Knowing the different types of prayer is very helpful in solidifying a strong spiritual practice. Its importance is in the clarifying of communication with The Divine.
Prayer and communication are for us.
Calming Emotions
This can be used as a tool to unmuddy the waters of emotion and bring us into a state of right-headedness. Changing us from being a helpless outside observer, into being watchful, ready, and waiting to receive.
By this type of categorization, we can more clearly see what needs to be done. We are consciously made aware of what we hope to receive, and what needs to be laid upon the altar. Using this system can bring a troubling situation into clearer focus.
Engaging The Thinking Process
Being aware of exactly what is happening makes the target objective clearer. The intended desire, and what needs to be done to achieve it, comes into view.
It’s the difference between shooting arrows at a target in the dark, vs. at one with a spotlight illuminating the bullseye.
We can now be more directly engaged in the work because we’ve had to stop and think about it. Prayers and spiritual works take on a more direct meaning.
7 Types of Prayer
There are many other types of prayer, but the basic foundational ones are listed below:
| Prayer Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worship and Praise | Prayers of praise on the wonders of God |
| 2 | Thanksgiving | Prayers of being thankful for God's love, mercy, blessings, imparting strength, etc. |
| 3 | Supplication | Prayers of need for one's self |
| 4 | Intercessory | Prayers of need for another |
| 5 | Faith / Healing | Prayers of faith and healing through the spiritual realm |
| 6 | Dedication | Prayers of consecration of some person, place or thing |
| 7 | Spiritual Warfare | Prayers of specific help of protection and / or defense |
A simple example:
A man is stressed out, so he goes to his friend for advice. He tells the friend his problems. The friend tells the man to just pray, so he does. The man is confused, and in anguish, but he feels good after praying, and things begin to feel better in the home.
However, soon as things begin to get a little hectic at home, he “picks back up his burden”. His home life returns to its previous state, becoming almost unbearable.
The man eventually receives the answer to his prayers, but the journey to the end result is rocky. The answer is barely recognizable because he has forgotten what it was he asked. He has become filled with bitterness, and anger over the situation.
An example using the 7 Types of Prayer:
A man is stressed, so he goes to his friend, and tells him his story. He tells the friend he is stressed, because his home life is chaotic and he truly wants his family to be living in unity, peace, and wholeness.
His friend recommends several types of prayer:
- A prayer of thanksgiving that he has a family that he loves enough to want to see do good.
- An intercessory prayer for what is troubling his family members one by one.
- Prayers against spiritual warfare for any outside influential forces that may be affecting family members.
- And finally, a prayer of supplication for himself of strength, wisdom, and discernment.
You can see that some solutions are now clear in the man’s mind. He has several targets to watch, work on and observe playing out.
He is now an integral part of the work of the prayer. Now he understands what might have to happen in order to get to the desired end result. He can now fall back on the specific prayers if things get rough.
The examples above are extremely generalized, but I hope it can be seen how this process might be used in many different situations.
I hope this is a help to someone who needs it.
Tru
