Prayer is talking to God. Sounds simple, right?
We all come to a place where we are wondering how we are doing in our prayer life. In all honesty, it is a place we likely return to again and again. Getting started or evaluating the health of our prayer life can feel lofty, because we are addressing precisely this: how we are communicating with God. So in other words, how is our relationship with Him? Are we coming to Him daily and throughout the day with our hearts, praises, doubts, desires, needs, and worship? Or is it just a passing thought that we will hold onto for a more convenient time?
Prayer is intentional and personal communication with God. Prayer is our connection to God. Prayer simply is talking to God! In prayer, we come to God to praise Him, to recognize our dependence upon Him, to share our worries with Him, our emotions, and our thoughts. These are the day to day moments that are to be given over to Him. How beautiful that we have direct communication with the Creator of the Universe!
So...how do we pray?
The Bible gives us many examples of what prayer looks like. In fact, in Matthew 6, we see Jesus’ beautiful example of prayer (The Lord’s Prayer). But God’s Word also demonstrates a multitude of ways that prayer takes place. We see people pray in private or in community, at set times or spontaneously, recited prayers or straight from the heart, short prayers, and long prayers.
So which is right? The answer is, they all are. A healthy prayer life focuses on God being at the center and the rest flows from there. Conversations with God should include all of the elements mentioned above with less focus on HOW you are doing it and more focus on WHO you are speaking to.
If you are feeling like you don’t know where to start, here are some helpful suggestions:
Find a spot at home or nearby that is quieter, offering less distractions
Address Him by name
Be humble, recognizing that He is God (the One and Only; the Creator) and we are His creation
Start talking—-you can pray “in your heart” or out loud; either is fine!
Start by having a regular time set aside to come and talk with Him, but ask Him to remind you to talk to Him throughout your day as you grow in your walk with Him
Another helpful tool for your mind when you are praying is the acronym ACTS——Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. This is a helpful way to order your thoughts as you come to God in prayer. Adoration means to set your heart and mind on who God is, praising Him for who He is and how you are learning about Him. Confession is a time for confessing where we have not followed His ways and have gone astray—-acknowledging our need for Him and asking for His help in repenting. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for specific things God has done, supplied, provided, or revealed. Supplication is where we come with requests before God—-both for our needs and for the needs of others.
Simply, in the end there is no exact “formula,” keep your mind on Him and avoid over-analyzing your words. He knows you already—just come to Him.
And before we conclude, we cannot talk about prayer without understanding how we have been given this ability to directly communicate with God. We are able to pray and talk to God because of God’s perfect plan. John 3:16 says,“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, when we receive Him as Lord and Savior we are reconciled to God and able to come to Him directly. What an incredible truth!
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