40(ish) Days of Discipline - Day 6

There are several types of prayer. One of these is the "if it be Thy will." This isn't a statement that needs to be in all of our prayers. It has a definite time, place, and purpose. When asking another person for directions, we don't ask someone to give us directions to a specific place "if they want to." They either do, and we are helped along our way, or they don't, and we are left seeking another source for the information we need. It's like that with God. We don't need to have an "if you feel like it" type of prayer life. This type of prayer, when used as your only type of prayer, may quickly leave you feeling like your prayer life is apathetic at best. Another type of prayer is the "not my will, but Yours be done." This holds more potential to grow our prayer life, as it isn't just asking God to do something if He is in the mood to do it. This type can be vital when we are certain of what we want to see the a result of our prayer, but we know that whatever God answers will be the right choice. I can't say that this is an easy prayer, because it requires us to surrender our desires and our will to God so that we can accept His answer. A third type of prayer that we are meant to engage in is intercessory. I'm sure that it sounds kind of odd, especially if you aren't familiar with the word intercessor. An intercessor is someone who stands in the middle and prays. Not physically in the middle, but spiritually. Some people are exceptionally gifted in this type of prayer, while others have to work at it. That doesn't mean that we all aren't capable of it though. This kind of prayer requires compassion and empathy every bit as much as it requires faith. It is used when we come to God and ask for healing or restoration for a person or a family. Yet another type of prayer, a prayer against evil, exists. Have you ever heard the phrase "spiritual warfare?" This way of praying is truly a battle, as Satan wants nothing more than to convince us that God is not enough. As Christians, we know who ultimately will win the war of good and evil, but we are tempted daily to forget what we know. This warfare can be waged on behalf of ourselves, another person, a country, or even the whole world. There are other types of prayer still, but I'm honestly running out of energy for the day. Perhaps tomorrow, I will have more time to write.