As mentioned before, there are different forms of prayer. The Holy Spirit wants to lead us into a balance of all these kinds of prayer.

Worship: The true worshipper God seeks worships in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23). God wants truth in the inner parts (Psalm 51:6). In true worship, there is a total bowing down of the heart to God. In worship we express love and admiration to God which is a response to the revelation of who God is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Worship is voluntary submission to the love, the will and the law of God. Any hypocrisy disqualifies us for true worship. In worship we hear the voice of God.

Confession: In confession of sin, we tell God with our mouth our sin. We should specifically tell God what we did, or acknowledge what we failed to do that we should have done. This is necessary to restore communion with God and is a preparation for further fellowship. In confession of the Word, we tell God with our mouths what He has said in His Word. We express faith and confidence in God and God's Word verbally, and it releases the blessing of God to us. Very rarely do we rise above the level of our verbal confession before God.

Thanksgiving: This is thanking God for what He has done for us. We can thank Him both for blessings seen and those as yet unseen. It is a key to faith and it is natural and right that we give thanks always to the One from whom all good things come. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Praise: This is declaring good things about God, both about his character (who he is) and also His actions. To say "God is good" is to praise God. There are many styles of praise. Some are noisy and exuberant, others are calm. Praise is well-expressed through music, singing, words, shouting, clapping, dancing, shouting and giving to God.

Petition: This is asking God for the things we desire. Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive." (Matthew 7:7). We are commanded to ask.

Intercession: The ministry of intercession involves all the other types of prayer. However, the emphasis of the prayer ministry in intercession is the needs of others, and the advancement of God's interests in the world. It is not focussed on praying for things for oneself, but for others.

Waiting: (Habakkuk 2:1). This is a form of prayer in which the soul is silent and waits for God to move it or speak something by His Spirit. God promises to renew the strength of those who wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 27:14). We are to wait patiently on God. Through this we express to God in a practical way - not my will but Yours be done. If we are always talking in prayer we will not be able to hear what God is saying.

Warfare: (Psalm 149:6-9). This is prayer directed against the powers of darkness. Our praises to God are also a weapon directed against the powers of darkness (demons, fallen angels who are at work in the affairs of the world and the church). We pronounce against them the written judgment by reading the Scriptures of judgment against them (Psalm 149:9), we command them to be bound or to leave their positions of influence or authority in the name of Jesus. (Matthew 16:19; Mark 16:17). In "praying for the sick" we should pray prayers of command ordering the bodies of people to be healed in Jesus' name. This is a form of spiritual warfare since it is part of destroying the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8; Acts 10:38).

Praying in Tongues: (1 Corinthians 14: 2,15; Jude 20) This is a method of prayer available to those baptised in the Holy Spirit through which they can pray the will of God through words given by the Spirit. Since the mind (the understanding) is not directly involved the mind has a chance to rest and wait on God and receive revelation while this praying in tongues is taking place.



Since God's Word commands us to give constant attention to the Word and to meditate on it night and day, (Proverbs 4:20-22; Joshua 1:8), it is clear that our praying should not be something separate from the Word, but rather, that God's Word should direct our praying. For example, Daniel found the promise of the time of deliverance for God's people and prayed according to that. (Daniel 9:2). His prayer acknowledged openly the truth of God's Word (Daniel 9:10-15). Many other examples could be given. Elijah's prayer for the heavens to be shut was based on the promise of God to do this if the people turned away to idols.

Praying the Word in a strict sense includes quoting it and using it in our prayers. God responds to his own Word. It will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). We can take general promises from the Bible and using the words of Scripture pray as if we expect God will fulfill them for us personally. This is a powerful form of prayer. The people who make a difference for God are those who are people of prayer. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.