Have you been wanting to pray but don't know what to say to God?
How to Pray
Prayer is communicating with God. It includes praising Him, thanking Him, confessing something you’ve done wrong, or expressing a need you have. In prayer, you are talking to God as you would to a friend. He is a friend for believers and followers of Christ. If you desire to learn how to pray, you are seeking to develop a relationship with God. It’s talking with a God who is unlike anyone else. Prayer is more about talking with God than talking to Him.
Why Should You Pray?
You want to tell God how much you love Him and why.
You need to say “I’m sorry” for specific actions and attitudes.
You want to thank God.
You want to bring a concern to God and invite Him to help.
How Do You Pray?
Know that there is no secret formula to pray. God simply delights in us coming to Him in a genuine way.
Address God directly in a way that acknowledges His glory. E.g., “Dear Lord,” or “My Heavenly Father.
How do I end a prayer?
A common way to end a prayer is by saying something like, “In the name of Jesus, amen.”
Recognize that God is more than an unnamed higher power or idea.
God is a person who chooses to be present in your life.
He is the only person with the authority and ability to answer your prayers.
God hears your prayers and that you trust Him to know how to answer them best. These are acknowledgments made through your conclusion of prayer.
What Should You Pray For?
Jesus’ closest friends asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. The result is the best-known prayer in human history — called the Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:9-13, New International Version)
Here are five lessons on prayer that we can learn from the example Jesus gives us in Matthew 6:9-13:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” Jesus starts by establishing our identity as children of God.
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Place God’s agenda first.
“Give us today our daily bread.” Ask God for our own needs. Because God is a loving Father, He enjoys hearing what His children want and need, so that He can provide for them.
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Forgiveness was at the heart of Jesus’ teaching during His time on earth, and it’s here at the heart of His guide to prayer.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil
Remember that the Christian life is a spiritual battle with a very real enemy. We are dependent on God. God has already won the battle for us.