Teach Me to Pray: Answering Seven Questions About Prayer

Prayer is simply talking to God. We bow our heads and pray when it’s time to eat or if someone we love is sick. But we can pray about anything at any time.

We must pray humbly, thanking God that we can pray to him because of what Jesus did on the cross. God cares more about the attitude of our hearts than the way we sit (or stand) or the words we say.

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)

We can pray at home on our knees with our eyes shut and hands folded, or we can pray as we ride in the car to the grocery store. Our prayers can be long or short. They can be spoken out loud or quietly in our hearts. We can even write prayers in a journal.

God is omnipresent (everywhere at once) and omniscient (all-knowing), so he can hear us wherever we are (Psalm 139:7–10).

Even though God is all-knowing, we should still pray to him because he made humans in his image to have relationships with him. He is the heavenly Father to all who’ve trusted Jesus for salvation. He wants to hear from his children even though he knows what we’re going to say. Our own parents probably know what we want before we ask, but they still enjoy talking to us about it.

Talking with our parents helps us get to know them better. It’s the same with prayer! As we read our Bibles and pray, we learn more and more about our loving heavenly Father.

Jesus gave his disciples a pattern for prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. This pattern can help us remember what to say when we pray.

Philippians 4:6 tells us to pray about everything! We should take all our thoughts, needs, desires, worries, and joys to the Lord. James 5:16 tells us to pray for others. In that way, prayer helps unite the church—the family of God—all over the world!

We should also pray about our temptations. If we’re tempted to shout at someone, lie, or commit some other sin, we can ask God to help us resist it and obey him (Matthew 26:41; Ephesians 6:18).

Of course, we will sin. Then we should confess those sins to God and thank him for always forgiving us (Psalm 51).

We can also pray Scripture back to the Lord. The Apostle Paul often quoted Scripture in his prayers for the early churches, and Peter and John prayed Psalm 2 when they were released from prison (Acts 4:24–30).

We can also get help from other Christians by finding a written prayer or worship song and praying it from the heart. There are many prayers from Christians in ages past who can put words to our thoughts and feelings.

We pray in Jesus’ name because that’s how Jesus told his disciples to pray. He said, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13–14).

Praying in Jesus’ name is acknowledging his authority because Jesus gives believers his righteousness before God. Ephesians 2:18 explains, “For through him [Jesus] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

The word amen means “so be it.” It’s telling God that we trust that he hears us and will answer according to his will.

First Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray without ceasing.” But that doesn’t mean we talk to God every second of the day. Romans 12:12 tells the same idea in a different way: “Be constant in prayer.” Both of these verses mean that we should keep open communication with him. Our first instinct should be to pray—when we are overjoyed, uncertain, sad, thankful, sorry, afraid, or hopeful.

Yes. God always answers, but not always in the way we hope or expect. God will answer with a yes, no, or wait.

Remember that God is a good Father who wants to give good gifts to his children. He will only do what is best for our good and his glory. We should keep praying and trust him with the outcome.

As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we will learn more about what he desires, and the more we ask for things that match his desires, the more we will grow in our relationship with him. Just like a good parent, God does not promise to give us whatever we ask for. But he does promise to answer if we ask according to his will (1 John 5:14–15).

Look up these verses and select God’s response in each situation.

1. What answer can we see God gave Abraham in Genesis 17:17–19?
   Yes No Wait

   Correct!

2. What answer did God give King David in 1 Chronicles 22:7–8?
   Yes No Wait

   Correct!

3. What answer did he give Daniel and his three friends in Daniel 2:17–19?
   Yes No Wait

   Correct!