How to Pray

The short answer to the question “How do I pray?” is simply to open your mouth and express your desire to God.

Many people feel awkward when they first try to pray. They don’t know what words to use, or they are afraid that they aren’t good enough to speak to God. You may worry that you are asking for the wrong things or whether you have the right to ask for anything at all. But the good news is that God wants you to come to Him, at any time, to talk with Him through prayer!

To pray is simply to ask (Matthew 7:7)

Prayer does not require fancy language or solemn circumstances. You don’t even need to feel especially spiritual to pray. God’s people have prayed in every kind of mood and situation (Phillipians 4:6).

What is necessary for prayer is a conviction about God. 

You can know for certain that God always hears us when we pray. “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words,” Jesus told His disciples. “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

There are two key ingredients to effective prayer: need and faith. 

Our sense of what we need shapes our requests. The conviction that God can and will grant those requests, otherwise called faith, gives us the confidence to address God. The short answer to the question “How do I pray?” is simply to open your mouth and express your desire to God. Use your normal language and tell God the truth. You don’t need to try to impress Him (Romans 8:26). God already knows everything about you.

Jesus showed us how to pray. 

Maybe you have thought it wouuld help to have a guide when talking to God. Our thoughts can be muddled, and some of us feel intimidated by the prospect of speaking directly to God. Jesus’ disciples felt the same way and asked the Savior to teach them to pray. The result was the model prayer that is often called the Lord’s Prayer: “This then is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9-13).

Here, Jesus offers us a basic roadmap for prayer.

• Focus your attention on God and His plan: “Your kingdom come, your will be done” (vv. 9–10). You are free to express the desires of your heart in prayer, but God’s answers depend upon His purposes for you and for His kingdom. We are His servants, not the other way around.
• Bring your basic needs to the Father: “Give us today our daily bread” (v. 11). Nothing is more basic to life than daily bread. If we do not eat, we will die. This petition is a reminder that every ordinary need we have is a suitable subject for our prayers.
• We ask for forgiveness and the grace to forgive others: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (vv. 12, 14–15).
• We pray for guidance and spiritual protection: “Lead us not into temptation” (v. 13).

Prayer is every believer’s spiritual birthright. 

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name,” Jesus told His disciples. “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24). He invites you to do the same.