[ecko_quote source="Mark 11:24"]Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them[/ecko_quote]
Let me make an important observation. The Church world as a whole has missed it in the prayer business and in the prayer life(in the spiritual sense). And this is where we have missed it. We have put all prayer in the same sack and shook it all out together. We said, in effect, “Prayer is prayer.” We failed to realise that the New Testament teaches there are different kinds of prayer. And different rules apply to different kinds of praying. The same rules will not apply to all kinds praying.
I use sports as an illustration. In the realm of sports, there is football; there is baseball; there is golf; there is tennis. All of them are sports. But they are not all played by the same rules. It would be foolish to say “Sports are sports. All sports ought to be played by football rules.”
It would make just as much sense to say, “Prayer is prayer. All prayer ought to be prayed by the same rules”. That would be unwise. But that is where we have missed it.
For instance, when you pray a “prayer of dedication and consecration” you do not use the same rules you use when you pray a “prayer to receive something from God.”
When I pray a “prayer of consecration and dedication,” I am not necessarily praying to receive something from God. I am dedicating myself to do whatever God wants me to do. I am dedicating myself to do whatever God wants me to do. I say, “God, if You want me to go to Africa, I will go” That means I don’t know whether He wants me to go or not. But if He wants me to go, I am available. So, I can put an “if” in that prayer.
When I pray a “prayer to receive something from God,” I cannot put an “if” in it and ever get an answer. In this kind of prayer, “if” indicates unbelief – “if” is the badge of the doubt.
In the “prayer of consecration and dedication,” I can put an “if” “if You want me to stay home, I will stay home. If You want me to preach, I will to preach. Whatever You want me to do, I will do. If You want me to go talk to that person about being saved, I will do it”.
There is another kind of prayer where we are not asking for anything, not trying to change anything. We are just worshipping God. This is the “prayer of worship” Different rules apply to this prayer.
I do not have space to go into all the different kinds of praying and the rules that apply in this devotion. But I am making these brief observations about the different kinds of prayer here, so that you will understand and appreciate.
[Image Source: http://jonah.uec.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/prayer.jpg]
Pastor Jonah Ravinder- United Telugu Church - Auckland, New Zealand; Kenneth E. Hagin Sr
