Prayer

 Prayer

A visiting missionary at church said he wanted to give a short lesson on prayer. He said though there are many types of prayer, he would focus on three.

"There is the prayer of desperation, the kind many of us are used to praying. When something goes wrong, we quickly call on God to HELP us! David prayed this kind of prayer often. In Psalm 64:1, he prays, "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer preserve my life from fear of the enemy."

And in Psalm 61, he beseeches, "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer." We have no trouble calling out to God in times of desperation.

Then there is the prayer of perspiration, one of hard work and perseverance. But we are promised: "He who giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men will utterly fall; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint," Isaiah 40:29-31.

Jesus was praying like this when in Luke 22:24, it records: "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground."

Prayers of preparation are given in Ephesians 6:10-18, when we are told to put one the whole armour of God, including belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

If we pray the prayer of preparation at the beginning of our day, and are strengthened by prayers of perspiration, we may be less likely to have to pray in desperation, having been equipped against "the fiery darts of the wicked," or anything else life throws at us!