How would you describe your prayer life right now? Is it vibrant, or lacking? Blazing hot, or lukewarm? For most, if we’re honest, we know our prayer lives could be better. I pray this article will help spark a fire in your prayer life. My intention is to be as practical as possible by defining the various types of prayer, as well as supplying content you can use in your prayer life.
What is prayer?
The dictionary defines prayer as: a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession. I actually like this definition and believe it to be universally accepted. It addresses the core of what prayer is – a spiritual communion with God. It also addresses the types of prayer – supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, and confession. I would simply modify the definition to add a fifth type – intercession.
What do these words mean? How should they influence your prayer life?
1. Supplication
Supplication simply means to ask or petition. Asking God for things we want is one of the most common forms of prayer.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. for everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Spend time in prayer asking God for those good gifts He is eager to give you. Making our requests known to God is good and biblical; He wants and expects us to ask Him for good things. However, if the entirety of our communion with God consists of asking Him for things, we’ll live very shallow, self-centered Christian lives. Supplication should be present in our prayer lives, but should not consume the totality our prayer lives.
2. Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a grateful acknowledgement of benefits or favor. God is the giver of good gifts (James 1:17) and our acknowledgment of His goodness expressed in gratitude makes our communion with Him sweeter. Time spent with a loved one is much more enjoyable when I, in the moment, am aware of my gratitude for them. Thanksgiving does that for the soul. It prepares us to enter communion with a joyful heart.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.
In the same way thanksgiving prepares our hearts for sweet communion with God, apathy prepares our hearts to be hardened against Him. Thanksgiving nourishes the soul. Indifference to God’s goodness is hazardous to the soul.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Spend time in prayer acknowledging the good gifts God has given you, the grace and mercy He’s extended to you, and the love He’s shown towards you. Call out by name the things you are thankful to Him for.
