Written Word Prayer And Spirit-Inspired Prayer

"There are some kinds of prayer that are not so quiet prayer" ~ Rev.d Kenneth E Hagin.

This quote by the revered Kenneth E Hagin opens our eyes to see the dimensions of prayer. Prayer takes different dimensions and the believer must be able to separate each of these dimensions.

Looking into the scriptures we could see that we have the written word prayers. Let's see a few of the written word prayers:

Ephesians 1:15-18

[15] Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

[16] Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

[17] That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

[18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

We can see Paul praying for the Church to receive revelation knowledge. We can also pray this for ourselves daily. Things need to be revealed to us when we study God's word.

Also, Ephesians 3:14-16

[14] For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

[15] Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

[16] That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Paul prayed for the Saints that they might be strengthened by the Spirit of God in them. We can pray this for ourselves or for the people around us who are getting weak and tired.

Furthermore, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

[1] Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have a free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:

[2] And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

Paul is now admonishing the Church to pray for "us". The US here will be the ministers who go out to preach. We can call these ministers "Missionaries". So, he is saying they should pray for the deliverance of the Missionaries from the wicked ones (the unbelievers).

Lastly, Ephesians 6:18

[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Paul is making us see that there is a prayer for the Saints. So, I can just wake early in the morning and take time praying for the believers, whether there is a reason or not. In other words, the New Testament believers are not self-centred.

So, there is a praying for:

1. Revelational Knowledge
2. Spiritual Strength
3. The ministers of the Gospel to be preserved and kept safe
4. There is the prayer for fellow believers.

All these are Praying the Written Word.

Then we have the Spirit-Inspired Prayers. This is not a conventional way of praying. It follows no pattern. You can't do this mechanically.

Of course, the scriptures have instructed us to pray always:

1 Thessalonians 5:17

[17] Pray without ceasing.

I love what a Pastor said about the scripture above. He said it means " Pray without Ceasing and Season." That is, pray nonstop and pray without a time.

As believers, we are in the Spirit, hence, the Spirit-Inspired Prayers should be what we constantly do. It happens in such a way that you might be working and you become uneasy without a reason, or you suddenly become sad, or angry for no reason. Those are the Spirit-Inspired Temperament. Those emotions should drive you to pray. But many of us substitute these emotions for something else. We start channelling these to something else.

Spirit Inspired Prayers can come in different ways unlike the Written word Prayer where you pick up your Bible, read the scripture and start praying:

1. It can come through events around you. This happens to me so much when I pass through some places and see how they are given to idolatry, or when someone dies, or immorality, cultism, fraudulent activity, darkness and religious acts, I become imbalanced, I often lose my appetite, have a frowning face until I pray it out. Sometimes, this prayer is accompanied by tears, shouts, groanings, pain, sweat etc. All the emotions in this prayer are unplanned, the Spirit of God in you is sharing with you what is in the heart of God.

WE ARE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD TO SHARE GOD'S EMOTIONS: GRIEF, PAIN, ANGER, HURT etc.

1. It also comes by Prophecies. When you hear a prophecy whether for good days or bad days, it throws you to pray. Prophecies are supernatural utterances, when you hear supernatural utterances, it will do something in your heart. It will want to make you separate yourself for some time. That separation is Spirit Inspired.

Lastly, how do we pray this Spirit-inspired prayer?

James 5:16 AMP: Confess to one another, therefore, your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offences, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. (b)THE EARNEST (HEARTFELT, CONTINUED) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

In the B part of the scripture above James said the Earnest, that is, the HEARTFELT and CONTINUED prayer of a Righteous man (believer, saved man, the new creature, the saint in Christ).

So, there is such a prayer called Heartfelt prayer. The word Heartfelt implies groaning, shouting, screaming, rolling on the floor etc. It's like a woman in labour about to give birth. The Spirit-Inspired Prayers can be seen in how Jesus and Jacob prayed.

Luke 22:44

[44] And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

That is Jesus our Lord, in agony, sweat as thick as blood.

Hosea 12:4

[4] Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

This happened in Genesis 32:24-30 where Jacob prayed and that prayer was called a Heartfelt prayer. Heartfelt prayers are Spirit-inspired prayers not conventional nor mechanical. There is no posing in such prayer. It is not a calm or quiet prayer. The Spirit of God will get a hold of you and run it in your heart.

ACTION POINTS

Today and always, respond to those Spirit-Inspired Prayers, and it will allow us to have a great experience with God.

Let us Pray!