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Prayer

I am sure that most have a general understanding of prayer. It is the occurrence in which many people close their eyes, bow their heads, hold their hands together, and talk to God. Many mature Christians have overcome the difficulty of prayer and continue to pray to God daily, as they should. There are even those that have been given a gift from God that allows them to pray for hours on end. However, this is not the case for many new Christians who are still mastering some of the "complex basics" of God. Many new Christians struggle with prayer for the sole purpose that they do not know what to say.

I know some older Christians who have learned to pray so well that they can improvise in public tend to oversimplify prayer by saying, "If you want to learn to pray well, then just pray," which can be correct. Practicing praying does make someone better at praying. However, someone must know how to pray in the first place. People's ignorance towards prayer is something that God expected, of course. It's no coincidence then that God includes in his Holy Word not the exact way to pray, for there is of course no such thing, but the basic outline of a prayer:

Matthew 6:9-13

9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

These are the key elements of prayer:


Praise God and thank him for what he has given us. Isn't it fitting that we should do this, considering that prayer is one of the ways that we bring glory to God?
Pray that God's will be done in general and also that it will be done in specific areas of your life. This can also include praying for others, for it is God's will that we love each other and his will to provide for your brothers and sisters and show unbelievers the truth.
Pray that God will provide for you. You could ask him to feed you every day and support you financially. You can ask him for protection, peace, and comfort. You can ask him for wisdom, learning, and to change your heart. The list goes on…
Pray for forgiveness, for God will not forgive you unless you ask. Some claim that Christians do not sin every day. Why then would God include forgiveness in his prayer outline? Prayer is also a time to forgive others, to remember ways that people have hurt you and to forgive them in the presence of god. Forgiving the same person more than once is not uncommon. God will also neglect to forgive you if you do not forgive others.
Pray that God will help you to resist the temptations to sin that will inevitably come. Pray that he will protect you from the devil's advances.

This is, of course, a simple outline of prayer. None of this is required in prayer, though it is definitely recommended. Get out there and pray to God! Yay prayer!



1 John 5:14-15 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."

James 4:3 "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

James 5:16 "…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"

Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."