Ways to Pray

        There are more ways to pray than you probably ever imagined. They can be long or short, silent or spoken or sung. Some prayers don’t even need words.1 They can be fun, off-the-cuff exchanges, or hallowed, formal veneration. They can be spontaneous, carefully planned, or written. Write them yourself, or take them from the Bible (many prayers can be found in the Book of Psalms) or a devotional book. They can be for yourself or others. They can be prayed in private or with others. They can be simple acknowledgments of your need for the Lord’s blessing as you go about your routine, or they can be earnest petitions for His guidance as you tackle the seemingly impossible. They can be happy, thankful praises, or impassioned prayers of repentance from a broken and contrite heart. They can be prayed on your knees or on the go. The ways to pray are as many and varied as your needs. Here is a look at just a few:

Praise prayers

Praise prayers benefit both parties. Not only does the Lord love praise, but praising Him for His goodness puts things in proper perspective for you as well. When you’re weighed down with problems and cares, give them all to Jesus,1 and then start counting your blessings. Thank Him for all He has already done for you, and praise and thank Him for the desired outcome, which is already yours by faith.

That’s what King David in the Bible did. If you think you’ve got problems, consider his! Before he became king, his mentor, King Saul became jealous of him and tried to kill him several times; after he became king, his own son usurped his throne and David had to depart in disgrace and scandal to another country-and that’s not to mention his foreign enemies! On top of that, he was a horrible sinner and knew it! He seemed to have every reason to be discouraged and complain, but in his psalms he always took a positive approach-at least by the time he was finished. He praised God in spite of his troubles because he knew God would work it all out in the end, because He always had and because He promised to. Because of David’s faith and praiseful attitude, God called him a man after His own heart.2 And as a result, we’ve got the Book of Psalms!

The best time to get in the praise-prayer habit is before you face major problems, of course. For example, instead of praying a “please, Lord” prayer for your children, you could pray: “Jesus, thank You for the wonderful children You have given me. Thank You for caring for them today. Thank You for keeping them safe, and for helping them to do well in their schoolwork. Thank You for the quality time we’re going to spend together this evening. …”

United prayer

Most prayer is private, and you can’t get by without that. Private prayers have rewards all their own.1 There are other times, however, when it pays to pray with others. Jesus promises, “If two of you agree on Earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”2 In certain situations, there simply is more power in united prayer.

Having others pray with you when you’re passing through a particularly tough time can also be a comfort and source of spiritual strength. Part of our responsibility as Christians is to support each other through our prayers, so avail yourselves of the prayers of others, and offer to pray with them as well when they need it.

Conversational prayer

When praying about a particular situation with others, try praying a “conversational prayer.” Each person adds a sentence or two on a different aspect, or claims an appropriate Bible promise. You can either go in a circle, or each chime in as a new aspect comes to mind. It’s like having a telephone party line or an Internet “chat room” conversation with the Lord: You hear what the others are praying, and He hears it all. This way the prayer request gets covered from all angles, and everyone has an opportunity to enter in. If each person keeps their contribution short and to the point-one or two sentences at the most-the prayer will be lively and keep everyone’s full attention.

Scripture prayer

Once you’ve told the Lord exactly what you would like Him to do, you may feel the need to keep praying, but it’s unnecessary to repeat the same words over and over. That’s the perfect time to reinforce your prayer by claiming Scripture promises.

God has made promises in His Word. When you pray, remind Him of those promises. This shows you have faith in Him to keep His Word. It’s a positive declaration of your faith and your knowledge of the Word which pleases God.

If you are praying in a group, try taking turns reading selected Bible verses aloud in place of individual prayers. Or you could alternate short prayers and verses. Or one person can read appropriate verses from the Bible before or after your prayers. You may want to buy or make your own “promise box” (Bible promises on various topics which can be claimed in prayer) for this purpose. (You can also order Key Bible Verses, a booklet of choice verses from the Bible on a variety of subjects, arranged by topic.1)

Prayer in “tongues”

Speaking in tongues (the ability to speak one or more unlearned languages) is one of nine “gifts of the Spirit” which the Apostle Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and refers to again in the next chapter as “the tongues of men and of angels.”2 Sometimes these are earthly languages-tongues of men-but more often than not they are the heavenly languages of angels.

If you’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit but haven’t yet receive the gift of tongues and would like to, you can by simply asking Him for it. Then exercise it immediately. Just ask Him to clear your mind, and start praising the Lord out loud and nonstop. Let go of your thoughts and your tongue, and let the Holy Spirit take over and speak through you. It may sound like gibberish or baby talk to you, especially at first, but the Lord knows exactly what the Spirit is praying on your behalf.

Speaking in tongues is a wonderful way of praying and praising! It’s mainly for your own benefit, for your encouragement, inspiration and edification. It will thrill your own spirit.1

Desperate prayer

Short, simple prayers throughout the day are good and needed, and the Lord hears them and answers accordingly. But when you are faced with a crisis or very important decision, you need more than that. All prayers should be sincere, of course, but not all prayers have the same level of intensity and fervency, because some situations are more serious than others. Sometimes you need to cry out to God in desperation, with your whole heart.

Desperate prayer that is full of faith can radically alter even the most difficult situations.

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