NUGGETS FOR LIFE BY Barbra Burton

There are different types of prayer with rules that govern each.  For example there is the prayer of faith, which is the prayer to change things.  It is always based on God’s Word and never contains the word “if”.  a few examples of this can be found in Matthew 21:21-22 and Mark 11:22-24.
This is very different from the prayer of consecration, which is the type of prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  “Saying, Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will but Thine, be done.” Luke 22:42.   People mistakenly think that every type of prayer should begin or end with asking God’s will be done.  When Jesus prayed for the sick He didn’t end with “if it be thy will” as so many do today.  Often He said “Your faith has made you whole.”    We know from God’s Word that it is always His will to heal the sick, save the lost, and deliver the oppressed.
Other types of prayer are the prayer of commitment (1 Peter 5:7), the prayer of worship (Acts 13:1-4); Luke 24:52-53), the prayer of agreement (Matthew 18: 18-20),  united prayer (Acts 4: 23–31), and intercessory prayer (Romans 8:26-27, Ephesians 6:18).  Although there are many types of prayers, it is vital to always pray in faith and expect results every time.
I heard a story once about a congregation that me in a field to pray for rain, to relieve a long dry spell in their area.  The preacher looked severely at his flock and said, “Brothers and Sisters, y’all know why we are here.  Now, what I want to know is where your umbrellas are?”
That congregation must have forgotten the word of Jesus, “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).