Rules For A Successful Prayer Life: Part 2
_{// by Pastor Mitch Horton}

May 2002 | Posted in • Archives | (0) Comments |

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

This month we are continuing our theme of prayer. I mentioned last month that the rules vary with the kind of prayer you’re praying. Some of the different kinds of prayer include: the prayer of petition or faith, the prayer of intercession and supplication, the prayer of consecration, the prayer of agreement, the prayer of worship, the prayer of binding and loosing, united prayer, and praying in the Spirit.

God always wants to answer all of our prayers. And He doesn’t want to answer with a no or a maybe, or a wait a while. He answers with a yes! (See John 15:7; 16:23-24; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15). He will answer with a yes when we pray properly, according to the rules.

When praying the prayer of faith, we must believe we receive the moment that we pray (Mark 11:24). This prayer never contains an “if it be thy will.” The prayer of consecration, on the other hand, is always prayed with an “if it be thy will” for with this type of prayer, we’re seeking the will of God for some area of life.

The prayer of intercession and supplication is prayed with yet another set of rules that govern its usage. To intercede is to take the place of another person. We never intercede for ourselves! Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God where He “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews 7:25). When we intercede, we are actually being a mediator in prayer between the person we’re praying for and God. We’re taking God’s hand and the person’s hand in prayer and standing between the two. To supplicate means to ask in a humble and earnest manner, or to ask a favor on another’s behalf.

When the Lord uses us to intercede and to supplicate for someone, we need to keep in mind where the boundaries of that kind of praying exist. Two things occur when we intercede and supplicate. First, our prayer causes the Holy Spirit to bear an influence upon the will of a person, but He never forces that person’s human will. The second thing that happens is that Satan’s influence is hindered in their life.

So the rules that govern intercession and supplication include perseverance, which means that we must continue to pray for the person time and time again, until we receive the desired results (see Luke 18:1-8; Luke 11:5-8). Unlike the prayer of faith that we pray for ourselves that needs to be prayed only once, the prayer of intercession and supplication keeps conviction pressed against a person’s will. When we’re praying for someone else, they may not desire the same things that the Lord and we desire for them. Their will may be set against the will of God, and God will never force the will of a human being. He lets us make up our own mind to obey Him. When Paul ministered to King Agrippa he said, “almost you persuade me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). Paul could not change the will of the unsaved king. The king had to make up his own mind to serve the Lord. Intercession and supplication, praying the same thing over and over for the person, keeps the conviction bearing upon their will.

Satan’s works against a person are also bound when we pray the prayer of intercession for them. Jesus said in Matthew 12:29, “Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” Our intercession and supplication pushes back the forces of darkness that seek to keep a person bound.

Notice that Michael the archangel was able to give an answer to prayer to Daniel only after he broke through the powers of darkness that sought to hinder. Daniel’s perseverance in prayer resulted in revelation being brought to him. And when we pray for others it is often necessary to pray in intercession and supplication to keep Satan’s power at bay.

When praying for the lost, we should pray at least three specific things. First of all, we should ask the Lord to draw the person to Himself (see John 6:44). Secondly, we should break Satan’s blinding power over the person’s mind (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). And thirdly, we should ask the Lord to send gospel laborers into the person’s life (Matthew 9:37-38).

We must pray with persistence in intercession and supplication when praying for others. Yes, we are exercising faith when praying for others, and we are to believe that God is presently responding. But because of their will being involved, and because of the enemy’s hindrances, we must pray for others over and over again. It’s the same kind of faith you use when you pray for yourself, but a different set of rules.

Sometimes when we pray for others, the Holy Spirit seems to give an extra measure of help to us. At times the Holy Spirit will allow us to experience the same feeling that the other person is experiencing, and we will feel an urgency to pray. In these times the Holy Spirit is allowing us to enter into intercession with His help and aid.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of Zion (the people of God) travailing in birth to bring forth her children (Isaiah 66:8). The apostle Paul spoke of travailing prayer for the new believers in Galatia (Galatians 4:19).

Romans 8:26-27 reads, “Likewise the Spirit also helps us 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. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

These references in Isaiah, Galatians, and Romans all speak of a travail that the Holy Spirit allows us to experience as we take the place of another person in intercession.

We will discuss further the issue of intercession and travail in prayer in our next issue. Begin now to develop a daily habit of prayer, and be aware of the rules that apply to the kind of prayer that you’re praying.