January 13
“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16b
Yesterday we summarized the three types of prayer. Today I would like to suggest a table to help highlight the different types of prayer and how they each play a crucial role in our efforts to follow Christ and overcome temptation.
Three Types of Prayer
| Crying Out to God | Praying Without Ceasing | Daily, Diligent Prayer Focus | |
| Level of Urgency | High. Emergency, crisis, critical, HAVE to have | Low to Moderate. Really great to have, really would appreciate it | Moderate to high. Need this to happen to make major progress in life. |
| Level of physical involvement (level of gut wrenching, “wrestling with God” factor) | High | Low | Medium |
| Attitude | “I can’t live without this.” “I am not going to let You go until I have relief from this burden.” | “I really would appreciate Your help with this.” “What is Your will so I can do it?” “Lord, please make this easy.” | “This is a really important thing that would glorify God.” “By the grace of God I will move this mountain.” |
| Impact (for producing major changes in life) | Low | Moderate | High |
| Time Frame (for needed answers) | Short term. Seconds to hours. Need relief now! | Medium term. Next few minutes, hours, days | Long term. Next few weeks, months, years |
| Location | Anywhere | Everywhere | “Prayer Closet” Place where you can focus uninterrupted. |
| Type of “Illness” treated | Acute | Preventative | Chronic |
| Importance in helping to Overcome Temptation | High. This type of prayer keeps me from falling and stumbling when Satan attacks hard and I desperately need God’s help. | High. This type of prayer keeps me on the alert and watchful, avoiding situations where I can be tempted. | High. This prayer can accomplish much, soften and change hearts, take away the desire for sin, and transform lives, starting with me! |
This analysis is just a rough cut of the way I see things, and there also may be times when these generalizations don’t hold true. Of course one shouldn’t over analyze things or put God and prayer in a box. But I offer this as a way to illustrate that when we say the word “prayer” we are talking about different ways, different intensities, different mindsets, different attitudes, different goals, different places, and different faith, in a way, needed for each.
May God help all of us be a master of all types of prayer in all the ways and examples He provides us in His word!