Prayer Types (10/17/2001)
Before we discuss prayer let’s actually pray.
God, bless these words and bless those that hear them. May the words fall on receptive hearts and be applied as truths from your word. Amen
The Bible says a lot about prayer. Did you know there are 667 prayers recorded in the Bible? Of those, there are 454 recorded answers. Prayer is powerful. So why do so many people have trouble praying? Perhaps the problem is in how we pray. As Francis Quarles said, "Heaven is never deaf but when man’s heart is dumb." So what makes our hearts dumb? Well there are some prayers God just doesn’t like. What? He doesn’t like prayers? That’s right. Jesus himself said so...
Matthew 6:5-13
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
The prayers God dislikes most
There are lots of prayers that don’t make the cut. From looking at the inspired word I’ve discovered seven types of prayer that God doesn’t listen too.
1. Puffed up prayer - This could also be called the fluffy prayer because of all of its padding. This is like the prayer of the Pharisee. We pray for man to hear more than God. Someone said to a man who led in public prayer, "You should speak louder. I didn’t hear a word you said." His reply was, "I wasn’t talking to you." We need to be more like that guy. In school we often had to write 100 or 500 words essays. I often filled them with lots of redundant adjectives and fillers. "Thanks for the wonderful, awesome, incredible, magnificent gift that you gave to me as a gift for me." My teacher never fell for this and I don’t think God does either.
Two went to pray? Oh, rather say
One went to brag, the other to pray;
One stands up close and treats on high
Where the other dares not send his eye,
One nearer to God’s altar trod,
The other to the altar’s God
- Richard Crashaw
2. Memorized prayer - Talking to God isn’t a test of how much we can memorize. Praying means simply speaking to God. How many people memorize what they say to their friends each day and yet at night we start with "Now I lay me down to sleep…" This prayer may be good for kids because it encourages them to form a habit and sets an example for them to follow the rest of their lives. But it’s bad for Christians that want to mature. God reads the heart more than words. What’s our hearts saying if we’re just puking out what others tell us to say? There is no heart behind it. John Bunyan said, "When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words be without heart."
3. 911 Prayer - This is probably the most common. "God help me. Get me out of this jam." The only thing they got right is knowing where to turn for help. It’s often accompanied by the ...
4. Bargaining Prayer - This is the all too familiar prayer "I’ll do this, if you’ll do that." Who do we think we are? We rightly deserve to die in our sins. We are in no position to bargain. It’s only by his love and grace that we are even alive. Besides we know we’ll never keep our end. Do we really want God to pull the rug out from under us when we fail to keep it up?
5. Give me prayer - "God, you know I love you and that I do what you want but I need this that and the other." Again we speak with arrogance. How dare we think He owes us anything? He’s already paid all our debts 2000 years ago. He gave us life we owe him a lifetime of gratitude and servitude. There’s another form of this prayer that isn’t based on works. "God I need this. Give me that. Thanks, Amen." Often we claim the "ask and ye shall receive" verse here. And we tack on the magical phrase "In Jesus’ name". We are to pray in his name but this really means in his nature or character. We are to figure out how Jesus would pray and what he would ask for and then do the same.
6. "I’ll pray for you" prayer - This is the prayer that comes about as the result of us seeing someone and saying "Hey. How are you?" Then old So-and-so shares a problem and we just don’t know what to say so we simply mumble, "I’ll pray for you." Later that day the person crosses our mind and the promise we made so then we feel like we have to pray for that person so we pray "God, help John, Amen." There’s no compassion just a sense of obligation that needs to be met. "Our prayers must mean something to us if they are to mean anything to God." (Maltbie D Babcock)
7. Unoffered prayer - The worst we can do is not pray. John 16:24 tells us "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." The end of James 4:2b adds, "Yet ye have not, because ye ask not." We need to worry less about unanswered prayers because the problem is more often the unoffered prayer.
In Hugh Price Hughes’ story, the "City of Everywhere," a man arrived in a city one cold morning. as he got off the train, the station was like any other station with the crowds and redcaps, except that everybody was barefooted. they wore no shoes. He noticed the cab driver was barefooted. "Pardon me," he asked the driver, "I was just wondering why you don’t wear shoes. Don’t you believe in shoes?"
"Sure we do," said the driver.
"Why don’t you wear them?"
"Ah that’s the question," came the reply. "why don’t we wear shoes? Why don’t we?"
At the hotel it was the same. The clerk, the bell boys, everybody was barefooted. In the coffe shop he noticed a nice-looking fellow at a table opposite him who was also barefooted. He said, "I notice you aren’t wearing any shoes. I wonder why? Don’t you know about shoes?"
The man replied, "Of course I know about shoes."
"Then why don’t you wear them?"
"Ah, that’s the question. Why don’t we? Why don’t we?"
After breakfast he walked out on the street in the snow but every persoin he saw was barefooted. He asked another man about it, and pointed out how shoes protect the feet from cold. The man said, "We know about shoes. See that building yonder? That is a shoe factory. we are proud of that plant and every week we gather there to hear the man in charge tell about shoes and how wonderful they are."
"Then why don’t you wear shoes?"
"Ah that’s the question."
Don’t we believe in prayer? Don’t we know what it could mean in our lives? Then why don’t we pray? Ah that’s the question... Why don’t we? (copied from City of everywhere pp. 632-633 - Nelson’s Complete Stories, Illustrations, & Quotations but originally from Charles Allen, All things are Possible Through Prayer, Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1963, pp.52-53)
The prayers God likes
Now just so you don’t think God hates hearing us pray to Him there are prayers God likes. I want to list five of those for you now.
1. Buddy prayer - This is the opposite of the puffed up prayer. "Hey God, it’s me. I just wanted to say I love you." God created man for fellowship. He is our greatest friend. He wants us to speak to Him as a friend. We don’t have to complicate prayer with lots of Oh Gods and Thee’s and Thou’s. God wants us to respect him but also to be his friend. According to Matthew 19:14 "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Pray like a child.
Hello God, it’s me Adam. I’m fine how are you? Thanks for the sky and birds and stuff. I’m having a good day how about you? Thanks for the Fritos and corn dogs but not for the salad. Thanks a lot for the chili. And thanks for the chairs and the table and the doors and the couch and the walls and the roof and the bed and the bathroom and the grass and... Well I guess that’s it. Take care. Amen.
Look at the disciples, when they spoke to Jesus did they refer to Him as O wonderful One? No they called Him "Jesus" and "friend".
2. Silent prayer - This is the opposite of memorized prayer. There are two reasons to be silent.
First, we simply can’t convey with words what we are feeling or express our thoughts. In times like this, we need no words - our emotion and spirit do the communicating with His. If you see a bad wreck and you just have no words but you feel moved. Maybe you manage a sigh. That is when the Holy Spirit fills in the words for you. This prayer is one that comes from true closeness. I can look at Dana and she can look at me and we can convey hundreds of words without a single one ever being spoken.
Romans 8:26,27 - 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. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Chrysostom, a 4th century preacher, used this analogy for prayer. A young boy wanted to give a gift to his father who had been away a long time. His mother sent him to the garden to pick a bouquet of flowers. The boy grabbed flowers, weeds, grass, and everything else he could find. But when his father returned, he received a beautiful bouquet of flowers because the boy’s mother had intervened, removing all the weeds. Our prayers are nothing as they leave our lips but Christ intercedes for us turning them into sweet bowls of incense for the Father.
The second time we may also need to be silent is when we wait for an answer. Talk to him but then wait for his answer. Too often we pray and ask a question but we get up and go about our business instead of waiting on a reply. A person named Andrew Murray once stated "Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God’s voice in response to mine is its most essential part. Listening to God’s voice is the secret of assurance that He will listen to mine."
3. Daily prayer - This prayer is as far from the 911 prayer as possible. Rather than praying in bad times, pray in all times. We need to have a regular prayer time with God, a time where all things are laid aside but speaking to him. It is stated quite simply in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing." In the morning, prayer is the key that opens to us the treasures of God’s mercies and blessings; in the evening, it is the key that shuts us up under His protection and safe guard. God will hear our pleas in the bad times but if we prayed more often we’d find those jams came less frequently.
4. Show and tell prayer - This form of prayer could also be called the "God first" prayer or Servant’s prayer. It is the opposite of both the bargaining and give me prayers. It may sound like this: "God, show me the path to follow. Tell me what you want me to do." God knows our needs; He’ll provide them if we follow him. Back at Matthew 6:33, Jesus says "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Jesus set the example for us at the Garden of Gethesemane. "Not my will but thine be done". We ought to pray: "Here’s my needs God. Meet them as you see fit. I trust you know you’ll take care of me as I serve you." Show that you trust him and know He’ll do what is best. The famous preacher, Dwight L. Moody, once said, "Spread out your petition before God, and then say, ’Thy will, not mine, be done.’ The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school is to let the Lord choose for me."
5. Others first prayer - Now this prayer type is the opposite of the I’ll pray for you prayer. It is true intercessory prayer where you tell God the burdens of your heart for others ask him to bless them or heal them or help them however He sees fit. Paul wrote to Timothy saying, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men." (I Timothy 2:1)
Closing
But his favorite prayer of all - the sinner’s prayer. "God forgive me of sin. Come into my life." This is the first prayer he ever hears. If you have never prayed that prayer then no other prayer will ever go through.
As a closing thought let me share the words of S.D. Gordon. "The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray." Maybe you need to pray to God tonight. Whether it be the first time or the millionth time., He is always ready to listen.
