Prayer Basics

Prayer Basics

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Part One: How It Works    

    Part Two: Types of Prayer    

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Part One: How It Works

   I.

Although I had been saved for many years I didn’t have a clue “how” to pray. No one taught it. I knew the Lord’s prayer and to pray in tongues but that was it. Truthfully, I didn’t even “get” the Lord’s prayer until recently. (I’ve been saved since I was 5 and 5 decades have since passed since the time of this writing.) I desired to be closer to God but had no clue how to do it. I didn’t know it was done through prayer. I also didn’t know there were different types and depths to each prayer. It is vast, deep, and wonderful! The basic daily prayer is simply spending time with the Lord in the Word and following His leading. (*See article on “Intimacy with the Lord”.)

The base of all prayer is to pray to the Father in Jesus Name: John 16:23, 26; 14:13, 26; 15:16.

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I’m grateful to the Lord for bringing people across my path to teach me how to pray and spend time with God. I praise God for it! God wants closeness with you and it’s done in prayer. You are trusting Him and He is speaking with you and leading you for that day, and then you do what He gives you. Somedays He gives you the gentle nudge of what to do for that day, or even that week, or the situation you are concerned with; somedays He gives you His gentle peace in your heart, and even at times when everything is crazy around you He definitely instills peace. You know He has got you. Other times He moves BIG. He may show you a vision, or talk to you from within your inner man about a circumstance. God never speaks to you outside of your head! Just because you hear a distinct voice doesn’t mean it’s God. Test the spirits - all those that deny Jesus Christ is the Son of God and deny He came in the flesh are not of God. These voices come “outside” of your head. NOT from within your inner man. 1 John 4:1-6. The Holy Spirit is within you! In your heart. And when He speaks it always gives you “peace”. Peace is how you judge things - Colossians 3:15 Amplified, “And let the peace, soul harmony, which comes from Christ rule, act as umpire continually, in your hearts deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in the peaceful state to which as members of Christ’s one body you were also called to live. And be thankful, appreciative, giving praise to God always.”  

We are to judge what we are “getting” by whether or not we have peace about it in our inner man (John 14:26-27). If there’s “uncertainty” or something seems “off” like it doesn’t settle within you - stay away from it. Ask the Lord if you are to stay away from it entirely or do you have to shift how you handle it. He will reveal it. In my experience, most of the time it was to stay away from it completely. There have been occasions where He wanted me to handle it differently. The “sense” had a different “weight” to it. It was still an “unsettled” weight, I could tell something was “off” but it was of a lesser degree than something He wanted me to stay completely away from. He than revealed “how” I needed to operate - sometimes it was changing how I thought about the situation or needed to just let go of the way I thought about it. 

• ALL PRAYER STARTS WITH THE WORD OF GOD. BEGIN BY PRAYING A SCRIPTURE BACK TO GOD AND SEE HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS YOU. ACTS 10:44 - “WHILE PETER YET SPOKE THESE WORDS, THE HOLY SPIRIT FELL ON ALL OF THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD.” As you are speaking scripture you can hear the words coming out of your mouth. (Proverbs 4:20-27.) The Holy Spirit moves on the Word. Sometimes it’s not right away. He is waiting until your faith gets hooked up with what you speak from the the Word of God. He is often waiting to see what you will do. How will you respond? “1. Draw close to God and 2. He will draw close to you” - James 4:8. He is waiting to see what you do. He will move as you move, on purpose putting Him first. 

Follow what He tells you to do. It may be a gentle hunch; or a thought “comes up”; or whatever the insight, follow it out. If you don’t follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings you will, at first, get gentle “nudges” regarding it and if your keep ignoring it you will notice a “dryness”. Almost like a staleness in your prayer time and you can’t hear from Him. Go back to what He last told you. Repent for not doing it. Mean it. You don’t want anything getting in the way of your relationship with God. It is the most important thing to your life. And ask what He wants you to do. Sometimes the timing is now off and there’s nothing you can do. Sometimes you can. Whatever it is, do it. He has to be able to trust you; and trust you will do what you said about “following Him”, and that you will follow His leading. 

The Word is always your “guard rail”. Just like John 4:23-24 all of our time spent with God is to be done in Spirit (Holy Spirit) and Truth. As John 17:17 says, His Word is truth. So it is done by spending time with the Holy Spirit and the Word. Start by telling the Holy Spirit that He can have His way with you in prayer and then go to a scripture if there’s a scripture you have been thinking of, or ask Him where you should go to in the Word. Get quiet and wait for His prompting - it may be a “hunch” or you’ll hear His still, small, quiet voice from within you telling you where to go, or you may see the words from deep inside you that come up to your mind. Go there. Then speak that scripture out to the Lord as you read it, you can pray it back to Him if you are led to. If you are led to pray it, go as far as you can with what you know in that scripture giving Him thanks for it working in you and then other scriptures will start to “come up” from within you. THAT is the Holy Spirit bringing things to your remembrance (John 14:26-27), see where He takes you. Speak them out loud as they are coming up. He will bring words and phrases to you; you can sense “something” - unction - on a part of scripture, follow the unction; He will bring other scriptures to your remembrance; or remind you of a vision or dream He gave you; or remind you of something you saw, or someone you know, however He leads you, follow Him. If a person comes up, ask the Lord how to pray for that person. He may have you stand in faith for that person in their situation. Sometimes you may simply pray: “ (For this person) Your will be done for them in the Name of Jesus. Whatever You are praying for them Lord (Romans 8:27) I put my agreement with you.” You can intercede for someone without them even knowing. Someone I know calls this “sneaky prayer”. It’s a good thing. The Lord will have you pray about things for this person to help them and they never need to know! 

I know I’m hammering this again…use scripture as guard rails. You will know what is appropriate to pray for and what is not. Scripture will keep you on track. I say this because prayer is supernatural. Let’s be real about this…we don’t know how to operate supernaturally. We exist in the natural realm and God has placed a barrier between the natural and supernatural realm on purpose. That is a part of what the Word and the Holy Spirit are for. To keep us on track and not get off in the proverbial ditch somewhere. We can’t base our prayer on anything in this world: what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, emotions (including pride- it is an emotion), and thinking. Prayer is not governed by them. In fact, emotions and our thinking (sometimes it shows up as “justifying”) will get you off in a ditch every time! I know…I have experienced this myself and it wasn’t good. I had my focus on something my thoughts told me rather than basing it on the Word of God, of which I knew what the Word said but I was still leaning to my thinking rather than the Word. This is always how believers get “off” track. Yes, God gave us our thinking mind and our emotions - our emotions will get stirred by Him but don’t base your prayers on emotions or on what you think - ever. God’s Word takes priority and He is always right, regardless of how you think or feel. If your getting moved by your emotions or your thinking, things will “feel” off, stuck, heavy, and you won’t have peace. You can tell that something isn’t right. Beware you don’t make an excuse for things being off. That is a means of “justifying” which is linked to the emotion of “pride”. It always goes off the rails. That is how to tell when you are going off on emotions or thoughts, thoughts or emotions. One is linked to the other. Thus, not following the Word and Holy Spirit. We all experience it but you have to know how to get out of it and back on track. Go back to the Word that you know. Sometimes it may be the simplest of things, like you know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for you and you’re saved. Maybe it’s a scripture you’ve been standing on, or one you have used for prayer, whatever it is keep speaking it out. Speak it out to stir up your faith. Speak in different rhythms. Like emphasizing the first word as you speak the scripture out. The second time repeating the same scripture, emphasize the second word; third time - third word, and so on. THIS will give you revelation - which means the Holy Spirit takes hold on that part of the Word and starts showing you things. You’ll be reminded of other scriptures, how it all fits together, and fits and cleans up your life. This starts the water of the Holy Spirit to deluge you from the dry spell of disobedience. It’s a wonderful way of getting back on track AND staying on track. We all make mistakes. No big deal. Forgive yourself. Learn from them. We operate in a physical world, we don’t know how to operate spiritually. You will make mistakes somewhere along the line. It’s okay to do that but don’t stay there. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. His is our Teacher and Comforter. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit and the Word to keep us on track in the realm of the Spirit. That’s what God’s Word is for, helping you to operate Spiritually in a physical world. The Spirit realm changes what is in the physical realm. In all things and in prayer, no matter the type, allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit and the Word. 

There is a “flow” back and forth in prayer: Spirit and Word; Word and Spirit; sometimes you are spending more time in the Word before the Holy Spirit grabs hold together with you - when He does flow, follow Him, do what He leads you to do. Go as far as you can, then when He “lifts” - the unction is gone - go back to scripture. This is the root of everything, of how to follow the Holy Spirit moves with the Word and it deepens your understanding and relationship with the Lord.

Ephesians 4:17-24 (NKJV and NIV) So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do; in the futility of their thinking, they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality (the fives sense realm) so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in Him in accordance with the Truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds. (Be renewed in the Spirit of your mind.) and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

We see in this scripture that this is a choice we have to make once we are born again. Someone can still be born again and never do this. They are still saved but their life will be difficult because they won’t follow the Word and the Holy Spirit. We have to choose to put on the new self. We do this by making a commitment to the Lord and ourselves to do this, to follow the Holy Spirit and the Word, the Word and the Holy Spirit. Always flowing from one to the other. They are not separate. If you are noticing a separation, then something is off. Ask the Lord for correction. He will show you. 

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    II.

    The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge (Ephesians 1:17-18). You can’t be around Him, giving Him the priority and obeying His voice without having Wisdom and Revelation Knowledge. That is “Who” He is. He is power. He is love. He is life. He is water - the washing of water by the Word (Ephesians 5:26. (That’s why when we don’t do what the Lord says things feel stale and dry.) He is the Word. He is truth. He is IN you! Lean into Him to lead your prayer. Always. He will guide you. 

Yes, you have to learn how He flows. Sometimes He will do something for a while like nudging you to stay in scripture for a longer period with shorter times in actual prayer; then He changes it up and it’s longer times in prayer and shorter times in the Word. Sometimes He may have you do confessions (from the Word) as your prayer time after reading the Word. Although He shifts things He never goes contrary to the Word. Whatever He has you do is the season you are in. 

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   III.

Most of the time prayer is done alone but don’t neglect praying with the brethren. There are a great many things you can learn in group prayer, or it is often termed “corporate prayer”.  There is greater power of God in manifestation, greater anointing, greater moves of the Spirit, thus greater revelation from God, and miracles as God deems necessary, along with the other gifts of the Holy Spirit in manifestation with corporate prayer: word of wisdom; word of knowledge; discerning of spirits; tongues and interpretation of tongues in a corporate setting; prophecy; and healing. 

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   IV.

    Our God is powerful. It’s staggering to me that the God that controls everything, the universes, all matter, all creatures, it’s all His…He can reach out to us through His Word and through prayer. He wants intimacy with His kids. That’s us. Crave a closeness with Him. All parents want a closeness, a trust with their own children. It’s like any Godly parent who is teaching their child, they do not lie to them, and they would be very frustrated if their child does not believe them. Same with the Lord. We can believe Him. He can’t lie. What He speaks is truth. Trust goes both ways, on both sides: the parent and the child - the child trusts the parent and the parent has to know they can trust their child. That takes time at first. Another example to think about: a parent will not trust their two year old to drive a car. This shows there are stages of development. Don’t neglect the stage you are in. There are important lessons in each one. 

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In Strong’s Concordance "prayer" is #4335 - PROSEUCHOMAI - “properly, to exchange, to wish, pray, literally to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith.”

With the proper definition in mind you can see that prayer is most likely different than what you had previously thought. In prayer we are interacting with the Lord. We exchange our ideas and thinking for the Lord’s thoughts and thinking. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). What He says on the matter through His Word is His direction for us. We have to humble ourselves and let go of our pride and worldly way of thinking and think the way He thinks. He created everything, He knows how things truly work. And He gives us the faith to do it! He does this while He is showing us how to handle a particular situation and with what actions to take. Even if He gives you a vision, it will go with scripture. It always goes with scripture when He gives you things. He never leads or speaks apart from scripture. As you’re reading a particular scripture, a certain verse seems to “jump off the page.” This is the Holy Spirit highlighting something to you. It’s a scripture you get curious about or excited about. Write it down in your notebook. You may not get the answer right away but the Lord will show it in His time. All of this is the Holy Spirit helping you! He is the Teacher and this is one of the ways He teaches.

Stay supple to Him, with Him, to His leading and promptings. And keep a prayer journal. Date each day, and put down the scripture the Lord gives you and what was revealed to you, and anything else for that time in prayer. It’s good to have it to look back on.

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    V.

    Devote yourselves to prayer… NIV Colossians 4:2; Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…KJV Ephesians 6:20; …always wrestling in prayer. For you, that you may stand firm in all the will (Word) of God, mature and fully assured. Col.4:12.  “Devote; praying always; always wrestling (with our flesh); standing firm in His Word”: this seems like an impossible task but it’s simple. It’s staying in an open conversation with the Lord all throughout your day, allowing Him to lead you in everything: driving to work - maybe He leads you to go a different way, could be because of traffic, or seeing someone you know and are to talk with, or avoid an accident, or simply enjoying the drive going in a different way; or going to the store - He may lead you to pick something up you didn’t know you needed, but you obeyed the unction and when you get home you find out it was something you needed; going to a coffee stand you don’t usually go to but again you see someone that the Lord is leading you to speak with. These are the types of things that will happen as you keep your “Spiritual antenna” up and be led by the Lord throughout your day. “Prayer” is simply conversation with the Lord all day and doing whatever He tells you to do. 

One last bit before we get into the different types of prayer: allow God to help change the way you do things. You do this by taking His revealed thoughts to you from His Word and make them your thoughts, and then follow them up with subsequent action. Don’t base anything on “how you feel.” You can’t trust feelings. But you can trust the Word. When a thought comes up that is contrary to His Word and what He has shown you, cast down that thought in Jesus Name and replace it with the scripture that speaks on that subject matter. As you are speaking with Him, you know He hears you because you are His sheep and you hear His voice (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; John 10:27; 1 John 5:14-15; John 9:31; 1 Peter 3:12). 

Yes, prayer is done by faith, like all things, to please God. We know what His Word says and we act on it, no matter what we “feel” like or what we “think.” As our Lord Jesus Christ said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “If it be Your will take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.” As we submit our will, our “thinking and feelings” to God and His Word God imparts faith to us to accomplish what is needed. It is an “interaction.” He will let you know what He wants and then you are to follow it out. But it is up to you to allow Him to mold and shape you in your prayer time with Him. He gives you the faith, boldness, and strength to carry it out, just like He did with Jesus. God truly does love you and wants to help. Let the Helper help you. 

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Part Two: Types of Prayer

Basic prayer is conversation with God but there are particular types of prayer. 

It’s kinda like life. For specifics in prayer, like life, there are certain rules for things. Like opening a bank account - there is a way it has to be done, you have to bring in your ID, sign papers, deposit money. It is different than buying groceries - there is a particular way that is done. Or obtaining a drivers license. All have different protocols. Prayer is the same way. And like all things with God, no matter what it is, it all takes faith…which God has imparted to you! And faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Yes, you already have faith but you have to build it up by spending time in the Word and then acting on it. This is how to activate it. We believe the Word and act on it. It’s that simple. 

These types of prayers help you on your journey with God and continue building and growing your relationship with Him. And there’s such a joy from the Lord as you are standing on His Word knowing it will come to pass just as He has said. And as you see your prayers answered it is exciting. For you are His sheep and you hear His voice! John 10:27. And whatever you ask in Jesus Name it is given to you (John 16:23). 

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All types of prayer require faith. This means we believe His Word because God spoke it and He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). That’s what faith is and God put it in us. “Faith” means: believe. We all believe something. Including atheists. They believe there is no God (Romans 1:18-32). We use faith  whether we know it or not. Everyone believes something. So faith, believing what God said, pleases God and when we approach His throne room in prayer, which is what we do when we close our eyes focused on Him, we do it with praise and thanksgiving from faith knowing we have our requests asked in Jesus Name (James 5:15-16; Hebrews 4:16; John 14:13-14, 15:23-24).

All prayer is with the Holy Spirit’s leading - Romans 8:26. He will help you pray even when you don’t know what to pray. When you are praying using scripture the prayer doesn’t need to be long. It needs to be in faith on His Word. We don’t do the work. He does. We simply do the “believing”. God has already given the answer in His Word, and you are putting your agreement with Him. Now that’s a winning team!

I view God as both my father and my best friend. He knows what is best for me. I would not have the same exact conversation with my father or best friend every day. I would instead have a variety of conversations - different lengths, different reasons for conversation, and more. Just keep in mind- God always knows best so His timing is best. Therefore the answer to your prayer is in His timing.

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Here are the types of prayer. They are not in any special order. Use as seems appropriate. All prayer starts with a scripture - pray it back to God for the given circumstance then follow the type of prayer below. 

1. Agreement - Matthew 18:19-20. An agreement prayer is when two or more people pray together in agreement over a situation. When the Bible says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” It is no joke. Mountains move when people come together in prayer. It is a prayer of faith, using the Word that you are agreeing on over a situation. It can also be done as a group petition prayer - corporate prayer. This is when people come together, agree on what they are asking God for from His Word, and then pray about the subject in agreement with the Word you are basing it on. Agreement prayers are powerful. You simply have to agree. That’s it. That is a powerful thing. When the brethren come together to pray for each other like James 5:14-16 and Acts 13:1-3, and Acts 2 were all powerful times of agreement prayers of the brethren. It’s interesting to think that our Lord Jesus was able to send His Holy Spirit down to earth after His resurrection, in Acts 2, because of their unity (agreement) in faith on the Words that Jesus spoke -“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”” Acts 1:4-5. They were in unity, agreement in the upper room which I believe was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come upon all who were there. This was corporate. A group. Never happened before. Plus as people are in a group they can keep each other in check. Previously the Holy Spirit was on individuals in the Old Testament. This is what fellowship is for. Sometimes we need one another when things get tough or start to get weird. God is not weird, neither is His Holy Spirit. He is not the Holy Spirit of weirdness. He’s the Holy Spirit of POWER! Of Love. And of a Sound Mind. Even Jesus asked for His brethren Peter, James and John to pray with Him in Gethsemane. Jesus needed the prayer support. It is not a light matter. Know that when you are praying by yourself you can put your agreement with Jesus - He is ever making intercession for the saints and He is always leading us in triumph (Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 2:14). This is also agreement! You and Jesus, a winning team!

 2. Faith - James 5:16 “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man        avails much.” “Fervent” means: mighty, effectual at work. We know our        prayers are effectual and fervent. Don’t get stuck in wrote prayers. Be          real with God. He will always lead you, and your prayer will “avail much.”      And Mark 11:22-26 “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in      God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be            removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but        believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he    says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray,          believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you    stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your    Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not    forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”  The      prayer of faith is using the Word and believing what it says over your            situation and be sure you don’t have any unforgiveness. That easy.              Technically, you don’t really have to pray, rather “say” to the situation.          Speak to the situation what God has already said about it in His Word.        And as often you think of the situation, speak the scripture you are using      regarding it. That’s what is referred to as the “scripture you are standing      on.” Since God has already said it in His Word so you don’t have to ask.      for it. It is already given. Now simply speak to the situation in your life and    be sure to watch your words after you’ve prayed, that you don’t contradict    your prayer. That is being “double-minded” as James 1:5-8. If you notice      you said or did something that was contradictory to what you prayed, ask    for forgiveness and cancel those words out in Jesus Name, and restate        the scripture your standing on over the situation. Keep speaking over the    situation until the situation changes. And be sure you don’t have any u        unforgiveness. God cannot answer your prayer as long as there is                unforgiveness. Unforgiveness acts like a wall blocking the answer from        manifesting. Remember Hebrews 11:1, 6 says - “Now faith is the                  confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not    see...And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone        who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those    who earnestly seek Him.”

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3. Praise and Worship - Praise and Worship is some of the most powerful prayer when you dip into your Spirit by the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to lead you. John 4:23-24 “God is a Spirit, and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” This means when you come to God do so in honesty of heart, praising Him with His Word that has “stood” out to you; and/or has come to pass for you. As He gives you thoughts that come up deep within you, speak them out as praise. There is usually a scripture He brings up and a memory of something…speak it out in Praise to the Father for bringing it to pass. At times Psalm 100 - “I will enter into His courts with thanksgiving, and I will enter into His courts with praise.” You can begin your prayer this way. With Praise and Worshiping the Father. There is no one like Him! And Hebrews 13:15 - “Through Him (Jesus) then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.” Do a study on the Names of God. Worship Him with His amazing Names. Then see how the Holy Spirit directs you in this. Follow Him. Gifts of the Spirit will always flow when you pray this way. Don’t get “stuck” in emotionalism. That will ALWAYS get you off track. Keep the Word on the forefront of your mind and if things are getting off and weird, go back to that particular scripture and speak it out loud. Repeat it. Other scriptures may come up from within you, speak them out. This is the flow of the Holy Spirit and follow it, Him, as He leads you. Follow the Holy Spirit when you can sense His flow; then when it seems to get “dry” go back to scripture. As you speak those scriptures out the Holy Spirit will take hold together with you on those scriptures and then you’ll sense His flow again. He works like this, back and forth. Spirit and the Word, just like Scripture says. 

4.  Corporate Prayer - is known as praying together, like the prayer of agreement, or praise and worship. Can be done with 2 people or many more like an entire church. The flow of the Holy Spirit is different depending on the number of people. This is all over the Book of Acts where brethren got together for prayer. Read these to see what happens in corporate prayer: Acts 1:14; chapter 2; 4:23-31; 11:27-29; 12:5, 12-17; 13:1-4; 16:25-26, 21:4-14. It is group prayer in tongues like Acts 2 describes. Just in case someone was taught “this has passed away” - that phrase is not scriptural. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Besides all the above scripture and 1 Corinthians 14:18 (Paul was telling them how to hold a church service in chapters 12-14 and flowing with all the giftings of the Holy Spirit and not only emphasizing praying in tongues.) As with ALL prayer, you begin with a scripture. *For example: Whoever is leading the prayer read out loud Jude 20, Isaiah 28:11-12, with Romans 8:26-27 and Ephesians 1:17-23 - “Heavenly Father, we come to You today in the mighty Name of Jesus. We thank You for Your Word for Your Word is truth. As we are gathered together in unity to pray whatever you want us to pray in tongues corporately, we know as You have said in Jude 20 that this will build up our faith for what we are believing for in our personal lives by praying in tongues; and as Isaiah 28:11-12 that You have given us tongues for which You are to speak to this people and it’s a rest! We don’t struggle. We rely on You Holy Spirit. Have Your way. We simply open our mouths and release the Holy Spirit language that is within us in Jesus Name. We know as Romans 8 says that the Holy Spirit will only speak what the Father wants spoken, He quickens us as we pray, He bears witness that we are children of God, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness when we don’t know what to pray so we roll over our tongues to the Holy Spirit as He leads our mouths. Thank You Holy Spirit for making intercession for us according to the will of God. And we also are expecting Ephesians 1:17-23 for our eyes to be enlightened to what You want us to know. Giving us insight, wisdom and revelation knowledge in the knowledge of You!! We give You all the praise for it, in Jesus Name.”

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    - The prayer leader and the corporate body begins in tongues and if the Holy Spirit is reminding you of other scriptures, pray them out loud,  then      when you go as far as you can in English, you start praying in tongues. Be cognizant of one another. Don’t ignore each other or “steam roller” over        (“run over”) each other as you are praying together. Being “loud” is not        better and can interfere with the move of the Holy Spirit. You can be just as effective if your more subdued. But there are times when the Holy Spirit      may want you to do something in particular, like shout out a word like “NO!” And then words in English will start to flow out. Speak them as they come    up. He usually gives a word at a time. A word. Then another word.            Eventually a sentence will come out. Defer to one another. Meaning when    you can tell the Holy Spirit is really moving on someone, pray quietly next    to them. Hook up your Spirit with their Spirit intentionally. By choice. We      each have a river of living water flowing inside each of us by the Holy Spirit. When you intentionally “hook up” with them, you are bringing your two        rivers together into one. There is more power. More anointing. Follow the    flow. You’ll notice the prayer becomes like a conversation. Agreement may come out of your mouth. Like you will respond to something he or she          says, like “yes!” Or “that’s right.” You may even find yourself repeating          words that they are speaking. Even in tongues. 

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In general whether you are praying alone or corporately, slow down your enunciation. Words that come our of your mouth may be the same as the person you are listening to; or words that sound “odd” - write them down; words may come out in your birth language (if it’s other than English) or in another language you know. Write them down. You may be a person whom the Lord works through with visions. He may give you a vision as you are praying. Write it down. You may get scriptures with it. Whatever you get, even if it seems silly, write it down. One time when I was in corporate prayer, many years ago, with my church the words: “kitty, kitty, kitty” kept coming out. Then other people were getting it on occasion. (That’s corporate prayer.) None of us knew what it was about. Didn’t matter. We had all written it down. Then one day I was watching a documentary of something ( I won’t get into it all) but that word was used by the government to describe Iran. This made sense to me because the Lord aways brings up nations when I pray. It didn’t make a lot of sense to others because the Holy Spirit works differently with them. And there was another layer to it: “kiddie, kiddie, kiddie”. We all know what that means now. However the Holy Spirit works through you, you will find out as you pray in tongues. Some folks get things about people groups; others about states; others about individuals. How ever the Holy Spirit leads, follow. If you get a heavy unction with sobbing, follow it out, BUT don’t stay there! Keep going until you hit JOY! In His presence is fullness of Joy! Never stay in the heaviness and sadness. Yes, at times it’s appropriate because the Holy Spirit is grieved about a certain matter but He doesn't stay there and neither should you. 

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It’s common in corporate settings for prophecy to come up. It may be spoken over the gathering of people praying, over your state, or nation. If someone is praying prophecy over you, keep in mind the source of where this is coming from. Is this person in tune with the Holy Spirit? Are they in God’s Word often? Is it a bold prayer, or does it line up with more of a “doctrine of men” type of preaching? If it doesn’t make sense to you - through it out. If :it’s important to you the Lord will bring it up again. This is where 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 is super important: “Do not quench the Spirit, Do not treat prophecies with contempt BUT test them all; hold on to what is good reject every king of evil.”

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Overall don’t lean to your own thinking. You have to dip into your inner man, into the Holy Spirit and follow His lead. He may have you do something that is not in your comfort zone, like hook up with another believer for a time in prayer. So important to keep Proverbs 3:5-6 in mind, “I trust in the Lord with all my heart and I lean not to my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths.”

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Then when it seems like the unction has lifted on the corporate prayer and it gets quiet. Stay quiet. Sometimes the Lord likes this - “Be still and know that I am God.” When the time is right and you can tell that the prayer time is ended, everyone compare your notes with each other. We all see in part and know in part, so when we compare notes we get a bigger piece to the picture. If you have never prayed this way I encourage you to! There is nothing like it!!

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5.  Petition -

     A.) Petition prayer is when you ask God for something. Like the prayer of faith, you get a scripture that the Holy Spirit seems to be highlighting to you regarding your situation, and pray it back to God in faith, and believe you receive. Then praise Him for the answered prayer until it manifests.

     B.) There is another type of petition prayer. It is when you are not sure what the Word says about your situation OR you do know but you are struggling to get your will in alignment with God the Father’s - like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asking for the Father to take this cup from Him…”nevertheless not My will but Yours be done.” We need to humble ourselves to the answer God gives us even when we don’t like it and be obedient to do what He says to do.

     C). There is another type of petition, it is Habakkuk 2:1-3 (NKJV and NIV) - “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, ’Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables (or upon a notepad), that he may run that reads it (a herald may run with it). For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry (linger), wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’” If the Lord has given you a dream or vision of something, take that dream back to Him and pray over it, questioning what needs to be done with the information He has given you. There may be one of three ways He will have you pray: 1. to stop the dream or vision from coming to pass; or 2. He will have you pray to decrease the intensity of what you saw in the dream or the vision; or 3. He will have you pray in order to prepare people for what is coming. With this last one He may give you additional information about it. With dreams and visions, most of the time the person will have the interpretation right away but sometimes they don’t and need to ask the Lord for interpretation. He knows what it means and will tell you in the right time, it His timing anyway. Sometimes it’s not right away. Sometimes it may be a while. Other times if you are in corporate prayer the Holy Spirit may remind you of it - mention it at the appropriate time because we all have slightly different anointings and someone may have the interpretation of it. Or several people may have different parts the Lord will give them to interpret. 

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6.  Deliverance - This may be done for yourself or someone else. Simply understanding your Authority in Christ Jesus and knowing what He did at the cross takes care of any mess the devil tries to throw at you (Luke 10:17-19; Genesis 1:26-28; Colossians 2:13-15; Ephesians 1:20-23; 1 Corinthians 2:5-8). Yes, there are specifics: 1. What “doorway” did you open to allow the demon access; Is it a family curse (shows up as cycles that keep repeating in your life); Is there unrepented sin; Is there unforgiveness; is it a curse that came from an item you bought or received from someone (yes, Romans 8:2 but if there is unrepented sin the curse has access). Whatever the doorway is, close it, in Jesus Name, and get rid of the item if it’s attached to an item in your possession. It may be from a movie you saw, or music you listened to, or a book you read. Whatever the doorway, repent of opening it and close it in the Name of Jesus; then loose all demons that entered through it in Jesus Name; then cast them out/off of you in Jesus Name, AND very important: cut all cords to the sin (Isaiah 5:18; 5:21-23). (Yes, being born again you can have a demon in your flesh. It’s not saved. Your Spirit is. And the demon can dwell in your flesh. Depending on the situation it can be in your body, in your thinking, tied up in your emotions. Especially if it’s a driving force and you can’t control the situation  like addictions (demon of addiction, linked to unforgiveness and sometimes to a family curse) - that is telling you it’s demonic. The devil forces. And he has come to steal, kill, and destroy. You can always tell by what is showing up in your life. 1. Repent of the sin, whether it’s from you or generational family curse; 2. Cut all cords to the sin; 3. Loose and cast out and off all demons; 4. All done in Jesus Name, the Name ABOVE all names, and receive your deliverance in Jesus Name.  *Don’t get caught up in this. People have become heavily involved in this, even as a ministry and yet, it’s not an official ministry from the Word (Ephesians 4:11-12 ”—apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints (maturing) for the the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ.” And 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 doesn't say anything about deliverance as a ministry. Yes, deliverance is a part of the basic ministries of Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, but it is not a stand alone ministry. I am saying this because many of the brethren have gotten hurt. Some, severely. There can be many reasons why. You have to know that you know your Authority that was given to you by Jesus Christ and you are coming from a place of victory because the devil is under your feet (1 John 4:4; Ephesians 1:20-23). REMEMBER: don’t make the devil out to be bigger than God. Never will be. Never was. Ain’t going to happen. He is under God’s feet. God has already defeated Him so don’t put up with any of his mess. Many believers are too focused on his shenanigans rather than on God. If that’s you, change your focus. Put your focus on Jesus - like Peter on the water- Peter got his eyes off Jesus and on his circumstances and that’s why he began to sink…he wasn’t really walking on the water per se…Peter was walking on the Word - Jesus said, “Come” - That’s what Peter walked on. The Word and eyes on Jesus! 

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7.  Intercession - Intercessory prayer means praying on behalf of someone (1 Kings 13:6; Isaiah 59:15-16). This type of prayer is powerful because you are praying in behalf of someone and petitioning God for them. It may start in English praying a specific scripture for their circumstance, then you may roll it over into tongues to see where the Holy Spirit leads. Follow the Holy Spirit. You may simply get “peace” about the situation; or He may have you pray a scripture over them and receive it for them. Sometimes He may have you pray in tongues over the person for a while. Maybe even several months. Whatever it is, do it. Tremendous power is made available through the Holy Spirit to change things that may not happen any other way.

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8.  News prayers - This one may sound odd but there is a point. It’s a type of intercessory prayer. Again, if the Holy Spirit leads you to do this. You can look at your news feed or something that you saw during the day - something that “strikes you” or maybe it just bugs you, take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him about situation. You are interceding on behalf of the situation and people involved. You may be praying for an industry - like the medical industry; or space industry; or other businesses; or maybe for the dealings of countries with a war; or individuals in a circumstance that was reported like a building that blew up or a tornado. Whatever it is see the Holy Spirit leads you. He will bring up things regarding the situation to you. He may have you stand on certain scriptures to pray in behalf of the situation and people. Sometimes it can be intense. Nevertheless, always go until you hit victory. Joy. Even if it’s “on purpose” because you are praying from faith that He has the situation in hand. 

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9.  Tongues - (See “Corporate Prayer" also.) In your private prayer time when you are by yourself it is a good idea to pray in tongues. At the very least because of what Jude 20 says, “But you, beloved, build up yourself in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes you simply need a Spiritual vitamin shot! It builds you up. If you're feeling worn down, it’s a good thing to do. As with all prayer, begin with scripture. I like Jude 20 and Isaiah 28:11-12. Speak them back to the Father in Jesus Name expecting to be built up in faith and having rest (meaning “don’t struggle”. You can’t do anything anyway - just open your mouth in tongues). Pray in tongues for as long as you are led to or have time to. Then when you end the prayer, thank the Lord for the answered prayer. You don’t have to know what you prayed. After all Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:14 that when you pray in tongues your mind is unfruitful. Since we know our minds are unfruitful we can then keep our minds focused on scripture while tongues is coming out. Then listen to the sounds of the words coming out of your mouth. Slow down the words. Write down any that capture your attention. Especially a word or words that repeat. I find that if I do an internet search of those words that they mean something very specific. You’ll figure out the spelling, follow the unction of the Holy Spirit. What “seems” right.  You will eventually learn “how” the Lord has you pray. For me, I pray for nations, sometimes political things that are going on; someone I know prays for the lost; another prays for Israel. Whatever it is, that is what you are called to do. Just follow the Holy Spirit. Sometimes words in English will come out, sometimes prophetic - depending on how someone grew up or what you have been exposed to, this type of prayer is sometimes misinterpreted, misused, or misunderstood. Whatever comes out, write down what you get. If you don’t remember that’s fine. Simply trust the Lord. He will do what needs to be done. There are some people that I know that when they pray in tongues they get “down loads” of teachings the Lord is giving to them, to the Body of Christ. There is no private interpretation of scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21). There are all sorts of things the Lord can do through tongues. All we have to do is let Him. And they are all important because the devil doesn’t know what you are saying and you are putting God’s Word into the atmosphere to bring to pass whatever He needs. 

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A note on prophetic prayer: this simply tuning into the Holy Spirit at a particular moment in time and then giving it a voice and action but it is only when you are truly tuning in to the Holy Spirit and what God wants said or done and speaking it out loud. Notice in 1 Corinthians 12 it is a “word” of wisdom and a “word” of knowledge. It often starts that you get a single English word.  Speak it. It will probably repeat. If it does, ask the Lord out loud what the word means. He will begin to show you with either a “knowing” in your Spirit, or remind of you of a scripture, or show you a vision, or prophecy will start flowing out of your mouth. Of course, this can be misused. You have to be “knuckling down” in your Spirit to get out what He wants said and not what you want. You won’t remember most of it. Guaranteed. Whatever you do remember, write it down. If the Lord wants you to remember, He will bring it to your remembrance (John 14:26). 

Since we are human and we are prone to sin, many times people try to pray prophetic prayers over what they want, or what they believe a person wants, instead of what God is telling them to say or do. You can tell by the “feel” of it (I hate using that word: “feel” but you get my point.) Something is “off.” Stop. Go back to the scripture you are standing on for this time of prayer, repent, and ask the Holy Spirit to instruct you. Be teachable. Find the way God wants to handle it rather than your own ideas. It’s about submitting your thoughts to His.

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There is one more element to praying in tongues: if you are obedient to moving as the Lord leads you. There can be a time, it’s a little hard to describe it properly but you will understand my meaning, where you are “unsettled”. It can be as if your “on edge”. Something is “not right”. You may even sense a “heat” coming from within your very depths. You have been following His leading. Reading the Word and praying. And yet there is this “unsettled-ness” or “uneasy” within you. This means the Holy Spirit is putting a “burden of prayer” upon you. Get alone and pray in tongues!!! Remember Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Trust the Holy Spirit’s leading and just let the tongues flow! Sometimes it may be for 10 minutes, sometimes it may be for a few hours. Keep at it until the burden lifts. You’ll be left with peace or laughter in the the Holy Spirit (anytime praying in tongues, pray until you hit “peace” or laughter, sometimes the Holy Spirit will really put a laughing bit on ya! Go with Him! It removes “junk” that may have been sitting on you). Times like this are crucial. There is something urgent the Lord wants prayed over. The Holy Spirit will reveal some aspect of what you are praying over. You may not know the whole thing because He doesn’t reveal it entirely. But you will get the idea of what you are praying over. Simply follow His lead. When I have experienced this, and it’s only been a few times that it’s happened in my life, each time I was praying for a person who was in danger. One time, I knew the person, and praise God nothing ever happened to them because the apparent prayer enabled the event to be stopped. Thank You Jesus for making tremendous power available! On another occasion, the event happened. I didn’t understand at the time and was deeply concerned about it. In time the Lord showed me that there are three reasons why He has us pray. When the Lord gives you things, whether it’s in prayer, dream, or vision, there are one of three ways to pray about it: 1. To stop the event; 2. Decrease how serious the event will be; 3. Can’t stop the event nor can it be decreased but you can prepare the person(s) heart(s) for it. Whatever it is pray over it. The Lord has it worked out with how He wants it handled and He is leading you to do it. How amazing is it that the Lord is including us in these types of things! Yes, it is a type of intercession and it’s the Lord doing it in another way. 

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10.  Confession - A confession prayer is taking something from the Word of God and putting yourself in that scripture changing pronouns and word to make it personal and speaking it out over your life. For example: 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself in Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing (not counting people’s sins against them) their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word (the message) of reconciliation.” 

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Now, take that word and put yourself in it by changing a few of the words to make it personal. Then speak it out to the Lord over yourself and your life:

“Therefore, since I am in Christ, I am a new creature: old things have gone away and all things have become new, and all things are of God in me, Who has reconciled me to His very self, hallelujah! And all these things are of God - He has reconciled me to Himself by Christ Jesus and has given me the ministry of reconciliation not counting my sins against me and has committed unto me the Word of reconciliation. Thank You Jesus for Your astounding love for me!”

11.  Guidance - A guidance prayer is type of prayer that asks God for both wisdom and direction. This is based on James 1:5 and Ephesians 1:17-18. 

If we seek God for both of them, not separate from each other, we can use His Word and His direction to make sure we are walking the righteous path to do His will. This is a prayer of faith. Simply speak the scripture in James and/or Ephesians and thank the Lord for giving it to you. Then wait quietly. He may tell you right then, or He may take a while. Stay in expectancy. He will show you. 

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12.  The Lord’s Prayer - For me this was hard to fully understand because in my youth I was raised Catholic. So it didn't "mean anything" - it was something you said to appease the priests or nuns. But I have since studied it and it is helpful in learning the proper things to pray for when you are new to prayer or don't know what to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is an example of prayer that was prayed by Jesus in Matthew 6:9. I like it in The Scripture translation of the Bible (it's a word for word translation. It is below). 

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In this prayer, Jesus gives specific step-by-step guidance on how we can talk to God. This doesn’t mean this is the only way we pray, but if you are wondering what type of prayer is best for you, this is a great place to start. Sometimes when you don’t know what to pray, go to this prayer. It starts with worship: “Hallowed by Your Name.” Because holy is the Name of the Father (*See study on the Names of the Father). His Kingdom HAS come on earth and remind the enemy of this, pray that His will be done (for the situation) on earth as His will is of course done in heaven. Ask that He give you direction in His Word (Jesus is the Bread of Life, Jesus is the Word) as well as food for the day; and ask for the Lord to forgive you of your sins and you forgive those who have done wrong against you; and ask that He not lead into trial, meaning not test you but deliver you from the evil one. For His is the Kingdom, the Power, and Glory, Forever!!.

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Matthew 6:9-13 "This, then, is the way you should pray: 'Our Father who is in the heavens, let Your Name be set-apart, 10. let Your reign come, let Your desire be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11. Give us today our daily bread. 12. And  forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13. And do not lead us into trial, but deliver us from the wicked one - because Yours is the reign and the power and the esteem, forever. Amen.'

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13.  Praying the Bible - (*See “Foundation of Prayer” article.) Where there is God’s word, there is an ability to turn it into a prayer. I like using as a foundation all the prayers in the Epistles. These cover everything. But you can use any scripture, Old Testament or New. 

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14. Dedication - A dedication prayer is to dedicate a specific thing to God. Most often when we pray a dedication prayer, we are praying our dedication to God. A dedication prayer is a type of prayer that enables me to get back into focus and truly give it all to God. As John 3:30 says, “He must increase but I must decrease.” There have been times I haven’t kept on track and realize I haven’t spent my usual time with the Lord in prayer, or didn’t do what I said I would do (dedication) of praying if He wakes me up in the middle of the night. I got lazy and wanted to sleep. I had to repent. Then I asked Him what He wanted me to do. Rather than what I thought. Always ask the Lord if He wants you to make that dedication. It may be something that you think is important but God doesn’t.

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15.  Blessing - A blessing prayer is to ask for God’s favor, or blessing, over a specific part of your life or someone else’s life. A popular blessing prayer from the Bible is from Numbers 6:24-26:

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“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

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When we ask God to bless a specific part of our lives or upon someone else, may we remember that we do it to further enhance His kingdom, not our kingdom on Earth. Take a look at Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12 and Proverbs 11:25. And another part is when you are visiting someone you can pronounce a blessing upon there home Matthew 10:12-13.

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There's also another blessing prayer in the Book of Jubilees. It was prayed by Abraham's father over him, Jubilees 12:29 - "Deliver him (me) from the hands of evil spirits who have sway over men's hearts. And let them not lead him (me) astray from You (Father God) And I pray that he (I) does not walk in the deceitfulness of his (my) heart, (in Jesus' Name)." 

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16.  Breath prayers and Emphasis prayers - A breath prayer is a type of prayer that breaks down a Bible verse into breaths. It can help us when we are frazzled or stressed to bring it back to God and rely on God’s inner peace rather than our own. For example, Psalm 23: [Breathe in.] The Lord is my shepherd; [Breathe out] I shall not want. etc.

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Doing this with a short Bible verse can help us re-orient ourselves to the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and Savior when our emotions and/or our thoughts try to beat us (2 Peter 3:18.).

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    Emphasis prayers - similar to the breath prayers, these re-orient ourselves and connect us directly to the Holy Spirit. Like the breath prayers, this is good to do with short verses because you will speak out the entire verse each time. Take the first word of the scripture and emphasize it on the first speaking of it. Then take the second word and repeat…etc. For example, (part) 1 John 1:5: (word in Bold is emphasized) GOD is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  God IS light and in Him is no darkness at all. God is LIGHT and in Him is no darkness at all. God is light AND in Him is no darkness at all. God is light and IN Him is no darkness at all. God is light and in HIM is no darkness at all. God is light and in Him IS no darkness at all. God is light and in Him is NO darkness at all. God is light and in Him is no DARKNESS at all. God is light and in Him is no darkness AT all. God is light and in Him is no darkness at ALL. 

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This can be done with any verse of scripture and restores you with the fire of God and His revelation about that verse.