have to communicate with God, which is against religious dogma and is NOT biblical.
God is a God of order, no matter our individual complacency or reduction in spiritual standards. God is not like us. The way we speak to God should have order because God Himself requires it. Consider the detail that God is actually concerned with.
The construction of the Ephod (Exodus 28:4-43) and the requirements to come into God’s presence is an example of the little things God cares about. It is true, that all these requirements were under the law, but the larger point is that God is the same now as He was then.
“For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6)
“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8)
Covenants that God makes with man are accommodations. They have nothing to do with God’s requirements with respect to His character. That has not changed.
There are basically six forms or types of prayer.
They all have specific ways they address needs, which means there are rules to making these prayers function more effectively.
First, let us consider a few words associated with prayer.
Meditate: The word “meditation” in Hebrew is Siyach, meaning an utterance, babbling, communication, complaint, talk, prayer, converse with oneself aloud.
In the Greek meditate is the word Meletao/mel-et-ah-o, meaning to revolve in the mind, to imagine.
To pray is to “SPEAK” not “THINK” to oneself. If you are praying you have to open your mouth and speak. You must move the air with your voice, no matter how slight. You cannot think a prayer, there is no scripture to support that. As traditional and widely done as this is, it is simply not biblically based, if you thought you were praying by thinking, you aren't.
When God created the Heavens, man, the world and all thats in them, He did not think any of it into existence, He spoke it.
“and God said” (Genesis 1:2-29).
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus did not say, when you pray “think” He said when you pray “say” (Luke 11:2). When Jesus prayed Himself, He spoke aloud,
“These words spake Jesus and lifted up His eyes to Heaven, and said” (John 17:1-26).
When Jesus prayed to the Father to raise Lazarus from the dead, He spoke,
“Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, Father I thank thee that hast heard me” (John 11:41-44).
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays and speaks aloud v39 (Matthew 26:36-45).
In every occasion, speaking is required in prayer, there are no examples in scripture to support it being done any other way. Praying silently is a religious tradition and nothing more.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21)
Not the thoughts
The first rule of engagement in prayer is to speak it.
Every prayer that is made falls into one of six types of prayer
Faith or Petition Prayer when your asking God for something - (Mark 11:24)
Prayer of Thanksgiving - (Revelation 7:12; Philippians 4:6)
The Prayer of Agreement - (Matthew 6:14-15; 18:19; Mark 11:25-26)
Intercession (Romans 8: 26-27)
Consecration and Dedication (Luke 22:41-42)
Binding and loosing (Matthew 18:18; Mark 16:17-18)
Prayer of Faith- (Mark 11:24)
The prayer of faith is also known as petition prayer. This is the most common form of prayer, asking God for stuff. The most common misconception is that the people praying to God actually believe that God exists.
Most people who say they believe in God, only say they do because of social pressures to do so. These people, never pray to God during their day to day lives. They only pray to God when they are in trouble, otherwise God is scarcely part of their vocabulary.
Most people believe in the concept of God, they subscribe to the notion that if you are a good person you will go to Heaven.
This good person belief is based on an individual’s concept of right and wrong, good and evil, this concept has nothing to do with God at all. The first requirement in praying to God, is that you have to believe in Him, not a concept of Him, which requires a relationship.
Santa Claus is a concept, he is not a real person, therefore, anyone can be Santa Claus. But there is only one God, who is not a concept. He is a Spirit, tangible, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient with Aseity and is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth.
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
“For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
The second requirement is that you must know that God has given you faith in the first place, in order to be able to believe in Him.
“God has dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
What is the measure of faith?
“if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20)
A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds in the world. A grain of a seed that small is barely visible to the naked eye. To put this in context, if you have ever had a job and went to work trusting that whoever it was, you were working for would pay you on payday, you have the measure of faith.
“if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20)
The moving of mountains Jesus refers to, is not a physical mountain but a physical circumstance that appears to be a mountain at the moment, its a metaphor.
Most people, instead of looking at the real reason for the lack of performance in their spiritual life, will use the mantra, “it is God’s will” or that “everything happens for a reason” these mantra, as a practical matter of application in one’s life, occurs in most cases as the result of default.
Being out of the Lord’s will and plainly not being in step with the way God has said to do a thing is the default, like thinking a prayer.
The most common reason for unanswered prayer outside of these mentioned, is simply not praying effectively, or correctly. Despite popular belief that there is no right and wrong way to pray, all the biblical evidence is to the contrary.
The next thing we must consider is that since we have faith to start out with, how do we grow that faith practically?
The only way to grow your faith is by hearing the word of God.
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)
The easiest way to grow your faith is to read the Bible out loud to yourself.
You’ll notice that God will talk to you more through the Holy Spirit. This will translate into peace of mind and better decision making on your part.
To pray by Faith as carnally defined is the ability to commit oneself to act based on self-experience, to warrant belief without absolute proof. In other words, faith is an act of the will. You “want” to believe.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)
Practical Application
Faith is used to believe something initially. Hope fills in the gap during the time between what we believe God for and the manifestation of it.
Faith is the tangible aspect of the actions on our part, while we are in the process of believing. Faith is an action word. To have faith is to do something.
Hope in the gap is the thing that helps us see progress, even minor advancements along the way can provide hope. But the progress, is not what we are using our faith for, nor is the progress answered prayer.
Keys - Prayer of Faith/Petition - Mark 11:24
The key is “WHEN YOU PRAY”. When asking God for anything, you should first be sure that He can hear you by cleaning the slate, ask for forgiveness of your sins up front.
- Repent of any sins you have committed.
- Ask for what you want, but be very specific.
- Be certain that what you are asking for is in God’s will. Not something outside of His will, like winning the lottery, killing your enemies, covering up a lie for you or asking for someone else’s wife or husband, stuff like that.
- Believe in the moment that you are praying to God. Not before or after. “WHEN YOU PRAY”
- Ask Once
Religious teaching suggests that you should ask God over and over again as though God is hard of hearing, but thats not biblical.
“But when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8)
“Ask in faith, nothing wavering” (James 1:5-8)
To ask over and over is not to ask in faith, but in doubt. As a practical matter it is wavering.
Jesus offered two parables with respect to answered prayer.
“because of his importunity” (Luke 11:5-13)
Here Jesus makes the spiritual contrast that God is not like a man, that because you wear Him down he will respond to you. He is saying instead,
“ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receiveth” (Matthew 7:7-8, 21:21-22; John 16:23-24 - ask in Jesus name).
Another example is the unjust judge. God is a just judge and if this earthly judge would avenge this woman, how much more would God do for His children (Luke 18:1-8).
God is a God of order, we can’t ignore these details, God does not. We can thank God all day long and as often as we want, God even likes that. You can praise the Lord for what He is doing on your behalf. All that is fine and what we should do, but to ask amiss is to get into the repetition (James 4:3).
The final key is to never accept substitutes as answered prayer.
“If a son asked bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? If you then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”
(Matthew 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13)
Finally, we must believe that God’s will for us is greater than our own will is for ourselves.
“Eyes have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him”
(1 Corinthians 2:9)
2. Prayer of Thanksgiving - (Revelation 7:12; Philippians 4:6)
This form of prayer is also called praise and worship. Thanking God for all He has done.
This form of prayer stands on its own. You are not connecting this prayer to any petition. It is purely worship, thanks.
3. The Prayer of Agreement - (Matthew 6:14-15; 18:19; Mark 11:25-26)
- One of the most misunderstood prayers.
- One of the most powerful forms pf prayer because you’re adding the faith of two or more people.
- One of the most unfulfilled forms of prayer, because its typically done incorrectly.
“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 18:19)
The more people you have involved in your prayer, the more chance that prayer will not work. Prayers of agreement are heard as “one” voice by God. So if one person has..
- un-forgiveness in their heart, (Matt. 6:14-15; Mark 11:25-26)
- un-confessed sin, (Habakkuk 1: 131 John 6:6-10)
- not on the same page in the specifics of the prayer
When you go before God as a group, you are received as one voice, which is why agreement prayers are so powerful.
Governments respond to the masses, without regard to any individuals integrity, the will of the people
God is different in this regard. He looks at each person in the group and judges the whole group as either being righteous or not.
For this reason you must be mindful who you ask to pray with you and for you. This is why corporate prayer with an entire congregation is often a miss, its more an exercise to get the people to come together, than it is about an effective prayer.
KEYS
Pray with people who are in right standing with God, repent of any sins you may have committed together. (1 John 1:9)
Have a frank conversation about forgiveness. You must resolve the matter or bail on the prayer (Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:25-26).
Be specific, details are the best to make sure you are on the same page. Make sure there are at least two of you in agreement, but less is more. (Matthew 18:19-20)
4. Intercession (Romans 8: 26-27)
The most powerful form of prayer, both personally and corporately is intercession.
Intercession is when you pray on someone else’s behalf or when the Holy Spirit prays on your behalf, in your words or through the gifts of speaking in tongues.
Intercession is most powerful when praying in the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit prays on your behalf directly to God.
Tongues is the language of Angels, incorruptible - meaning it can’t be manipulated (1 Corinthians 13:1)
This form of prayer is the only prayer you do not pray in Jesus name. (John 15: 16, 16:23-26)
A prayer of agreement around unknown aspects in ineffective. You need intercession
When you pray in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit can reveal conditions to you so you can pray for them or get support with other believers, who in turn can pray more effectively in agreement with you.
There is a gift of the Spirit that typically follows intercession. It is the gift of discerning of Spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10)
DANGERS
When intercession is not by the Holy Spirit, it is to put yourself in front of the bullet. It’s to ask the Lord to allow you to stand in for the person you are praying for. This aspect of intercession is what makes it the most dangerous of prayers
To intercede without being led by the Spirit, is to invite spiritual attacks on yourself that manifest in financial trouble, health, relationships etc.
5. Consecration and Dedication (Luke 22:41-42)
When you don’t know God’s will for you in a particular situation, which typically refers to the future, an aspect of Gods Will.
To consecrate yourself is to dedicate yourself to the service of God, setting your “will” aside to whatever God has called you to do in a given situation beyond your own interest and desires. (Genesis 22:2-12 -Abraham & Isaac)
There are four aspects to Gods Will
Hidden, Revealed, Decreed, Perceived
“Hidden Will” Deus - Absconditus - (Deuteronomy 29:29)
The Future
- The tangible elements like the physical location of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24).
- The physical location of the body of Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).
- The location of the foundations of the Earth, where the foundations were laid, when they were laid.
- The location of night and day when they are not in use etc. (Job 38).
Intangible
- What God has decreed for each persons’ future, deaths, when and how you will die, when He will send Jesus back to the Earth (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32-33).
“Revealed Will” Deus Revelatus
- God’s revealed will is progressive over time
- Through His written word that He inspires to be written by His servants.
- Dreams by night
- Visions by day
- Angels appearing to speak directly to men
- Prophets
The Decretive Will of God
God decrees something to come to pass. There is nothing anyone or anything can do to stop it or to cause it to come to pass. God alone performs it (Genesis 1:3-31; Ezekiel 12:25).
The Perceived Will of God
God’s will is placed in every person at birth (Jeremiah 31:33; John 14:16-17, 26, 16:7-11). It is prompted by the Holy Spirit. It is our inherent knowledge of right and wrong that no one has to teach us, we know it from infancy.
6. Binding and Loosing Prayer (Matthew 18:18; Mark 16:17-18)
Binding the works of the Devil and specific acts that are spiritually influenced. Loosing is to release the power of the Holy Spirit that has been given to you, to fight the works of the Devil.
This power is manifest in two ways: (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:19; Acts 1:8)
1. Through the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
- The word of wisdom, involves foreknowledge of the way something is to be dealt with.
- Word of knowledge involves knowledge that you cannot normally have, about an individual’s past and present acts.
- The gift of Faith, is the ability to believe God to bring significant things to pass.
- The gifts of healing
- Working of miracles
- Prophesy,
- Discerning of Spirits is the ability to identify the work of a particular Demon and their presence.
- Divers kinds of tongues is the ability to speak many Heavenly languages, which is the language of Angels themselves
- The interpretation of tongues is the ability to provide interpretation of these Heavenly languages
2. The Holy Spirit at the time of the acceptance of Christ, denotes the sealing of a person to the Lord. Which paces a spiritual claim on you and a form of protection of your spirit for the service of the Lord (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Ephesians 1:13, 4:30)
In addition you experience the conviction and guidance of the Holy Spirit which protects you from spiritual warfare if you comply (Spiritual Warfare - Ephesians 6:12)