Joyce Meyer - The Mystery of Prayer - Part 3

TOPICS: Prayer

Well, thank you for joining me today on Enjoying Everyday Life. I pray that because you watched the program today, you will enjoy your day better than you would have if you hadn’t watched. I’m going to talk about prayer today. It’s what I talked about yesterday, and there’s a lot of different things to say about prayer. Today, I want to talk to you about the various types of prayer. We often talk about prayer as if it’s all one thing. However, prayer can be expressed in different ways, and you may discover that you’re praying more than you think you are.

Ephesians 6:18: pray at all times. Now, just listen to this: pray at all times, on every occasion, in every season, in the Spirit, with all manner of prayer and entreaty. To that end, keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding on behalf of all the saints. Well, let me say first that we need to stay alert in the practice of prayer. Sometimes — well, probably not just sometimes, but often- there’s a need right in front of us, and we are oblivious to it because we’re thinking about ourselves or worrying about something. But you can always find something to pray about if you pay attention to what’s going on around you. However, I want to read you the first part of that scripture again because I don’t want you to miss it: pray at all times.

Now, we know we can’t pray every second of every day, but praying at all times, I believe, means to pray your way through the day. In other words, we need to have a set time for prayer, which becomes a deeper kind of prayer. But then, we’re free to pray all day long whenever we see something or just want to thank God or talk to Him about something. Pray at all times, on every occasion, in every season, in the Spirit, with all kinds of prayer and entreaty. To that end, stay alert.

Now, I hope to get through all these kinds of prayers, but just in case I don’t, I want to tell you ahead of time what they are. There’s the prayer of praise and worship, which are two different things we’ll discuss. The prayer of thanksgiving is a prayer we should offer more than any prayer of petition. That’s when we ask God to do something for us. The prayer of commitment is where we give our problem to God or we commit something else to Him. We might commit an hour every day to pray or an hour to read the Bible. Just whatever you want to commit, like setting aside a certain amount of money to give to the kingdom every month.

The prayer of consecration is where you consecrate yourself to God, giving yourself to Him as a vessel that He can work through. The prayer of intercession is when you pray for someone else who doesn’t know how to pray for themselves. Then there’s the prayer of agreement, which is when you get together with someone else and agree with them in prayer.

Now, when we talk about the prayer of agreement, that doesn’t mean you can fight with someone all week and then agree on one thing. It means that if you live in agreement with someone you love and respect -though you may not agree on every single thing-you are free of animosity and strife. Two people like that come together and pray, and the power of their prayer is increased significantly. One can put a thousand to flight, and two can put ten thousand.

Wow! I certainly feel stronger with two of us than one. So, no matter what kind of prayer we’re praying, it must be in the Spirit. It must be led and guided by the Holy Spirit, and the only way we' ll know that is by paying attention to our hearts while we pray. If we’re praying in the Spirit, I believe that prayer flows smoothly. Romans 8:26 — 27 states: «So too, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness. For we don’t know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought. But the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.»

Have you ever been hurting so badly that all you could do was groan? Well, I have. Or just say, «Oh, God,» «Help me, God,» or «Help me, Jesus.» Prayer doesn’t always have to be long to be powerful. Jesus prayed in the Holy Spirit when He was in a fleshly body. We go to God the Father in Jesus' name by the Holy Spirit. How do we pray? Who do we pray to? Jesus said, «You go pray to the Father in My name, led by the Holy Spirit.»

There are various types of prayer. Thinking that we have to be in a certain posture or place and believing there’s only one type of prayer can cause a lack of prayer because some people do not understand this. They may also not realize that they are praying more often than they think they are. We can pray anywhere. The instruction is to pray at all times, on every occasion, in every season. I can pray sitting, standing, or lying down. I can pray out loud or silently. I can pray while moving or being still. I can pray in public places; I suggest this be silent prayer. I can pray while I’m shopping, waiting for an appointment, in a business meeting, doing household chores, driving my car, etc.

Actually, this is God’s will. This is how I obey the scripture that says to pray without ceasing. But it’s also important -let me stress this- that it’s important to set aside a specific time for prayer. I believe it’s also good to have a designated place where you do this. It’s not mandatory, but it’s beneficial. It’s your prayer place. I’ve always had a prayer chair, a certain spot that I pray in. I’ve worn out several chairs over the years, but I have a place I normally go to pray. In Mark 1:35, it says that Jesus got up while it was still dark and went to a solitary place, and there He prayed. Jesus knew the importance of praying before trying to start His day. I tell you, our days would go so much better if we would take the time to pray.

I know we all have different kinds of lives. Some of you may have little children who are in bed with you, yelling for breakfast before you can even open your eyes. Yet, find a way to spend some time in prayer in the morning. I always tell young mothers that if you can’t do anything else, go to the bathroom for five minutes and pray while you’re in there. But if you can’t do it in the morning, do it as soon as you can. You may have to give up something else; you might have to sacrifice an hour of TV. But be a person of prayer — not out of obligation or because God will be upset if you don’t pray, but because it is a privilege to pray. You miss so much if you don’t pray. The Bible says you have not because you ask not. So we need to pray. We can offer various types of prayer that are proper and suited for various occasions and seasons. A joyful season will require one type of prayer, while a sorrowful one will require another. When I have a need, one type of prayer is required. When someone I know has a need, another type is needed.

So, first of all, let’s talk about-or lump together- three types of prayer: worship and thanksgiving. These may be closely connected but can be uniquely different. Praise means I praise God for what He has done, is doing, and will yet do. I praise God for all the blessings in my life. Praise is primarily a tale, a narration, or a sacrificial offering. I’m praising God. If I go to lunch with someone and I tell them about the good things God has been doing in my life, we are instructed in Hebrews 13:15 to bring a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips that thankfully acknowledge, confess, and glorify His name. We praise God for His glory, which is His manifested excellence. I love that God is excellent, and when we ask for His glory, we’re asking to see His excellence in our lives.

Hebrews 13:15 goes on to say, «Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge, confess, and glorify His name.» So praise is something that comes out of our mouths; it’s us verbalizing that we recognize the awesome things that God does. I don’t want to forget the things that God does. The thing that got Israel in so much trouble is that they would be all excited when God was doing things for them, but then it says they hastily forgot His works, and then they began to crave something else.

We see a prayer of praise offered with two other types, namely thanksgiving and petition. In 1 Chronicles 16:4, it says, «He appointed Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord and to celebrate by calling to mind, thanking, and praising the Lord, the God of Israel.» For example: «Father, I praise You for what You’ve done in delivering me. I thank You for Your goodness in my life, and I ask You to strengthen me as I go through this new door of opportunity.» The sincerity and accuracy of the prayer are what God is looking for, not the length of it. Let me say that slowly: the sincerity and accuracy of the prayer are what God is looking for, not the length of it. You can pray powerful short prayers. They don’t have to be short, but you don’t want to just heap up words thinking that the longer you pray, the more spiritual it will be. Praying accurately requires focus and hearing from God, not from yourself.

Then there’s worship, which usually goes a little deeper. It’s not concerned with what God has done for us, but with God Himself. And not as much with what He has done, although we may worship God for His acts. You know, I like it when my kids come by and say, «We were just thinking about all you’ve done for us all our lives, and we are so blessed, and we just wanted to thank you again.» Well, I love that. But I also love it when they come by and say, «We just came by because we love you and wanted to see you; we just wanted to be with you.»

That’s nice too. I believe God loves it when we come to Him and ask for what we need. But I think He also loves it when we just want to spend time with Him. The central theme of worship is reverence. Vines' Hebrew and Greek dictionary states that the worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture. I find that interesting. It is not confined to praise. Broadly, it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God of His nature, attributes, ways, and claims-rather by the outgoing of the heart. Praise and thanksgiving are deeds done in such acknowledgment and may also mean to serve or do service to.

So that’s interesting. We serve God; we do some kind of service for God, or we often do things for God by doing things for other people. God seeks true, genuine worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23 — 24 says, «A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true, genuine worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth in reality. For the Father is seeking just such people as His worshipers.»

Now, a lot of times we think praise and worship is going to church, sitting, and looking at the overhead screen, singing the words that are on the screen. But, if you’re not careful, you can do that and not pay any attention to what you’re doing. You can say those words and even be thinking things you shouldn’t be thinking. I remember a long time ago-thankfully when I didn’t know some of these things — I would go to church and be angry at Dave over something that happened that morning, and I could stand there, look at that overhead screen, sing «I Surrender All,» and think at the same time that if he thought I was going to fix him anything to eat today, he had another thing coming. Well, I wasn’t worshiping God; I was just being silly. God seeks worshipers. That’s interesting; «seeks» is a strong word. It means to go after with all your might. It seems a pity that He must seek them. It seems to me that worshipers should be abundant considering what a great God we serve.

«Crave» means to seek, to pursue, and to go after with all your might. He seeks true, genuine worshipers. It is obvious not all who worship are genuine. Sincere worship comes out of the heart and is not merely learned behavior involving rituals that have been taught to us. Tradition, the Bible says, makes the word of no effect. Don’t do something just out of tradition or habit. Don’t be a pretender. Don’t draw near to me with your mouth while your heart is far from me. Woo! I need to keep my heart connected to my mouth and pay attention to what’s coming out of it. I’m talking to God. We have the privilege of going to God in Jesus' name, and we can’t tell Him enough how wonderful He is, how awesome, how amazing, and how many things we miss thanking Him for. We can all come higher in that area.

Matthew 15:6-9 says, «For the sake of your tradition, the rules handed down by your forefathers, you have set aside the word of God, depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect. You pretenders and hypocrites! Admirably and truly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, 'These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.'»

Let’s think again about that example of being in church, looking at the overhead screen while the people are singing songs, and this is what we call praise and worship. Let’s say you have 500 people in a building, and there’s light coming only from those who are truly worshiping with their heart and not just giving lip service. We might find it to be a pretty dark place. There might only be a hundred out of those 500 who are really sincerely seeking and worshiping God. And here again, it’s about focus. You know, there’s activity in the room, people moving around, and we get caught up in what they’re doing and forget how important it is. A worshiper is much more than someone who shows up at a place and goes through a certain ritual once a week. A worshiper is more than someone looking at words on an overhead screen and singing the songs with their hands lifted up. A worshiper is a person dedicated to God, serving Him with all their actions, thoughts, and words. A worshiper is someone who involves God in all their daily activities and lives for His glory.

Worship may be given to God in any posture or place. However, worship is also frequently connected with bowing down and kneeling -the posture of humility that represents the lesser going to the greater. Now, each of these things are not rules and regulations; they’re just concepts for you to consider, to check for yourself in the word of God. Jehoshaphat took his position in battle; he bowed his head to the ground, and all the others fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him. 2 Chronicles 20:17–18 states, «You shall not need to fight in this battle. Woo, I like that! Take your position; stand still and see the deliverance of the Lord.» Well, what was my position? He bowed down with his head and face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him. While they did that, the enemy became confused and slaughtered each other. Wow! True praise and worship confuses the devil. It messes up his plans.

Now, let’s talk about thanksgiving, because that’s one of my favorite topics. I say, I’m so thankful for what God has done in me and in my life, and for the privilege He’s given me to be in ministry and help all of you. Thanksgiving means gratitude, or to make acknowledgment, to acknowledge fully or to celebrate. It is an expression of joy. One may have a thankful attitude, but we are instructed to be thankful and say so. Therefore, we need to vocalize our thanksgiving to God. I think we also need to vocalize our thanksgiving to people.

Many times, people do things for us, and we blow it off because we’re used to them helping us. But we need to thank people. If someone gives you something, send them a text, a note, or thank them face-to-face. But be thankful and say so. You know, there would be a lot fewer divorces if men and women who are married would remember to have better manners in their own homes. Saying please and thank you is one of those things. Don’t take people who regularly do things for you for granted. My husband is really good about doing little things for me. «Can you open this?» «Can you do this?» «Can you get me that?» Oh, I forgot my phone; can you get it for me? And I don’t think I’ve ever had him tell me no. Sometimes I have to wait a few minutes, but he always does those little things, and I always thank him.

Thanksgiving means gratitude, to make acknowledgment, to acknowledge fully, or to celebrate. It is an expression of joy. One may have a thankful attitude, but we should be thankful and say so. Psalm 100:4 says, «Enter His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful and say so to Him. Bless and affectionately praise His name.»

Now, what does that mean -a thank offering? In the Old Testament, a thank offering was one of the required offerings. We give thank offerings at different times, which is above and beyond our regular giving. We don’t give it for any specific reason except just to say, «Thank You, God, for all You’ve done in our lives.» I think it’s a good habit, but that’s not all it means. Many times, just the fact that you’re going to acknowledge God fully for all He’s done is the offering that God wants: Enter His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful and say so to Him. Bless and affectionately praise His name.