“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.” Psalms 27:4 NKJV
Understanding the purpose of a thing is the only antidote against its abuse or misuse. A good understanding of the God-ordained primary purpose of prayer will undoubtedly revolutionize your prayer life. There are different kinds of prayer serving various purposes.
Apostle Paul highlighted four kinds of prayer in First Timothy 2:1: Supplications, Prayers, Intercessions, and Thanksgiving. Paul writes, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” (1 Tim. 2:1 NKJV). Let us consider them briefly.
First, Supplications (in Greek, DEESIS) is humbly and earnestly asking, entreating, beseeching, or petitioning God for a specific thing.
Second, Prayers (in Greek, PROSEUCHE) can be a general term for all types or forms of prayers, but it usually refers to a genuine conversation or communion with God.
Third, Intercessions (in Greek, ENTEUXIS) refer to prayer, supplication, or petition on behalf of someone else.
While Jesus Christ is our High Priest, the only great Intercessor or Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), the New Testament believers, as priests unto God, are expected to intercede, pray, or make supplication for others (1 Pet. 2:9, Rev. 1:5-6). It is a great privilege to plead on behalf of others or stand in the gap before God for others.
Fourth, Thanksgiving (in Greek, EUCHARISTIA) is simply an act of worship. It speaks of gratitude, thankfulness, or giving thanks to God. Just thanking and praising God is a powerful form of prayer.
Apostle Paul’s prayer list is certainly not an exhaustive list of various types of prayer mentioned in the Bible, but it is undoubtedly essential.
Prayer is not intended to be a tedious, rigid, mechanical, or monotonous religious ritual or exercise. Talking with God your Heavenly Father should be a joyous, exciting, and engaging experience you look forward to.
Prayer becomes dull, boring, and tiring when regarded as or reduced to a spiritual formula for receiving from God or a time of wrestling with God or fighting against Satan.
Prayer certainly includes asking, petitioning, or supplicating God for our needs. Prayer expresses our dependence or reliance on God to meet our needs. Prayer includes seeking God for His miraculous intervention in our lives and situations. The Lord Jesus taught us to ask our Heavenly Father to “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matt. 6:11 NKJV).
The Scripture also admonishes us to cast all our cares and burdens upon the Lord, who cares for us (Phil. 4:6-7, 1 Pet. 5:7, Psa. 55:22). However, suppose the only primary reason you pray is to petition or entreat God to supply your spiritual, emotional, material, or physical needs. In that case, you may never grow and mature in your walk with God.
While prayer cannot make you acceptable to God, for you are already perfectly acceptable to God in Christ, a daily, deep, and dynamic conversation, communion, or fellowship with God is crucial to your spiritual growth (Eph. 1:6).
Effective communication is very crucial to every relationship. You can only know a person intimately with personal, deep, and consistent communication, interaction, or fellowship with the person. David understood this truth clearly. That is why he said, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. (Psa. 27:4 NKJV).
As you spend more time in prayers, not as a religious routine to bombard or assail God with all kinds of requests or petitions but to fellowship with God and to behold the beauty and glory of God increasingly, you will be transformed increasingly into Christlikeness in your thoughts, mind, will, emotions, actions or character.
That is the ultimate purpose of prayer!
Prayer is intended to change the believers into Christlikeness in every aspect ultimately. God’s ultimate goal, desire, or expectation for all His children is “to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom. 8:29 NKJV).
The believers already conformed to Christ in their born-again spirits but not yet in their souls (mind, will, and emotions) and bodies. Prayer is one of God’s vital means of transforming us into Christlikeness in every aspect of our lives (2 Cor. 3:18).
Beloved, the ultimate purpose of prayer is not to change your situations but to increasingly change you into who God intended you to be (Christ-like) because God’s ultimate purpose or goal for you on earth is for you to “grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Eph. 4:15 NKJV).
In all your prayers, this should be your greatest desire, goal, or pursuit. Everything else you desire or pursue in your prayers should be secondary. While the Lord Jesus Christ was praying and fellowshipping with His Heavenly Father, He was transfigured (Lk. 9:28-31). That also should be your own experience in prayer!
Communion with God in prayer should ultimately change or transform you increasingly into Christlikeness. Anything less than this is missing out on the greatest blessing of prayer or neglecting the ultimate intended purpose of prayer.
Prayer:
Dear Holy Spirit, help me set and pursue transformation into Christlikeness above everything else in my daily prayer, in Jesus’ name. Amen.