Learn To Pray

Before you start worrying about what to say when you pray, let’s consider whether you should pray at all. You’ve got many other things to think about as a new Christian. Perhaps this seemingly super-spiritual practice of “prayer” can be reserved for the veteran Christians and disregarded by the rookies.

Apparently not. God makes it very clear that He wants all Christians to be praying, because this is the primary way you talk with God. The Bible is pretty blunt about it, with verse like:

• Pray at all times (Ephesians 6:18)
• Devote yourselves to prayer (Colossians 4:2)
• Keep on praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

God doesn’t ask us to pray because He is lonesome. (Don’t flatter yourself. He’s not lonely, and you’re not that great of a conversationalist.) God wants you praying because prayer gets Him involved in your life. His involvement is an essential if you are going to grow as a Christian. For example:

• You gain spiritual strength through prayer.
• You are equipped to resist temptation through prayer.
• God will give you wisdom if you pray for it.
• Prayer plays a part in physical healing.
• You’ll only get to know God better as you communicate with Him.

Most importantly, prayer bring you into God’s presence. Conversing with God takes you out of your humdrum world and connects you with the Creator of the universe. And that happens immediately. God doesn’t have a waiting room where you have to sit for 35 minutes before talking with Him. He doesn’t put you on “hold” and force you to listen to angel harp-plucking while He answers prayers in the order that they are received. Nope. When you pray, you are immediately in God’s presence, and you’ve got His undivided attention.

The prospect of praying might be intimidating if you’re worried about what to say. That shouldn’t be a problem; God just wants you to talk with Him about those things that are of concern to you. But just in case you’re still drawing a blank, here are a few suggestions:

1. Praise God for Who He is. This is more for you than it is for Him. It reminds you that no one in heaven or on earth can compare with Him. You’ll be impressed with the fact that conversing with God is an awesome privilege.

2. Confess Your Sins. Your sins (past, present and future) where forgiven when you accepted Christ as your Savior. Sin in your life from this point on won’t jeopardize your salvation, but it will interfere with your ability to communicate openly and honestly with God. Without confession and an apology on your part, you’ll be living in spiritual arrogance. Let God know that you are sorry, and get your relationship back on track.

3. Pray for God’s Will. You’ll have your own ideas about what should happen in your life, but tell God that you want what He knows is best for you (even if it is different that what you have in mind).

4. Pray for others. It’s not all about you. Pray for others who are in difficult situations. Pray that they might see their need for Jesus. If they are already Christians, pray that they might feel His comfort and sense His wisdom.

There will be times when you are distraught or confused and can’t even articulate words. In those situations, don’t worry. The Holy Spirit can communicate for you with God when you are speechless:

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who know all harts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will (Romans 8:26-27).

Notice that we have been referring to prayer as talking with God – not talking to Him. Prayer is a two-way conversation. You will do some of the talking while God listens. But then you need to let God do some of the talking while you listen. When we refer to letting God talk, we don’t expect that you will be hearing little angel voices in your head. We don’t even think that you will hear God using His best James Earl Jones impression with a deep bass voice booming down from heaven.

God is most likely to speak to you in the quietness of your thoughts. As you pray for His direction, you are gong to get a sense of what He wants. He will speak to you by prompting your thoughts.