Prayer advice given to us in our two Scripture texts.

There are several things the prayer verses in Philippians 4 and Ephesians 6 tells us we need to do when we pray:

1. We are told to pray about everything.
2. With  thanksgiving
3. With all kinds of prayers
4. We are to pray at all times, (anytime the need arises.)
5. In the spirit (I take this to mean spirit directed praying,)
6. With all perseverance (or until the answer comes.) A good rule to follow when praying is to pray until you pray (until you really get serious.) Pray till you're conscious of being heard. Pray till you receive an answer.
7. We're told to intercede (petition) on the behalf of others.

Now all seven of these prayer instructions are worthy of being studied by themselves, but I want to briefly call your attention to the "all kinds of prayer" that Paul is referring to in Ephesians 6:18,

Have you ever really thought about the many kinds of prayers that can be prayed? There are a number of different kinds of prayers that Scripture has made available to us. There are differing circumstances of life that require different kinds of prayers to be prayed and it is imperative that every believer become familiar with and skillful in every one of them. Let me name a few of them:

• Prayers of repentance.
• Prayers of thanksgiving
• Prayers of worship.
• Prayers of intercession
• Prayers of personal petition.

Most of us are familiar with the phrase, "Practice makes perfect." This is applicable in the arena of prayer too. To my knowledge, there is only one way to refine our prayer skills and that is through regular practice in the prayer closet.

Prayer closet means, "prayer habit." It's having a daily practice of getting alone with God. That is what the prayer closet is all about; practice. It's about disciplining ourselves to come before God when the Spirit's wooing calls us to prayer. It's having a heart that says, "I must get alone with God. I must talk to my Father today."