If you are like me, you have been around prayer all your life but have never been taught how to pray. There is no simple how-to or structured process taught by any of the institutions where it is beneficial to hold such a training course. Prayer is our most potent weapon, after all. Amazingly, so few know how to use it.
Jesus gives us precise instructions on how to pray. They can be found in Matthew 6:5-13. Let’s review them.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The first thing to note is that unless you lead prayer in a corporate setting, such as a church service or Bible study, you should pray privately. Jesus calls out the hypocrites for only praying in front of others so that they can impress them, which is self-serving. Jesus said they had already received their reward, which would be their gratification and boasting in front of others. Don’t be that person; you want to be the person that prays behind closed doors in secret where you can have a private conversation with God.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
God already knows your needs, you don’t need to beat around the bush with your requests, but he also likes to hear you ask him to meet them. Don’t fill your prayers with many words because you think wordiness is required to speak to God. Don’t use words you think are necessary to talk to God. If you feel you must say ‘just the right things’ for God to listen to you, then you most likely have only been listening to people Jesus refers to as hypocrites in the previous verses. Don’t misunderstand, many people have the gift of prayer that can pray in public the same way they do in private, but they are few and far between. You can tell them apart by their use of everyday words and language. You should talk to God like your best friend; God won’t find it inappropriate.
Then Jesus models prayer for us. NOTE: This is not an incantation or other ritualistic prayer as some treat it; there is nothing special about the prayer except that it comes from Jesus himself:
Matthew 6:9-13
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
12 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Start your prayer by acknowledging God in Heaven. “Hallowed” is another term for “blessed,” “sacred,” or “holy.” You should recognize that He is set apart and worthy of praise and adoration as God of the universe.
Next, you should request all you have in your heart but realize that only the things that fall within God’s divine will will be granted. I recommend never to think you know God’s will – he has surprised me many times with his generosity! You can quickly search the Bible and find verses where he promises various things to those that know him and ask him to fulfill that promise in your requests. (Please understand the context of such promises – many false preachers take God’s promises out of context today to lead people astray).
Note about God’s will: God’s will is for everyone to be saved and spend eternity in Heaven. Remember this when you are making requests. Don’t hold back any requests, but know that requests that bring glory to God and the Kingdom of Heaven are honored and answered in the way you expect. The requests that do not are the ones that will likely be answered in a way you may not expect.
Next, ask Him to meet your daily needs, thank him for forgiving your sins, and remind yourself (and Him) of any wrongs done to you that you need to forgive; since He graciously forgave yours, it should be effortless for you to forgive others.
Next, ask him to be with you and help protect you from the temptations we all face daily.
Most importantly, believe that God has heard your prayer and that he will fulfill the promises in his Word! So many people pray and have a feeling of hope that God will answer instead of expecting him to.
I have another post coming to deal with why Christians suffer in this life, so check back soon or subscribe to updates for that post.
