Exploring Different Forms of Prayer
“When Ethelred, the Saxon king of Northumberland, invaded Wales, and was about to give battle to the Britons, he observed near the enemy a host of unarmed men. He inquired who they were, and what they were doing. He was told that they were monks of Bangor, praying for the success of their countrymen. "Then,' said the heathen prince, 'they have begun the fight against us; attack them first.’” -Austin Phelps
For many Christians there is a strong association between prayer and engaging in a kind of spiritual battle. Have you ever heard the term ‘prayer warrior’ before? Perhaps you know someone who you might consider a ‘prayer warrior’, someone who you know actively prays and someone you would call if you had a specific prayer need. In some churches people like this are sometimes called ‘the intercessors’.
Where do we get these terms and what do they mean? How is intercessory prayer different from other forms of prayer? This is the topic I hope to explore in this blog post.
Intercessory prayer is simply a term that refers to prayer requests that are on behalf of another person, group or situation. Many Christians have differentiated between prayers for others as ‘intercession' and prayer for ourselves as ‘supplication’ or ‘petitionary’ prayer.
Intercession is a type of prayer used when we come before God on behalf on another. Often the term ‘standing in the gap’ is used, which is a phrase from Ezekiel 22:30. In the New Testament, we discover that both Jesus himself and the Holy Spirit are actively involved in this kind of prayer.
In Romans 8:34 Paul writes: “Christ Jesus, who died- more than that, who was raised to life- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Earlier in that same chapter, Paul said that many times “we do not know what we out to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express… the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will”. (Rom. 8:26-27)
The story at the beginning of this post vividly demonstrates the association between prayer and a kind of ‘spiritual battle’, and this understanding comes primarily from Ephesians 6 where Paul talks about our battle not being against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers in the unseen realms around us. He exhorts us as Christians to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests”.
Intercession is a powerful kind of prayer but it is just one of many different kinds of prayer. Christian authors have written about many different categories or ‘kinds of prayer’. Richard Foster wrote a book called Prayer: Finding the Hearts True Home, in which his discusses 21 different kinds of prayer! While we might differ on these categories, he has three primary functions of prayer that I find very helpful. He writes about how different forms of prayer help us with (i)’the transformation we need’, (ii) the ‘intimacy with God we need’ and (iii) the ‘ministry of God we need’.
Here is an example of each of these areas:
The ‘prayer of examen’ is an expression of prayer that is focused inward and helps us to hear the voice of the Spirit speak to us about our own lives. This is a reflective type of prayer and develops our ability to sense what God may be saying to us as individuals. Some people will do this kind of prayer before bed, as a way of reviewing the day. Pastor Rich Villodas suggests the following questions as ways of engaging in a prayer of examen:
Did I see anyone thru the eyes of Christ’s love today?
Did I bring my anxious thoughts before God in prayer?
Was I present to God’s presence in silence?
Is there any sin I must acknowledge and request God’s forgiveness?
The second area of prayer relates to developing intimacy with God. One example of this is ‘meditative prayer’, which is a form of prayer that Martin Luther taught people to engage in. It is focused on a meditation on the Scriptures, but not primarily around academic study but engaging with God by praying through a particular passage of Scripture. (For those who have been to House of Prayer Edmonton, this is closely related to the expression of ‘devotional prayer’ that we practice in most of our prayer meetings). The focus of meditative prayer and similar prayer expressions is more on God himself, and setting our spiritual attention toward revelation of who God is and what God is like.
The third area of prayer relates to specific needs and requests, both related to our own lives as well as the lives of others. These are the most familiar forms of prayer to many modern Christians and they allow us to partner with God through prayer to see God’s “kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. This area obviously includes prayers of ‘intercession’ and prayers of ‘supplication’ that are mentioned above.
To review: prayer is the primary way in which we communicate with God. As the apostle Paul wrote, there are many forms and expressions of prayer and they are important for us to explore and learn more about. Richard Foster explores prayer that focuses on inward transformation, prayer that focuses on upward intimacy with God and prayer that focuses on outward ministry to others. As we learn about these various types of prayer we will be able to maintain a healthy balance in our walk with God and develop a deeper spiritual life.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
