Use The Right Tool

Have you ever watched a talented mechanic or craftsman work? He always has the right tool. You or I might strain to reach underneath an engine or struggle with pliers to put together some little piece of furniture. But for a master mechanic or trained craftsman, it seems that no problem is too great.

The mechanic whips out a long instrument that has a ratchet on the end, slithers it up through the crowded engine compartment, and has a blot out in seconds. A craftsman can affix the perfect-sized screwdriver head to an electric drill and assemble a complex-looking bookcase in minutes. If you talk to these people, they will always tell you that it is critical to use the right tool. A screw won't come off easily with pliers--if at all, and you can't drive in a nail with a screwdriver.This principle is critical when it comes to prayer.

Many Christians aren't aware that there are several different types of prayer discussed in the Bible, and if you use the rules or tools from one prayer when you should be using the tools from another prayer for your needs or your request, it won't work. You would be applying the wrong spiritual tool to your needs or your request. Consider what Paul wrote to the Ephesians. He concludes a long section in which he urges the Christians at Ephesus to "put on the whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11), then to "stand" (v. 14), saying this should be done by "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (v. 18). Notice that Paul tells us to pray with "all prayer." This refers to all kinds of prayer, or to put it in a different way, Paul is saying there are different kinds of prayer.

A failure to understand that there are different kinds of prayer and that they don't all do the same thing has led some ministers to claim we cannot pray correctly at all, or to conclude each prayer with "if it be Thy will." They frequently use Romans 8:26 as a proof text to show that we do not know what we need, so, in essence, we can't possibly pray correctly:

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. --Romans 8:26

Let me note in passing that this passage is sometimes used by ministers to claim that we don't know what we should pray for. Yet these same ministers may deny praying in tongues, which seems clearly indicated by this verse.

How to pray and what to pray for are entirely different issues. Can we agree on that? What I use my car for and how to start it have little to do with each other. This verse does not say that we do not know how to pray. It says we do not know "what we should pray for as we ought."

The context of this verse deals with intercession for others. Paul was discussing intercessory prayer, which is a totally different type of prayer tool than what we call petition prayer.

It helps to know from the outset what the different prayer tools are--to know a ratchet from a screwdriver, as it were, in the realm of prayer. We have no problem understanding that baseball, basketball, and soccer all have different types of balls, different playing surfaces, and different rules. Why is it so hard to think that prayer is any different? In fact, there are six different types of prayer mentioned in the Bible, and God intended them for different functions. These six types of prayers are:

1. The Prayer of Agreement
2. The Prayer of Faith
3. The Prayer of Consecration and Dedication
4. The Prayer of Praise and Worship
5. The Prayer of Intercession
6. The Prayer of Binding and Loosing

Each of these prayer tools God has provided has a specific purpose. While you may use more than one at any given time, you need to be clear on which tool you are using, as well as its limitations. Given that we have His Word--the Bible--there is no reason for us not to use them properly and when we do, answered prayer is guaranteed.

By
Dr. Frederick K.C Price