Prayer
Forms of Prayer
Matthew 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when
you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place;
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
NKJV
Prayer takes on three forms . . .
Public prayers, the kind offered in Church or at other large meetings, is our collective offerings to God.
Social prayers might be thought of as the prayers of the family before meals or at bed time. They are "private" because they are reserved for a small group of people.
Lastly, there are secret prayers
of Matthew 6:6, as quoted above.
These are the "secret times"
when we open our hearts to God in a special way and send forth our deepest
desires, fears, and concerns. It is especially during these times that
the Holy Spirit joins us in our prayer life. He is always present and
always interceding for us, but, perhaps, because of the solitude, it is
during our secret prayer time that we may most often feel His power at
work in our prayer life.
Romans 8:26-27 26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes
to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer
to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself
goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable
yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. 27 And He Who searches
the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what
His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God]
in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God&s will.
Amplified
The Scriptures teach us the need for prayer and provide examples and patterns for our prayer life. Interestingly enough, however, no where does the Bible dictate a precise method or form for our prayers. Just as our love for spouse, children, parents, and friends direct our conversations with them, so, too, should our love for God direct our communion with Him.
