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In the King James Version, Ephesians 6:18 reads, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...." Moffatt's translation reads, "Praying..., with all manner of prayer." Yet another translation says, "Praying with all kinds of prayer...." In today's lesson we will look at one of the different kinds of prayer in the New Testament.

Just as numerous games are classified as "sports," different kinds of prayer often are lumped together under the general category of "prayer."

We need to realize that just as different rules govern each game, different principles, rules, or spiritual laws also govern different kinds of prayer. In sports, the rules that apply to baseball do not apply to football.

A visitor from Europe was taken by his host to see an American baseball game in New York City. He didn't know much about the game, because it is not played in his country, and he had to ask a number of questions because he didn't understand the terminology. He was accustomed to sports that were quite different and he knew the same rules didn't apply in all cases.

Likewise, spiritually, the principles that apply to one kind of prayer may not apply to another, and you can become terribly confused if you try to apply the wrong rule to a certain kind of prayer.

The first kind of prayer we will study in this lesson is the prayer of petition.
And all things, whatsoever shall ask in prayer, believing, shall receive.
(Matt.21:22)

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
(Mark 11:24)
By far the most frequent prayer of Christians is the prayer of petition. We always are petitioning or asking God to do something for us. This is scriptural, of course, because He told us in Matthew 21:22, "...ask in prayer, believing....."

The prayer of petition must be a prayer of faith. It primarily concerns an individual's desires, needs, and problems. It is you praying for yourself, not someone else praying for you or agreeing with you in prayer.

When you pray the prayer of petition, believe that you receive. If you will do that, you will have what you ask for. God is concerned about our needs and He wants to meet them for us.

Notice that in the Old Testament, God promised His people more than spiritual blessings; He promised them that they would prosper financially and materially. He told them He would take sickness away from their midst, and He would give them long life: "... the number of thy days I will fulfil" (Ex. 23:26). God also told them that if they would keep His commandments, they would eat the good the land (Isa. 1:19).

God is just as interested in His people today as He was then. He is concerned about everything that touches our lives. He promised us in Third John 2, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Jesus said, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matt. 7:11). We must realize that it is God's will that our needs —spiritual, physical, and material —be met.

Some people think they should conclude every prayer with the words "If it be thy will." They claim this is the way Jesus prayed. However, Jesus prayed this way on only one occasion, when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

By contrast, when He stood at Lazarus' tomb, He didn't say, "If it be thy will." Instead, He said, "I thank You because You hear me always" (John 11:41-43). Then He commanded Lazarus to come forth.

The prayer to raise Lazarus was a prayer to change something. Anytime we pray to change something, we do not need to put an "if" in our prayer. If we do, we are using the wrong rule, and the prayer won't work. Instead, we need to claim God's promise for our petition and believe that we receive it.

Source: Steps To Answered Prayer by Kenneth E. Hagin.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications

Author Biography

Kenneth E. Hagin
Web site: RHEMA
 
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
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