Learn How To Pray To God

There is a lot of advice out there about how to pray, but there is not a right or a wrong way when it comes to how to communicate with God.

That said, when starting out, you may be in need of a guideline, a template of sorts, to help form your prayers until you become comfortable praying without it.

How To: Teach Children About Praying.

A Couple Ground Rules

In the Bible, Jesus mentions a couple things that should not be done when praying.

“Do not always pray openly for others to see and hear.” [Matthew 6:5-6]
“Do not pray using repetitive prayers. ” [Matthew 6:5-6]

After admonishing his disciples not to pray for show and not to use rote prayers, Jesus gave a beautiful example of a prayer, and said that this is how His followers should pray.

Before beginning His prayer, Jesus said, After this manner therefore pray ye:.

Learn How To Pray With The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that Jesus wants us to use as an example of a good prayer.

Lets go over each line and examine the structure and meaning of this prayer.

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. ” [Matthew 6:9]

Before launching into to what you need or the purpose of your prayer, start with praise to the Lord. Begin your prayer with worship and by exalting the name of the Lord.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” [Matthew 6:10]

Remember that when you pray, you are not making demands of God. Christians should always want Gods will above their own. Include this in your prayer by asking that Gods will be done.

“Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” [Matthew 6:11-12]

After you have worshiped and exalted the Lord and asked that His will be done, it is time to ask for any needs that you might have.

This could be healing for yourself or others, the strength to deal with difficult people, help with financial needs, the need to be forgiven for sin or anything else.

“Whatever needs you have, the Bible says that you should make your requests known unto God” [Phillipians 4:6]

There is nothing wrong with asking God for help in meeting your needs; in fact you just saw that the Bible tells you to do just that.

What Christians must be careful of, however, is coming to God with a laundry list of requests without taking the time to offer praise and worship. That is why following the basic template of the Lords Prayer is helpful.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: ” [Matthew 6:13]

With temptation all around, it is a good idea to include a request for help in avoiding it. When you ask God for help in avoiding temptation you are acknowledging that the strength to live a dedicated and holy life does not come from you, but from Gods grace.

When you ask God to deliver you from evil, He can put a hedge about your life and help to protect you from the influences that could cause you to fall into sin.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” [Matthew 6:13]

Finally, you should end your prayers the same way that you began: with praise and worship to God.

Be mindful that you are not following The Lords Prayer word for word. Instead, use it as a guide to pray the prayers that are on your own heart. When you pray in the same manner that Jesus prayed, you words will find their way to the heart of the Lord.

When To Pray

The bible gives countless examples of when to pray.

This site gives a decent breakdown of the different scriptures quoting when people pray in the bible.

What should we take away from this?

I believe there is not “right” time to pray. But, it is a good idea to pray every day, and this becomes easier if you choose a time and stick to it every day.

I pray in the morning in order to prepare myself for the day, and to help keep me on the right path throughout the day.

Praying in the evening is better for reflecting on the day’s events. If you can do both, great!

And of course, it is common to pray before dinner.

How Do You Pray?

Join the conversation!

We want to know how you pray.

What does prayer mean to you?

What is your favorite type of prayer?

When do you like to pray?

How often do you pray?

There are no right or wrong answers. We are all her to learn how to pray from one another. Help teach others by sharing your story.

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