4 Kinds of Prayer

In I Timothy 2:1 the apostle Paul defines four kinds of prayer which cover all aspects of prayer. It is interesting that each of these four words is used in the plural—supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings.

Furthermore, the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit is so burdened about the importance of this matter that he urges and exhorts the people of God to pray. He sees such prayer and intercession as being of paramount importance to the health of the Church and the progress of the work of God.

1. Supplications: Understanding the First Aspect of Prayer

The first aspect of prayer is the word translated by the English word supplications. It primarily means “a need.” The Authorized Version, the Revised Version, the American Standard Version, and the Revised Standard Version all use the word supplications. The New American Standard Bible uses the word entreaties.

The reason is that the word primarily means a need, and then an asking, an entreaty or a beseeching concerning that need. This is not just asking something of God; it is something more. It is an earnest appeal, or entreaty, or beseeching of the Lord that we might understand His mind and will. This is the best way we can understand the word supplications. It is because of a need that there is an enquiry of the Lord, an earnest beseeching of Him that He would reveal His mind concerning that need.

How to Pray Effectively

Why is so much prayer ineffectual? Why is it that so often when we go into a prayer meeting and come out of it, we have to pull ourselves together and declare: “God does hear prayer”? It is because there is a witness within our Spirit that testifies that most of that prayer did not go beyond the ceiling. The problem is that we never stopped to enquire of the Lord, not even for a single moment.

Instead we plunged into prayer matters without any direction from the Spirit of God. For this reason supplication is the first aspect of prayer because, obviously, it is the most fundamental. Unless we earnestly enquire of the Lord on the basis of the urgent needs which confront us, we shall never know His mind about them. Therefore, because we do not know His mind, we shall be threshing around in prayer, using many words and getting nowhere.

Enquiry of the Lord is Fundamental to all Prayer

We cannot pray aright or use the provided weapons of our warfare unless we first know the Lord’s mind on the matter. Then the Spirit of God will lead us to the Scriptures we should use. When we have enquired of the Lord, and He has given us the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, we do not have to play around.

We do not have to spend half an hour making noises or saying all sorts of lovely scriptural phrases which have no application to the need in hand. Sometimes the Lord will give that word to one person and we only need to arise and take up that word once it has come. The Holy Spirit will then give us all insight into that word. We will be able to pray through that whole situation with that Word from God. It is the Sword of the Spirit given to us to cut right through the problem.

The fact is that you cannot just take any Scripture and batter its fulfilment into being. You have to enquire of the Lord; and when you enquire of the Lord, and clearly hear in your spirit (and not your soul), God’s “Yes,” then living faith is born in us of the Spirit. Only then can we go ahead. Your mind may be assailed with doubts implanted by the enemy, but in your heart there is no doubt. You have heard the Lord’s “Yes.” We have therefore to enquire of the Lord and know the Lord’s mind and will on all kinds of matters.

The Lord Awaits a Spirit of Enquiry

This is the reason why this matter of supplication is absolutely fundamental. I do not think there is anything more that could be said to underline this matter of the necessity of supplication. It is sadly the missing link in so much corporate prayer ministry. The Lord will not keep us endlessly waiting. He only waits for us to come to Him with an enquiring attitude, and then He will say “here is the answer.” It may be a clearer understanding of the need and the Word of God which He would have us use concerning it.

We have the idea that the Lord is like us, and He has to be cajoled and humoured and nursed into a nice mood. Once He is in that sweet mood, we can get out of Him all that we desire. The Lord, however, is not like that; He is more interested in certain situations than we are. He only awaits a spirit of enquiry, and then, sometimes, almost immediately, He will give clearly the direction.

We should not handle prayer like a bull in a china shop or like a tank mowing everything down. We need to be still and wait on Him and for Him. We need simply to ask what His mind is on this matter. How are we to pray? What is the word that God would give us? What is the right weapon to use?

An Example of Supplication in Action

I remember many years ago when the elders at Halford House used to meet together for prayer every Monday evening to seek the Lord. The time was open to anyone in the fellowship to come with their needs or problems or criticism. On one particular Monday a very dear sister phoned and said, “I know that this time is really for people who are a part of the fellowship, but I have a friend here who is in very great need. Do you think that she could come and see you?” We said that she should come.

A Sister in Need

This dear sister had a close walk with the Lord and was a blessing to others. She had decided, in order to reach people in very great need, to move into a very run down part of the city in which she lived. She then told us how she had been through Bible school and had felt very strongly that the Lord had called her to this task of devoting herself to reaching the needy people in that city, and He had blessed her in this work.

Then suddenly she found that God was no longer speaking to her through the Bible. In fact, she felt the Lord had ceased to speak to her at all; and even when she went to a good fellowship, she found that everything that was said just went through one ear and out the other. She became more and more distressed and felt that she had committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit.

Enquiring of the Lord

It was so bad that she was tempted to take her life. It was at this point that she came to stay for a few days with her close friend. We listened to the whole story and wondered what kind of demonic activity could be involved. Why was this happening to her? Our sister could not put her finger on anything that she had done wrong or any sin which she had committed. 

Now it was always our habit to begin by asking the Lord for wisdom, and we sought Him with an earnest enquiry about this sister’s need. We felt that her condition was desperate in that she had nearly committed suicide. She felt that she had committed this unpardonable sin, and that this was the reason why God did not speak to her.

“Water, Water, It is the Water”

We then felt that we should cut her off from any satanic influence and tampering with her circumstances. As we got up to pray over her, one of our very dear brothers said: “The Lord is saying something to me and I cannot understand it. Water, water, water; it is the water.” I thought maybe he had taken leave of his senses, because I could not see anything about our sister’s circumstances which had anything to do with water.

However, I asked her as a result of this word: “Why are you wearing tinted glasses?” She replied that it was because of the headaches she received from bright light. She said: “If you want me to throw them away I will do so.” But I told her: “No, keep them for now.” We went on then and in the Name of Jesus cut her off from demonic influences, praying for her deliverance and healing. She was obviously touched by the Lord and went back after a few days to the city in which she lived, much relieved and joyful. It seemed that the Lord had delivered her. 

Problems Arise Again

She had not been back in that city for more than a week or two, when all the old problems reared their head again, and once more she was tempted to take her life. She felt that coming to us at Halford House was almost her last resort and that there was now no hope at all. Then into her head came the word of our brother: “Water, water, water; it is in the water.” And she decided to take a bottle of the water from her apartment to a laboratory to have it tested. Within hours they were seeking her.

Apparently there was an unbelievably high lead content in the water. She was suffering from acute lead poisoning which had completely disoriented her mind and well-being. The moment the social authorities took her out of the place in which she was living into a new place, she immediately began to recover.

This is a very dramatic illustration of the need of supplication or of earnest enquiry concerning a desperate need. If we had not enquired of the Lord we would never have had the word about the “water.” Then, when her health took a dive again, she could well have committed suicide. Instead the Lord intervened and delivered her.

2. Prayers

The second aspect is translated by the English word prayers. Literally, it means “a pouring out.” It is the most frequently used word in the New Testament for prayer. One pours out all the need one has, all the hurt which one feels, all one’s feeling. It is a simple petitioning of God. The Lord Jesus said: “You have not because you ask not.”

This is the most basic comprehensive word and covers all kinds of prayer—from a pouring out of one’s soul’s troubles to an asking of God to meet one’s needs. This can also mean a request to God for very great matters to do with His purpose, and with his will. C.T. Studd used to say: “Why ask the Lord for an egg if you can ask Him for an elephant?” In other words, ask for great things according to the faith that you have. The Lord can always say, “No!” 

Amy Carmichael — The Nature of Prayer

Prayer is basically “a hit and miss operation.” You may not know what the will of the Lord is or what His purpose is, but you pour out your heart. Amy Carmichael used to say, “He can say, “Yes” or He can say, “No” or He can say, “Wait.” When she was a little girl growing up in a believing home, she disliked the colour of her brown eyes.

She heard from her parents that the Lord Jesus could do anything, that with Him nothing was impossible. So she asked repeatedly that He would change her eyes to blue. He never did. Many years later when she went into temples to rescue little girls from temple prostitution, she realised why the Lord never answered her prayer for blue eyes. In her sari, with her brown eyes, she blended with the Indian crowd.

Pouring Out One’s Heart

This word covers the kind of prayer that is generally found amongst believers. One does not have to know what the will of the Lord is, but you can just pour out your heart and ask of Him. It is not however that the Lord despises this kind of prayer. When Hannah was in her barren state, full of emotion and feeling, she poured out her heart to the Lord.

Her emotions so possessed her that Eli thought she was drunk. The Lord however heard her and touched her barrenness. She produced one of the great prophets of Israel—Samuel, who stood at one of the pivotal turning points in Divine history. Hannah even called him Samuel, “asked of God.”

It may appear to some people that I have been very harsh in what I have said about prayer meetings and the general understanding of prayer in Christian circles today. It is not that the Lord writes off the kind of corporate prayer we have become accustomed to; it is simply that so often it is at a kindergarten level. In His grace He sees the heart and answers accordingly. On the other hand, it is very often a religious ritual and exercise to which the Holy Spirit is a total stranger.

3. Intercessions

The third aspect is translated by the English word intercessions. The word used here has the idea of petitioning a superior, a king, a magistrate, or a prince; someone with authority. Originally, the idea was that you petitioned a superior. That is probably why the New American Standard Bible uses the word petitions instead of intercessions. The idea is to petition someone who has authority to accomplish matters. We are seeking the presence of God on behalf of others or for situations in which we are all involved. However, to use the word petitions instead of intercessions I think devalues the original meaning.

Intercession is the deepest aspect of prayer and the least experienced. There are few companies of God’s people who know much about corporate intercession. Why? The reason is that intercession is not merely a few words mouthed on behalf of a situation, even if it is with great feeling and passion. In fact, our whole being has to be involved—spirit, soul, and body. It requires that the intercessor be a living sacrifice.

God Requires Everything From Intercessors

If you would be an intercessor, God will require every single thing that belongs to you—your whole being, your time, your energy, your health, and even your possessions. God will take everything. Never devalue the word intercessor. It is not that one gives a half hour or an hour a week or even daily, as if that is all the Lord requires. To be an intercessor the Lord requires you, and all that you have.

For this reason Daniel is the greatest illustration of this in the Old Testament. He did pray daily and gave time to intercession in his very busy life at the top level of government. However, the real key to his intercession was the fact that he was a living sacrifice and wholly committed to the Lord.

Intercession can only begin when we know the mind and will of God in any situation which we face. When the Lord revealed to Moses that He was about to destroy the nation of Israel, it became the cause for the intercession of Moses for the nation. 

The Lord Shares His Heart with the Intercessor

When the Lord had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and shared it with Abraham, it became the cause for the intercession of Abraham for Lot and his family. If we understand this, then we begin to realise how important supplication or enquiry of the Lord is to intercession. We can only intercede when we know what the will of the Lord is concerning any situation.

It is possible that in writing this, many will give up all hope of ever being an intercessor or being involved in corporate intercession. Do not faint or give up on this matter. The Lord has to start, and he starts with a person who is ready to offer themselves willingly and wholly. There is a Chinese proverb which states, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” We have to take the first step in faith. Once a believer is prepared to be an intercessor and offers his or her whole being to the Lord, He will lead you step by step.

He will lead you firmly and strongly just as you are able. It will be first from the kindergarten of prayer into the kindergarten of intercession, then into the preparatory school, on into the high school, and finally, into the university of intercession. Intercession requires some degree of spiritual maturity. That kind of spiritual maturity comes only with spiritual growth and experience, and develops in a person whose self-life has been laid down.

4. Thanksgivings

The fourth aspect is translated by the English word thanksgivings. Thanksgiving is the giving of thanks, not only for answered prayer, but for the Lord Himself. Most people think immediately of thanksgiving as thanking the Lord for the prayers we asked of Him last week which have been answered in between. We always think of thanksgiving this way. It says, “With thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).

Most believers understand this as making a request, and when you get the answer, you thank the Lord. Other believers understand it as making the request and thanking God for the answer already before it comes to pass. I think this devalues the word thanksgiving. But when you make the request you are to do it with thanksgiving. It is not only that we should thank God for answering our prayers; that is obvious!

 However, primarily we need to thank the Lord for who He is and what He is; for His so great salvation and for the finished work of the Lord Jesus upon which basis He gives us everything. We give thanks for His grace, His love, His mercy, His truth, His throne, His Kingdom. In other words, this thanksgiving is all to do with worship which is such a vital and strategic part of corporate prayer.

Feelings Not Essential to Thank the Lord 

Many of us are so self-centred that the enemy twists us around his little finger. He comes to us and says: “Now it is no good for you to worship the Lord because you have been in a bad mood all day, or the children have been behaving badly, or the office was awful because the boss gave you too much to do, or you have had a terrible journey home from work and are in a ratty mood. It is no good you thanking the Lord, because you have nothing to thank Him for.” And so often this is the way we respond: “I want to be real; I do not want to be a hypocrite. I will not open my mouth to praise and thank the Lord when it is hypocritical.” The enemy has now got us into a position where we can only praise the Lord when we feel good.

The Devil’s whole machine will now be geared up to making sure you feel bad, because he wants to destroy any thanksgiving and worship to the Lord. He knows that worship, thanksgiving and praise are tremendous weapons in the battle that we are in. We so often fall for this tactic of the enemy. Sometimes people will go for years without opening their mouth and praising the Lord. They cannot even bring themselves to tell Him how great and wonderful and praiseworthy He is.

Honesty with the Lord

We must realise that we can be honest with God. We can say: “Lord, I feel awful. I had a dreadful day today, but I thank and worship You, Lord, that Your throne is unshakable.” The fact that I have had an awful day has not brought about the abdication of the Lord Jesus. The idea seems to be that if we get out of bed on the wrong side, there has been a crisis in Heaven.

If we have eaten something the night before that did not agree with us and we wake up with a jaundiced view of things, the Lord has stepped down from His throne. That, however, is nonsense! When you are down, you can praise the Lord, and when you are up, you can praise the Lord. When you are down you can say: “Lord, I feel dreadful but I want to thank You for who You are. You are wonderful, all Your works are wonderful, and Your truth lasts forever.”

What then will the Devil say to this? “This person is talking truth now, what shall I do? I cannot do anything to stop this believer from worshipping God!” So he says to his whole hierarchy: “Leave So and So alone for a while; more value comes out of him when he is having a bad time than when he is having a good time.” Some of us are helping the enemy to keep us in a permanent bad time because we have not learned this lesson.

Worship Fulfils Our Function

“Bless the Lord, oh my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1). And again: “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). One can bless the Lord whether one is up or whether one is down. The praise of the Lord—His greatness, His majesty, His beauty, His power, His total victory over the forces of darkness—is the kind of praise that can be continually in one’s mouth.

As supplication is fundamental to all prayer, so is thanksgiving. It is the worship of our hearts for who He is, for what He is, for the salvation He has wrought, and for the way He has led us into that salvation. As human beings, we were created to worship, and we only come to an inner fulfilment when we learn how to worship. Worship is not tied to answers to prayer, but to the very being of God. When we worship the Lord, we fulfil a function for which we were created. But even further to this, we experience the fulfilment of the promise: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Psalm 149:6). Blessed are those who have such experience.