Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

words of prayer, the good resolutions which prayer brings forth, are transformed into angels which go up to G-d, and G-d sends down angels with blessings in return.” 2 The imagery of the ladder is important, because the first step begins at the base, or the bottom of the ladder, and each step of intercession then ascends upward toward God. If the ladder is a picture of our prayer life, then we must begin with the basics of understanding prayer as a communication between man and God. If you were raised in a Christian family, your parents taught you the basics of prayer at an early age. You prayed over meals, “God bless this food … ” You were instructed how to pray before you went to bed, “Now I lay me down to sleep … ” However, as you grew physically, you also grew spiritually, and spiritual maturity moved you up the ladder as you discovered the various types of prayers and how to speak to God using your words. As your knowledge became mixed with your spiritual experience, you should have eventually moved from a self-taught ritual to a self motivated routine of worshiping and praying. Each type of prayer is a rung on the ladder, moving us upward. T HE T YPES OF P RAYER Many believers say that all prayer is the same. This is like saying all miracles are the same. They are not. There are healing miracles, creative miracles (turning water to wine, for example; John 2:3–9), miracles dealing with nature (calming