Prayer – What Is It, and How? The Many Types of Prayer, Including Covenant Prayer

Video thumbnail: 34 – Prayer: What? How? What About Covenant Prayer?

What is prayer, really? This teaching shows from the Bible what prayer is – and is not – and walks through the many types of prayer, including covenant prayer.

(Acts 17:11: Please learn to do your own Bible studies like this one – here.)

What Is the Essence of Prayer?

Prayer is non-religious conversation, communion, fellowship, hang-out directly with the Creator of all things – Who wholeheartedly wants to be and has made sure that I AM already best friends with Him – in His perspective.

We need to agree with it – and act it out by faith. His highest name is: Friend of Friends! We ARE the beloved of Jesus. For loving, real, quality friendship is the very reason for our creation!

So, prayer IS believing that and then acting on that friendship, actually hanging out as friends. It is quality time of intimate exchange of life – dialogue and amazing experiences in the Spirit.

What Are the Foundations of Healthy Prayer?

Healthy prayer consists of unity with God, covenant, and the leading of the Spirit, as well as humble brokenness – and repentance is the way up. The harder it is to believe – and you still praise Him and believe – the more the Father loves to respond.

No middleman other than Jesus. No priest nor pastor needed. Each one goes directly to God. The essence of prayer is to humble ourselves, repent, draw near to Daddy, and be led by the Holy Spirit.

Some Scriptures That Are Not About Prayer

Matthew 18:15-20 – vs. 18-20 here: God backing up the legal relational decisions of mature united church leaders when someone has missed the mark and is unwilling to repent, after having gone through the whole process of verses 15-17. No need for there to be other people present – to be heard by God. Matthew 18:15-20 is about correctly correcting someone who has missed the mark of the love of God – not about prayer. Please see Confronting Sin in a Healthy Way.
Mark 3:27 – legally shall have forbidden and prohibited the strong man.
2 Corinthians 10:1-6 – this is about us taking responsibility for ourselves, our thoughts, our focus, our decisions, our repentance, our humility. It is not about prayer and spiritual warfare.

Debunking Prayer Myths: What Is Prayer Not?

Matthew 6:5 – It is not for public display of your spirituality and holiness. God sees right through hypocrisy – and hates it. No performance is possible before Him. That doesn’t mean at all that we cannot pray etc. in public – we should. Jesus and His followers did! But it is: Why do we do it? For Him only – or TO BE SEEN by people?
Matthew 6:7 – It is not repeating words – confessing it “enough times”.
Matthew 6:7 – It is not many words – do you do that with your best friend?
It is not a magic formula – a spell – to force God to do something.
- It is a deeply relational friendship and also a legal authoritative command. While yet – there is audacious boldness and persistence.
No need to close your eyes at all. There is no Scripture anywhere in the Bible about closing your eyes when you pray! Rather do like Jesus – in John 17:1, John 11:41, Mark 7:34, and Luke 9:16 – LOOK UP toward Heaven both on the inside and outside and draw in the Spirit from the riches of Heaven. Live with that outlook toward Heaven.
John 4:35 – It is not to cry out for revival – for God already wants revival more than you. The harvest is already white and ready. Prayer is not about intensity – but about humble broken obedience by faith.

The Many Types of Prayer

Personal, intimate, real friendship with the Friend of friends

(Already mentioned) – where I am already always loved and best friends with Him in His eyes – and I do nothing to deserve it

See Session 1 – Hanging Out With the Father – the Most Important Thing to Do in Life (also as an article). It is doing this by faith:

When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6

Commands

Commanding things to change. Commanding things to be done to trees (Mark 11:14) / sicknesses (Luke 4:39) / storms (Mark 4:39) / mountains (Mark 11:23) / dead people (Mark 5:40-43) as if they were living people.

This takes some getting used to – to talk like this to things and demons (not to Abba) – but is a Jesus-skill we must learn and make normal.

Commands over demons

Number 1!!! Repenting from lies to real loving liberating truth from Daddyo. And we act on the truth – no longer act on the lie.
Breaking legal rights through renouncing both personally and generationally the sins committed.
Using authority in temptation situations – (Matthew 4:8-11, Luke 4:13, Matthew 12:43-45)
Deliverance (Matthew 8:16, Luke 10:19, Matthew 12:29, Luke 8:29)
Exposing legal rights and doing interrogation-style renouncing of generational curses. As well as removing or integrating different personalities that have come in through trauma and soul parts.

Clearing away bitterness and unforgiveness – also any disappointment with God – is a foundational key to answered prayer

Matthew 18:35, Luke 23:34, Matthew 6:12-15, 1 Peter 3:7-9, Mark 11:22-26, Hebrews 12:15-16, Hebrews 12:22-25.

Identity confession prayers coming into agreement with the truths of the Word in Christ

See My Identity in Christ – Who I Am Now That I Am Born Again.

Petitions and requests

Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 6:11.

Thanksgivings

1 Thessalonians 5:18, Ephesians 5:20.

Shouts of victory

Revelation 19:6-9, Psalm 47:1.

Quietness

Psalm 46:10, Revelation 8:1.

Prayer in the Spirit in tongues

1 Corinthians 14:15, Ephesians 5:18-20, Ephesians 6:18-20, Jude 1:20-21.

Groans as birth pangs

Romans 8:18-23.

Prophecy

2 Timothy 1:6, Acts 13:1-3.

Prophetic acts

Acts 21:10-13.

Spirit-led prayers

John 5:19-20, John 14:13-18.

Prayer with fasting

Acts 13:1-3.

Covenant Prayer

Covenant prayer is the biggest, craziest, most radical, and most influential type – it includes all of the above. It is unity among siblings – God just blesses it.

Teaching on covenant prayer

What are the ingredients of covenant prayer?

Please see this full, suggested, written agreement: Covenant Prayer Agreement.

To read positive life changing and selfish life breaking teaching – see All Bible Studies of Peter Skov of Action Christianity. Let God lead you to what to engage with first.

And here is my YouTube course on the very minimum foundations of normal discipleship.

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