How To Pray
So, I’ve been thinking a lot about what my next article should be, and prayer has been heavily on my mind. I don’t know who needs to read this, but if you’ve been thinking about your prayer life lately, then this article might be for you.
One of the things I want to talk about in this post is a very simple concept—what time should you pray? That seems simple, right? Like it doesn’t even need an answer, right? Unfortunately, you’d be surprised at how many people get stumped by prayer.
Before we get into the details of things, let’s begin with the definition of prayer. I’m not going to go to Google for this, because a textbook definition simply cannot embody what it truly is and what it truly means to pray. In Christian terms, prayer is simply a conversation with God Almighty. It can be all night; 3 hours of speaking in tongues, blubbering through tears, and moaning Amazing Grace as you pour out your agony to the Savior. Or it could be ten minutes, a simple prayer when you wake up or go to sleep.
You are praying when you get down on your knees at night and ask God for forgiveness of your sins. You are praying when you bow your head at the dinner table to say grace. You are praying when you get that really good parking space at the mall and shout thank you, Jesus! You are praying when you whisper, Lord help me, right before your final exam.
You don’t have to be secluded, locked away in a bedroom with a broken heart and a bottle of aspirin gasping for air as you heave out your worries in a string of tearful confessions to pray. You don’t have to be pressed and facing trials to pray. You don’t have to be in the midst of a job promotion with a 50% pay raise to pray. You don’t have to be a pastor to pray.
You just have to believe that Christ is listening—and even if you don’t, He is.
My pastor taught me this scripture when it comes to when we should pray:
Pray continually.
That’s I Thessalonians 5:17 NIV, where the Apostle Paul is telling the church to pray—continually, without ceasing, always. Never stop.
So, when you sit down and think, sheesh, have I been praying enough—the answer is actually no. But understand that you could never pray enough. You could never thank God enough. You could never repay the Lord. All you can do is what you can do—and Christ accepts that. He accepted you just as you are on the cross at Calvary over 2000 years ago. So don’t worry about when, how much, or how long when it comes to prayer—if that’s your mindset then you’ve got it all wrong.
God is our Father.
He is our parent who loves us unconditionally, and He wants an intimate relationship with you. How do you form a relationship with anyone? By spending time with them! Talk to God; tell Him about your day, tell Him how hard it was—or how easy it was! Thank Him for that discount at the gas station, tell Him it was too hot out today, remind Him that you need a little extra to make the rent this month. God wants to know every little thing because He loves you so very much.
Prayer is simple. You just open your mouth and speak, and you always acknowledge Christ. I never end a prayer without the words; In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. Because no matter how hard you pray, your words will not go higher than the ceiling if you don’t acknowledge the Savior you’re speaking to [John 14:6].
If you’re still feeling confused or have questions about prayer, feel free to leave them in the comments section and hit subscribe on the form below. Keep an eye out for my next article, we’ll definitely be talking about prayer more often.
As always, be blessed in Christ’s name.