The Kinds of Prayer

As there are different kinds of communication, so also are there different kinds of prayer, moving in differing directions. Here I offer ten interwoven kinds of prayer. In the actual practice of prayer, however, one mode easily extends into another. Truly, during a single prayer period, you can interweave all ten forms. We see this operative in the biblical book of Psalms, where the psalmist may move rapidly from thanksgiving to lament, from intercession to praise. Some types of prayer are soliloquies, without expecting or anticipating a response from God other than listening. The hope here is on the aftermath of the prayer, that the action prayed for from God will come about.

Other modes of prayer seek above all the presence of God. That means, they desire dialogue, direct connection with God, like Elijah seeking God on Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs 19:9-18). The intensity of desire here is for God, which no one other than God can satisfy. Such desire is one of God’s greatest gifts, which will ultimately lead to union with God.