Lesson 5: Realize the Methods for Prayer
Introduction
So far, we’ve learned about the importance of prayer, the purposes of prayer, and the needs for prayer. We’ve also examined the model provided in the Lord’s Prayer. But there’s still the question of “how” to pray. This week and next week, we will look at the methods of prayer and the settings for prayer. Those two topics should go a long way toward addressing the “how to” of praying.
Seven Methods of Prayer
There is no single pre-determined method for prayer. Keeping in mind what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should pray “without ceasing”, it seems that there must be many methods for praying that correspond to a variety of settings for prayer. While there are probably far more methods for prayer than we can discuss in a single lesson, I’ve listed seven methods that are practical and necessary methods that every Christian should practice:
- Public Prayer
- Personal Prayer
- Persistent Prayer
- Pleading Prayer
- Passionate Prayer
- Penitent Prayer
- Praising Prayer
1. The Method of Public Prayer or “Being an Example in Prayer”
Public prayer may be one of the more controversial, misunderstood, and misused methods of prayer. The controversy is based on Jesus’ remarks in Matthew 6:5 concerning praying to be “seen of men”.
Matthew 6:5 (KJV)
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.
In the above passage Jesus is instructing His disciples not to pray just to be seen, and not to pray vainly, but to pray purposefully in a meaningful manner of communicating with God the Father. Public prayer should be a limited exercise that has a meaningful outcome.
It’s important to note that Jesus exemplified public prayer on several occasions. Here are just a few examples:
• Luke 3:21 – Jesus prayed publicly after being baptized:
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
• Luke 11:1 – Jesus prayed publicly after sending out 70 disciples:
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
• John 11:41 – Jesus prayed publicly before reviving Lazarus:
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
• Luke 23:34 – Jesus prayed publicly at His crucifixion:
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
The method of public prayer has its place and purposes and since that is the case, we need to learn to be comfortable praying in public. For many teenagers, their greatest fear is being called on to speak in public. That certainly applies to praying in public. But it is something that I believe we need to stress as a part of our teaching ministry to teens, so that when the right time comes they will be able to pray publicly.
Here are some examples of times when the method of public prayer is appropriate:
- Corporate prayer – or leading a congregation, Sunday School class, or prayer group in prayer – this is an often practiced and necessary public prayer. It sets the focus for the group on specific prayer needs and encourages others to pray privately for those needs.
- Praying as an example to other believers or even unbelievers as a demonstration of faith – Sometimes, public prayer just sets a good example. Consider praying in restaurants over a meal, or at a civic function for a special need. You might be surprised who notices and gets encouragement from your example.
- Praying on behalf of others in need, such as after an accident or when friends are going through a difficult time – Offering to publicly pray for a friend or with a group of friends is appropriate.
- Praying to lead others to Jesus Christ – In the function of winning souls, leading others in a public prayer for their salvation is often a necessary thing.
2. The Method of Personal Prayer or “Private Closet Prayer”
The method of personal prayer is the most “commonly” practiced prayer type. I place quotes around commonly because I believe that fervent personal prayer is really not that common. It is likely more uncommon than you might think. The truth is, although we know that we should pray in a personal, private way, many of us neglect that opportunity and responsibility.
Jesus instructed us to pray personally and privately:
Matthew 6:6 (KJV)
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.
Daniel routinely practiced personal, private prayer even under the threat of persecution:
Daniel 6:10 (KJV)
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Similarly, the apostle Peter gained privacy on a rooftop for personal prayer:
Acts 10:9
On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
When seeking intervention from God, Elijah retreated to a loft to pray privately and personally to revive a widow’s son.
1 Kings 17:19-22:
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
There are many more examples of private, personal prayer in the Bible. We see many such prayers recorded in Psalms and other books. With such an emphasis on personal prayer, it is important that we make this method a daily priority for ourselves.
3. The Method of Persistent Prayer or “Importunity Prayer”
The method of persistent prayer is a method used when God’s answer doesn’t seem to be evident. Sometimes, we don’t get the answers we seek because we give up on prayer too easily. God wants us to be persistent in praying for our needs and desires.
There are stories upon stories of people who prayed for a loved one or dear friend to trust Christ as Savior and only after years upon years of faithfully petitioning God were those prayers answered. God’s Word provides an example and a promise concerning persistent prayer just after Jesus gave the example of the Lord’s Prayer:
Luke 11:5-13 (KJV)
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
In this passage, the KJV uses the word “importunity” to describe the method of prayer. Importunity is defined as “overly persistent”. In other words, God wants us to go beyond what we believe is proper in asking sometimes… He wants us to be beyond persistent in our prayers.
4. The Method of Pleading Prayer or “Sincere Desire Prayer”
Sometimes God wants us to plead with Him in our prayers. Pleading brings to mind a heartfelt, sincere desire for something. The method of pleading prayer is especially important when seeking the movement of God within the church or upon one’s life. God wants us to desire His presence with our whole heart. Pleading prayer cannot be faked, nor is it a man-made form of prayer. Pleading prayer is a method of prayer from the heart that is enacted by one desperately seeking the Father’s help.
The method of pleading prayer is demonstrated in 1 Samuel by Hannah as she pleads with God for a son that she would dedicate to the Lord:
1 Samuel 1:11 (KJV)
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
After cheating Esau out of his birthright and blessing, Jacob pleads with God for his own deliverance:
Genesis 32:9-12 (KJV)
9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. 12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
And, in the wilderness of Judah, David pleaded with God, desiring His Spirit:
Psalm 63:1-2 (KJV)
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
In each case, God answered the pleas of His people who opened their heart and let their deepest desires be told.
We, in times of distress, spiritual thirst, loneliness, or despair, need to let our heart’s cry be known to God through pleading prayer.
5. The Method or Passionate Prayer or “Fervent Prayer”
The method of passionate prayer brings results. The Bible tells us just that:
James 5:16 (KJV)
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Specifically, James instructs believers to confess and to pray for one another for healing. Then, he states that the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”. We can see from this statement that fervent prayer is effectual, or it has an effect. The fervent prayer of a righteous man (one who is saved by Christ and who has confessed before God) “availeth much” or produces advantageous or positive results.
With that kind of promise from God’s Word, we should be consistently confessing our sins to remove any hinderences between us and God, and then praying with ferver or passion for one another. In the verses preceding James 5:16, James sets the stage for the method of passionate prayer:
James 5:13-15 (KJV)
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
The benefits of passionate prayer cannot be disputed. With that in mind, we should practice the method of passionate prayer.
6. The Method of Penitent Prayer or “Sorrowful Prayer”
The method of penitent prayer is essential for the believer. Penitence is the state of being sorrowful for sins committed. Without remorse or sorrow, our prayer for forgiveness is just words, with no heartfelt meaning to them. God wants us to confess our sins to Him. That is, He wants us to see our sins the same way He sees them. As a result, we should be truly sorrowful when confessing our sins, as we realize that it was those sins that Jesus paid for on the cross of Calvary.
An excellent example of the method of penitent prayer is Daniel’s prayer for God’s mercy and forgiveness:
Daniel 9:5-17
5 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
In his prayer, Daniel confesses his sins and the sins of his people. He expresses them with genuine sorrow, knowing that God will hear them and answer. In like manner, we should come before God with a sincerly sorrowful heart realizing the cost of our transgressions.
7. The Method of Praising Prayer or “Thanksgiving Prayer”
Finally, every believer should practice the method of Praising Prayer. This is a prayer that offers thanksgiving, honor, and praise to our God. It is a prayer that recognizes the person of God, the position of God, and the provision of God in our lives.
A great example of a praising prayer (and there are many of them in the Psalms) is Psalm 111. Here, the psalmist offers his praises to God in a way that stirs the hearts of others to do likewise.
Psalms 111:1-11 (KJV)
1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. 2 The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. 3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. 4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. 5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. 6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. 7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. 8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. 9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Paul offers a command to pray in a praiseful manner, without worrying about the cares of this world, realizing that God will provide for us:
Philippians 4:6 (KJV)
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
In all that we do, we should practice the method of Praising Prayer. Even if God’s blessings were withheld from this moment forward, He has blessed us mightily through Jesus Christ and the precious salvation He provides, that we should pray with praise every chance we get.
Summary
So, what’s your method for prayer? Recalling 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing”, we should use a blended prayer approach for every moment of the day by:
1) Praying publicly when the time and situation calls for it. (This includes volunteering to lead prayer on occasion when the Sunday School teacher asks.)
2) Praying personally and privately at a dedicated spot and time for your needs and the needs of others
3) Praying persistently for those desires of the heart that God wants to provide.
4) Praying pleadingly for God to send spiritual renewal or to meet a dire need.
5) Praying passionately for the needs of others, especially for those afflicted.
6) Praying penitently with sincere sorrow for forgiveness of sins committed.
7) Praying “praise-fully” using brief private prayers as you work, study, drive, etc. to praise God and offer your thanksgiving for all that He has done, is doing, and will do for you.
Teens – Why do you need to understand the methods for prayer…?
Sadly, prayer is not stressed in the home, it is not allowed in school, it is not programmed into video games and it is certainly not prominent in today’s popular culture. As a result, many of today’s teenagers, even those of you who are Christians, are missing out on the power, possibilities, and pleasures associated with intimate communication with God. By understanding that prayer occurs different ways, using different methods, you can find opportunity to share your heart and your emotions with God. In truth, God already knows your heart and your desires, but He wants that intimate fellowship that can only come through prayer with you. Why not take time today to use one of these methods to draw near to the heart of God through prayer?
